Tomorrow I am thinking of going to purchase a Alocasia macrorrhizos (upright taro). I'd like to know if I could leave it outside my apartment balcony during winter/summer. We're a 7b/8a here depending on who you ask. We normally hit the 20's just a few times during the dead of winter, and occasionally the teens on a really bad night. I could easily move it indoors (as it won't be THAT large).
But I live in an apartment complex (5th) floor and I thought it'd be a nice plant for the outside balcony I have if it could handle the cold. All my other tropicals have to stay inside.
Also, during summer I have west (warm/hot) sun. Would that be an issue for this plant? Can it take a lot of sun or does it like the shade?
Depending on the answers, I may go for a smaller plant I can just keep indoors.
Thanks :)
John
Would Alocasia macrorrhizos survive outside in 7b?
We ended up getting a 4' tall plant, and hopefully it'll be alright on most winter nights. We'll bring it in if it drops below 35-40 (unless I hear otherwise here).
We repotted it so hopefully it'll now have some room to grow (it was really rootbound). Eventually I hope to get it outdoors and let it really expand.
I compared the leaves of the plant to the one I'm still trying to ID. They are semi-the-same, but have some small differences. So I'm still not sure what the other Aroid is yet.
I'm also not sure where we'll put our Christmas Tree this year, LOL. We might have to decorate one of the larger plants instead. The downside to trying to keep houseplants of this size in an apartment.
My DH is threatening to do the same thing. My macro (8' tall) is taking up the alcove where we normally put the tree. But hey...we're originally from CA so a tropical with lights might just make us think of home.
I think your EE might make it on the porch. Especially if you wrap the pot to make sure that the roots don't freeze, but the plants will almost certainly go dormant. If it does, make sure it doesn't get overwatered. That will cause it to rot really fast in a pot. Actually a macrorriza in the ground in Zone 8a might be better suited to survive than in a pot because it will be prone to rot.
Just an idea...Can you get a small platform on wheels to put under the pot so you can wheel it in and out when it gets really cold?
ROX
Thanks. I actually do have a few of those wheeled carts alread. I learned to get those once my monsterra got to heavy for me to pick it up by myself. Same with the Giant White BOP. My obsession with big plants isn't the ideal fit for an apartment, LOL.
Doesn't macrorrhizos make a tuber that can be stored indoors dry like other EEs?
Macro=big rhizos=root
http://www.plantdelights.com/Catalog/Current/Detail/01160.html
Tony says it's hardy planted in 7b, but you'll lose the foliage.
This message was edited Sep 30, 2006 7:45 PM
Alo mac does make a big tuber. :)
I had huge ones that I lost inside a garage. I'm in zone 6 and they were not watered after being put in the garage and they still rotted. Hmph!
I have one in a pot and I'm hoping to convince it to dry off completely and sleep through the winter.
It can be trying to give some Alocasias just-enough-but-not-too-much water that goes along with the temperature at hand. Cold and wet= death.
Robert.
So far we've left the plant indoors. It's already grown a new leaf, so if it gets too large I may have to put it out or prune it (which I hate doing to this type of plant, bc I think you're supposed to let the leaf completely die off before cutting it).
Most of our indoor plants grow really well through the winter. Almost all of them are tropicals, and since we keep the humidity at about 60% or higher the plants love it. The humidity gets a little muggy at times, but it's seemingly help cut the electric heating bill down. Maybe the muggy air just makes it feel warmer than it is. Either way, the plants love it and thus far we've not see a huge drop off in growth during winter. We also keep plant lights on them to compensate for the lack of sun we have during winter (we have a West facing apartment, hardly any winter sun).
Ultimately nothing replaces having them outside though. I took several to my parents house out in the country for the summer, and they grew at incredible rates. Brining them back home has been a lot harder bc of how large they've all grown.
Id say Columbia is a pretty solid zone 8a so I think you should be fine. Im in USDA (old map 7b, new map 8a), about an hour and twenty minutes north of you and my macs do fine outside year round, (with a little mulch).
Thanks, good to know if we have to move it out it'll be ok. I'll wrap the pot in a old blanket or something if it gets cold, that should help.
My folks have a huge EE, not mac, but the wild taro kind. It dies back each winter and then grows back in the spring/summer and gets giant about this time of year (bigger each year). It's almost the size of the mac leaves, pretty incredible. The plant must be 10 or more years old now.