Sick Allocasia needs help

I bought this Allocasia two years ago and it's had a rough life at my house. It bloomed a couple of months after I bought it and then came down with a severe case of spider mites that we battled for months. I finally got rid of them by not watering the plant and letting it go dormant. The new leaves looked fine for a couple of months but now they are getting necrotic spots all over. I have checked very carefully for bugs and can't find any evidence of the usual suspects (spider mites, mealys, aphids, whiteflies, etc.) The plant is next to an east facing window and gets medium light levels; it's watered about once a week; the leaves have never been sprayed with chemicals or water. Any idea what could be causing this? I think this poor plant just doesn't like my house :(

Usually, this plant is very carefree. My first thought would be that you might be over watering it. I know of a plant growing in an office cubicle that gets watered when the person gets around to it, which is usually every three weeks, and it's just beautiful. Try cutting back on the water until later this spring. Good luck.

I agree with Hoosier Katlian. It sounds like it's getting overwatered. If it's not growing do not water over much or let it go dormant again. During the winter months they tend to not grow because they prefer the much warmer temps. So lighten up on the water and see what happens :) Good Luck.

Is it near a heat vent or too close to the window? To me it looks like it got too hot or too cold.

We'll cut back on the water. I need to dig out my soil moisture meter and test this plant more often. How cold is too cold for Allocasia? It's not right next to the window or the heat vent and the window has insulated blinds covering it at night. I would guess the coldest it gets is 55°.

For that plant, 55 degrees shouldn't cause that kind of leaf damage. Either colder temps or too much sun at the window would do that, as well as humidity being too low. In my experience, too much moisture will rot the plant off at the base rather than just causing spots on the leaves.

LariAnn
Aroidia Research

Thanks Lari Ann, of those three I think low humidity is the most likely culprit. The glass in the window is the privacy type that diffuses the light and it only gets direct sun in the early morning. Low humidity though is definitely an issue in our house and this room is at the far end of the house from the humidifier. I think that was making the spider mites worse too. Do they need bright light? I've been thinking about moving it to a somewhat brighter spot in the dining room, where it would also be more humid.

Katlian, this plant does well for me in a higher humid room and medium light. I added a few humidifier's to create moisture during our Winter month's. They really do HELP!

I have had NO problem's with Spider mite's on this plant.


I will add more about my experience if you need me too but Larianne pretty much summed it up.

Rachel

Rachel

These Alocasias do fine in bright light but not sun. Under shadecloth, the best growth is in the 40% to 60% shade range. Also, low humidity strongly favors the proliferation of spider mites, which is one reason why they are more of a problem outdoors during dry periods of the year than during moist or wet periods.

LariAnn