You will often find me enthusing about stunning, easy-maintenance plants that I can’t believe aren’t more popular. However, the irony is that many of the houseplants that have most captured the imagination of home growers recently have been the opposite: species that demand conditions which are incredibly difficult to replicate in the average living room. The ones I am receiving the most questions about at the moment are some of the trickiest of all, Alocasias.
As recently as a decade ago there were really only two commonly available Alocasia species, representing the toughest-growing examples of the genus that are able to survive the lack of light, heat and humidity of your typical home. However, in recent years the number has increased incredibly, with the plants reaching near cult-status among avid growers, many of whom are new to horticulture.
I suspect that the passion for them is precisely because of just how tricky they are to keep happy – we gardeners love a challenge. So, if you are one of the poor souls who have succumbed to their charms only to see them suffer this winter, here are some quick tips that might help get you out of a spot of horticultural bother.
Alocasias are so well adapted to the intensely humid understorey of South East Asian tropical rainforests that they tend to suffer unless given constant temperatures above 25C and air humidity over 80%. What that means in practice is growing these newer species – many of which are conveniently smaller in stature – in a very large terrarium (such as the bigger carboys) or even a glazed cabinet.
In fact, collectors will often pick up any flat-pack display cabinet with glass doors and fit standard, energy-efficient LED lights of the sort that you would normally have beneath kitchen cabinets. This creates the warm and stable environment these plants crave. These lamps also provide the “Goldilocks” light level, which is not intense enough to burn leaves, yet just about intense enough to prevent leaves from elongating and snapping in winter gloom.
In terms of growing media, I have found that the best mix to replicate their jungle habitat and prevent the root rot that can happen in cooler temperatures is a mix of equal parts all-purpose peat-free compost, orchid bark and perlite. I like to keep mine in porous (non-glazed) ceramic pots, which allows me to ensure good drainage and visually gauge their moisture level easily. Alocasias like being a little root-bound, too, so you don’t need to repot them very often.
Finally, remember all of these measures will only partially replicate their home environment, especially with heating bills the way they are. This means that whatever you do, your plants will likely show signs of stress as the winter progresses, like yellowing or collapsing leaves. These will soon subside in the spring as heat and light levels return, even if your plants might look a bit forlorn by that time.
What can I say? Sometimes incredible plants require incredible levels of effort. But maybe that’s why we are so obsessive about growing them?
Follow James on Twitter @Botanygeek
