Alocasia, Variegated, Upright Elephant Ear 'Variegata'

Can you grow this Alocasia in Colorado, z4? You sure can. I bought a small plant in 2009, and it's been happily growing ever since. It sp...Read Moreends every winter sitting on a concrete block, with the bottom portion of its pot submerged in the indoor fish pond. We move our koi fish from their outdoor pond to their indoor pond every fall, and Alocasia comes inside for the winter, too. She's even weathered a few cold nights in early spring and late fall, when the temperature dipped into the 40s, and we forgot about her.
In spring, when the fish go back outside, the indoor pond is drained and put into storage. Alocasia in her big pot, gets moved outside under a large pine tree. We put her pot in a large metal pan, so she stays well watered all summer. I have tried giving her more sun, but at 7500 feet, the sun is too strong and she burns. Dappled shade in the summer is her preference. Morning sun in the winter. Plenty of nutrious fish pond yummy water and she's one happy Alocasia. One note, she was variegated when I first bought her, but lost all of her white parts sitting in the pond water. Just too much fish poo goody, is all I can figure. This is the only food she gets, all natural.

She is presently trying to bust out of her pot, and as soon as I get a warm day, I will transplant her into a larger pot.

This is a very easy alocasia to grow and propagate in zone 8B/9A. I grow it outdoors in the ground in many locations in my yard...I just ...Read Morekeep dividing pups off and planting them. It will not go dormant until a hard freeze usually (below 28 for more than 2 hours). In spring it comes back out, and gets to be about 2.5-3 ft tall over the growing season before winter knocks it back again. Will also grow as an aquatic plant in a bog garden. I grow it in both sun and shade, it seems to have no preference here. I keep 2 specimens inside the greenhouse year round, these have gotten to be about 6 ft tall and have trunks now. I fertilize these plants regularly with 20-20-20 and have never had any problems with them reverting to green because of that.

A fast growing Alocasia that loves warmth, water and grows fast. Prefers shade, but, will not do well if grown in dense shade. It will t...Read Moreurn green if given chemical types of fertilizer, but, returns to variegated leaves when the fertilzer gets used up.

Doesn't live in cool condidtions at all. I have found that my plant does not make a bulb, rhizome or any kind of sizeable underground root. I have to keep mine in a container. I am on the northern edge of Zone 10 and it stops growing even in our most mild winters and will decline in a cold winter.

I have planted it in the ground when I have divided it. The divisions planted in the ground did not return except as very small (I mean tiny 1") plants. A truly tropical Alocasia.

My grand-daughter got an Elephant Ear for her mother last year (2005) for Mother's Day. Although she loved the plant very much, She had t...Read Morehe plant in a pot on her patio, watering it once a week or so. She did not have any luck with it and so she brought the plant to me and I moved it indoors. I keep the plant watered to where the soil stays moist, not wet. It is in a well lite room but out of direct sunlight. It seems to do better when it is kept cooler 60 - 70 degrees F. Where my daughter had the plant it was very hot and dry. It has grown alot since I've had it, blooming reguarly during the late summer - mid fall. It will only grow 3 - 4 leaves at a time when a new leaf starts to grow one of the other leaves will immediately wilt. Do not cut the wilted leaf. Let it hang until it turns brown and then cut it to about 3" to the trunk and fold the rest down over the bulb. If you cut the wilted leaf too soon I have found that it will not let another leaf produce. My plant is beautiful. My grand-daughter now buys me the plants.