How to Care for Alocasia

Alocasia is the plant people usually call elephant ear, and the nickname makes sense the moment you see one. The leaves are large, arrow shaped and held up on tall stems, often with pale veins running through deep green or almost black foliage. Some varieties have a metallic sheen, others have a texture closer to velvet, and a few are so upright and architectural they look more like sculpture than plant.

There are around ninety species in the genus and they come from the tropical and subtropical regions of Asia and eastern Australia, growing in warm, humid forest where they sit in dappled shade on the moist forest floor. Alocasia grows from an underground corm, which is a swollen storage organ a bit like a bulb. That corm lets the plant rest when conditions are not ideal, which explains some of its more dramatic behaviour indoors.

How Much Light Does Alocasia Need?

Alocasia wants bright, indirect light and plenty of it. A spot close to an east- or north-facing window, or a metre or so back from a brighter window, suits it well.

Because it grows below a forest canopy, its leaves are not built for direct sun, and a few hours of strong midday light will scorch them and leave faded, papery patches. Too little light is just as much of a problem. In a dim corner, an Alocasia will stretch, produce fewer leaves and become far more likely to rot, because it cannot use the water it is given. Bright light with no harsh sun is the sweet spot.

How Often Should You Water Alocasia?

Water your Alocasia when the top 2 to 3cm of compost has dried out, keeping the rest of the pot lightly moist but never soggy. In spring and summer, that often means watering once or twice a week, depending on how warm and bright your home is.

In autumn and winter, cut right back. The plant slows down and may stop growing altogether, and watering at the same rate is the fastest way to rot the corm. Check with your finger every time rather than watering on a schedule. Always water until it runs from the drainage holes, then empty the saucer so the pot is never standing in water.

What Humidity Does Alocasia Need?

Alocasia really does want high humidity, ideally 60% or more. It evolved in steamy tropical forest in Asia where the air rarely dries out, and those big thin leaves lose moisture quickly, so they rely on damp air to stay turgid and glossy.

In a typical home sitting at 40% to 50% you may see brown crispy edges, curling leaves or a plant that is unusually prone to spider mites, which thrive in dry air. Raising humidity solves several problems at once. Use a humidifier, stand the pot on a tray of damp pebbles, or group it with other plants. A bright bathroom is often the happiest spot in the house for one.

What Temperature Does Alocasia Need?

Alocasia grows best between 18°C and 27°C and wants that warmth all year round.

The lowest temperature it can tolerate is around 15°C. Below that the plant will usually go dormant, dropping its leaves and retreating into its corm, and sustained temperatures under 10°C can kill it outright. If your Alocasia loses all its leaves over a cold winter, do not throw it out straight away. Keep the compost barely moist, move it somewhere warmer, and it will very often push out fresh growth in spring from the corm below the surface.

How Do You Propagate Alocasia?

Alocasia does not root from leaf or stem cuttings, so propagation is all about the corms and offsets it produces underground.

The easiest moment to do it is when you are repotting in spring. Lift the plant out of its pot and wash or gently crumble the compost away from the root ball. You will usually find small, firm, brown corms attached around the base, and sometimes whole baby plants with a leaf or two of their own already.

Detach the offsets that have their own roots and pot them up individually in a light, free draining mix, then treat them like small adult plants. Loose corms with no roots can be sprouted first. Peel away the papery brown skin, sit the corm on damp sphagnum moss in a covered container or sealed bag somewhere warm and bright, and wait. It is slow, often four to eight weeks, but once a shoot and roots appear you can pot it up.

Why Are My Alocasia Leaves Turning Yellow?

Overwatering is the most common reason, and it is especially easy to do in winter. If a leaf yellows from the base of the plant while the compost stays wet, ease off the watering immediately and let the top of the pot dry properly. Alocasia rots from the corm, and once that happens the plant rarely recovers, so always err on the dry side.

Dormancy is the second big cause and the one that panics people most. As light levels and temperatures drop in autumn, an Alocasia may yellow and shed leaves one by one until very little is left. This is normal rest behaviour, not a death sentence. Reduce watering to a trickle, keep it warm, and wait for spring.

It is also worth checking the undersides of the leaves. Fine pale speckling, yellowing between the veins and faint webbing point to spider mites, which are the most common pest on Alocasia and are far more likely when the air is dry. Shower the leaves, raise the humidity and treat with an insecticidal soap if you find them.

A few habits keep an Alocasia thriving. Pot it in a chunky, free-draining mix rather than dense compost. Feed monthly with a balanced liquid feed through spring and summer only. Do not move it around constantly, because it dislikes sudden changes in light and temperature. And accept that losing the odd oldest leaf while producing a new one is simply how this plant works.

Shop Alocasia at House of Kojo

Ready to add an Alocasia to your collection? Our range at House of Kōjō includes a selection of dramatic and unusual varieties, from beautifully patterned leaves to deep green foliage and striking forms.