Re: Alocasia culture
- To: lindsey@mallorn.com
- Subject: Re: Alocasia culture
- From: K* K*
- Date: Thu, 25 Nov 1999 10:34:29 -0600 (CST)
On Sat, 20 Nov 1999, Jean Halverson wrote:
> Neither had a name tag but the nursery worker said one was 'African
> Mask.'
Alocasia x. amazonica, most likely. Possibly A. "Green Velvet" (cultivar
of A.micholitziana).
> The other has no name. The leaves are a dark olive green with
> darker veins and a narrow, dark edge. The underside is burgundy and the
> leaf edge has a slight wave to it. The leaves feel quite thick and look
> velvety. I really like the subtle colors on it.
Alocasia "Black velvet", most likely.
Check, out my page: http://u1.netgate.net/~kk/Araceae/Alocasia/index.html;
you might be able to identify your species by comparing them with mine.
>
> Should I encourage these to go dormant? If so, how? Both pots had a
> plant that looked like they could be separated so a sister and I shared
> them. 'African Mask' doesn't look like anything happened, the other
> wasn't happy (I may have gotten the offset plant) but is now
> recovering. Can I keep them growing now, put them outdoors when the
> weather warms up (probably late June here in Zone 5a) and let them go
> dormant next fall?
They go dormant only if stressed by drought, and sometimes don't come back
- I would avoid dormancy. Keep evenly moist, don't overwater. "Black
velvet" likes humidity and low light (mine starte doing OK only after I
got discouraged by meager performance and put it in the area used as a
transition to the compost bin: under the table in my greenhouse - the
greenhouse is under 60% shade cloth in San Jose, CA).
KK
====================
"Microsoft is to software what McDonalds is to gourmet cooking"
Krzysztof Kozminski
kk@netgate.net
http://u1.netgate.net/~kk/
