Re: Alocasia growing medium and colocasias

Hi folks

I have been lurking here for some time and I thought I would weigh in with my
experience with Colocasias that I potted last spring.  Of the six tubers I
planted five successfully came up in a mix of Whitney Farms pro mix and coconut
fibers.  I then transplanted them in my garden.  The soil in my garden is mainly
thick clay with some organic material I added plus shredded redwood bark.  They
are all doing great.  However, the one plant doing the best is the one that is
next to the steps of my hot tub which, since aquiring said hot tub, has grown to
twice it's previous size.  I was keenly interested in how that plant would do as
we drip on it everytime we get out of the tub...every night.  I didn't know if
the chemicals would hurt it or not but apparently not.  Another interesting
aspect of this is that I live in Northern California which has a lot of fog and
stays damp where temps are routinely in the 40's at night.  Just thought this
might be interesting.  Hoping someday to get to your show in Miami.  Lastly, a
quick question:  How does one get plants back from that show to California?
Thanks

DF

Jay Vannini wrote:

> Greetings, all!
>
> I grow my Alocasias in a mix that is composed of equal proportions of
> sterilized leaf mould, oak charcoal chips, half-inch pumice and medium
> orchid bark. Not as well drained as my basic Anthurium mix, but still pretty
> open.
>
> I have found that the combination of cool temperatures and wet medium are
> definitely a no-no with this genus - since I've reduced watering to once a
> week I have found that they do much better - including all of the pretty
> "dwarf forms" that Dewey has up in Florida. In an unheated conservatory they
> are all slow for me, but definitely have improved in stature since when I
> imported them. It does appear that the A. longiloba types seem much more
> forgiving of "wet feet" than A. reginula, A. nebula, etc. although they
> still don't prosper under these conditions for me.
>
> Good luck -
>
> Jay
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