I’ve had this plant since November and have been watering it every two weeks because of the winter weather. But this is what it looks like now—any advice?
I think because it’s so small it dries out a lot faster. I’d water it more maybe?
Crassula_pyramidalis
Typically it is better to water when the soil dries out vs a timed schedule, especially when using smaller pots as they dry out faster than larger pots. That soil looks VERY dry, so much so that it might be a bit hydrophobic (water runs off of it instead of absorbs into it). You might want to let it sit in some water for a few hours to remoisten itself and see if it can come back from this. Honestly im not sure at this point if it can or not
Also, does the pot have a drainage hole on the bottom?
baconvalhalla
As others said, maybe one soak to get the soil remoistened, then water once the top inch or two get dry. Make sure you remove the plant in it’s plastic pot to water, and only put it back in the pretty cover pot once water stops draining- you do not normally want to let plants sit in water, it rots the roots. Good luck and if this one doesn’t make it, try again!
-Mediocrates-
Dormancy during winter months for this alocasia. So expect die back … don’t water it too much during dormancy or it’ll get root rot and die.
.
My alocasia is still in dormancy and hasn’t woken up yet … so I’ve experienced die back as well.
.
As long as the bulb (alocasia bulb looks and feels like a very thick hard stem) is hard … then it’s still alive and you are good .
.
For many indoor gardeners , getting through your plants dormancy cycle is the hardest part of indoor growing (with natural light).
.
The best advice I can tell you is pay extra close attention to the growth and dormancy cycles of your native outdoor plants and trees outdoors. When there are signs of dormancy (leaves changing color or dropping etc..) then get ready for dormancy. When tiny buds start to form then get ready for growth season. Also pay close attention to the rate of growth of your indoor plants because some plants have vastly different and counter intuitive growth cycles (such as jade plants ) . So you’ll notice your alocasia slowing down its growth for some strange reason… that’s dormancy starting to take hold that that’s a red flag that it’s time to get ready to vastly slow down its watering
.
Good luck
Medical-Rub7118
You could dome it for a bit as well. Just make sure none of the leaves touch the dome. Once everything is wet, if you’re still having issues, check your roots out. I’ve had so many with root issues this winter! Two were alocasia in self watering pots.
Odd-Pain3273
It needs a bigger home. Have it live close to a humidifier.
flowderp3
From the angle of the first pic I thought the central leaf was actually a cupcake
ReturnItToEarth
You have to remove the plant from the outer pot when you water it. Indoor plants need a lot of air to their roots. So you want to remove the plant from the outer decorative pot, and water it in its plastic nursery pot (it needs to have a drainage hole) and water it so the tepid water flushes through, but then let it sit out on top of a bakers drying rack or grate or something where it continues to drain for at least 30 minutes. The longer the better. It looks like you’ve got root rot from water sitting in the bottom.
Enough_Pangolin_2034
Be kind to yourself. Alocasias are notoriously difficult. I try not to even look in their general direction. 😅
10 Comments
I think because it’s so small it dries out a lot faster. I’d water it more maybe?
Typically it is better to water when the soil dries out vs a timed schedule, especially when using smaller pots as they dry out faster than larger pots. That soil looks VERY dry, so much so that it might be a bit hydrophobic (water runs off of it instead of absorbs into it). You might want to let it sit in some water for a few hours to remoisten itself and see if it can come back from this. Honestly im not sure at this point if it can or not
Also, does the pot have a drainage hole on the bottom?
As others said, maybe one soak to get the soil remoistened, then water once the top inch or two get dry. Make sure you remove the plant in it’s plastic pot to water, and only put it back in the pretty cover pot once water stops draining- you do not normally want to let plants sit in water, it rots the roots. Good luck and if this one doesn’t make it, try again!
Dormancy during winter months for this alocasia. So expect die back … don’t water it too much during dormancy or it’ll get root rot and die.
.
My alocasia is still in dormancy and hasn’t woken up yet … so I’ve experienced die back as well.
.
As long as the bulb (alocasia bulb looks and feels like a very thick hard stem) is hard … then it’s still alive and you are good .
.
For many indoor gardeners , getting through your plants dormancy cycle is the hardest part of indoor growing (with natural light).
.
The best advice I can tell you is pay extra close attention to the growth and dormancy cycles of your native outdoor plants and trees outdoors. When there are signs of dormancy (leaves changing color or dropping etc..) then get ready for dormancy. When tiny buds start to form then get ready for growth season. Also pay close attention to the rate of growth of your indoor plants because some plants have vastly different and counter intuitive growth cycles (such as jade plants ) . So you’ll notice your alocasia slowing down its growth for some strange reason… that’s dormancy starting to take hold that that’s a red flag that it’s time to get ready to vastly slow down its watering
.
Good luck
You could dome it for a bit as well. Just make sure none of the leaves touch the dome. Once everything is wet, if you’re still having issues, check your roots out. I’ve had so many with root issues this winter! Two were alocasia in self watering pots.
It needs a bigger home. Have it live close to a humidifier.
From the angle of the first pic I thought the central leaf was actually a cupcake
You have to remove the plant from the outer pot when you water it. Indoor plants need a lot of air to their roots. So you want to remove the plant from the outer decorative pot, and water it in its plastic nursery pot (it needs to have a drainage hole) and water it so the tepid water flushes through, but then let it sit out on top of a bakers drying rack or grate or something where it continues to drain for at least 30 minutes. The longer the better. It looks like you’ve got root rot from water sitting in the bottom.
Be kind to yourself. Alocasias are notoriously difficult. I try not to even look in their general direction. 😅
Bigger pot