My African Mask is slowly dying and i dont know why :/
In the first few weeks the Plant did great and grew a new leave.
Not it has already lost the 4th leave again.
I water it right bevor it gets completely dry. (Too much water? Root rott?)
You can see the lighting conditions in the last picture. It only gets about 3h direct sunlight.
It is still in the same soil i got it from a friend.
The window is often opened. (Middle European weather)
Should i consider repotting?
Thanks for any Tipps!
by Redam_22
10 Comments
This happened to mine as well, not too long ago! The plant completely died, after weeks of thriving. Curious to hear the advice. Good luck with yours, I hope there is still time to save it
Never heard that common name used on this plant before.
You are not the only one who has issues with alocasias; it’s either pests or some form of root damage/loss.
They are very prone to pests like spider mites and mealy bugs so definitely be sure neither is
It seems a lot of people have better results when they use semi-hydroponic if you were thinking about trying something different. I know lots use leca or pon, or some zeolite lava rock mix and have lots of good growth, but remembering to fertilize properly is the key. Pull it out and check the roots to make sure there’s no rot on the tuber or roots and consider adding a little more aeration to the soil with pumice or orchid bark
Edit: switched from leaf damage to root damage, whoops
Mine looks like that too and it has/had spidermites and thrips. I cut off the bad leaves and treated whatever was left of the plant and now I just hope that they’re gone. It’s necessary to check your other plants too and also treat them
Mine died back and lost leaves with a terrible fungus gnat infestation. Seems like they are just prone to all sorts of infestations.
Cut the one leaf off. Take the plant over to a large sink and hose the whole plant down, soil, leaves, everything.
Once that is done, take some slightly soapy water and wash the leaves. You may need to repeat this every few days.
Alocasia can be very tricky! I agree that it looks like it has spider mites; it’s almost a guarantee with alocasia. Spray it down with insecticidal soap until it’s dripping. Make sure you also thoroughly spray the undersides of the leaves and all nooks and crannies. Spray again in 7-10 days.
I recommend repotting it in a chunkier soil. I have mine in an even mixture of potting soil/orchid bark/bonsai soil. This helps massively with drainage. They’re thirsty plants but they don’t like to sit wet.
Alocasia are also very heavy feeders. If you’re noticing that it’s losing a leaf every time it gets a new one, it needs fertilizer. I fertilize mine every single time I water.
I had some thrips on mine, I picked them off and quarantined them, I think I’m still early because I only found 2 but those basterds will kill plants for sure.
Oh nono, 3h sunlight is not enough, it needs way more! Let the leaves die naturally, but place it closer to the window (if possible other windowside at all). A new shoot will emerge eventually, and don’t let it dry out too much, they don’t like it. Literally water it the very day it gets dry, not later. Good luck 💓💓
Alocasia are arseholes..