Alocasia: home care, useful advice

Alocasia is a very fanciful plant, providing it with competent care at home is not easy. To make the plant feel good, constant monitoring of compliance with all conditions of its maintenance is necessary. Even for a couple of days, leaving it unattended is not worth it.

What is alocasia?

The plant belongs to the group of evergreen, it has large oval leaves with clearly defined veins, which are located on long juicy petioles. At home, about 70 species are grown, but the most popular are Polly, Sander, Bambino, Black Velvet.

Plants of different species differ in height( from several tens of centimeters to a couple of meters), the size of the leaves, their color. Therefore, many florists acquire several types at once. They all require the same care, but they look very picturesque at the same time. Even in ideal home conditions, alocasia blooms rarely, but sometimes it happens. The flowers are small and very fragrant.

Conditions for growing a house

Natural habitats for alocacia are the tropics. And when caring for alocacia at home it is necessary to create conditions that are as close as possible to tropical ones.

Temperature-humidity mode

The plant likes high temperatures. In the warm season, this should be at least 20-25 degrees, in winter - at least 18 degrees. Tropical conditions mean high humidity( about 80%), so the plant needs regular spraying, and the hotter it is in the room, the more often it needs to be done. It is preferable to use an atomizer that gives small, more mist-like drops. A good solution is to put an automatic humidifier. You can also periodically wipe the leaves with a damp cloth, but polishing is not recommended. Pot with a plant is advised to put on a pallet with wet pebbles or expanded clay. In winter, humidity should not fall below 40%, and in summer - 50%.

It is very important to observe the watering regime when leaving the water, because it is harmful to the plant to both waterlogging the soil and its excessive dryness. In spring, the alocasia should be watered abundantly - as soon as the top layer of the soil dries. After half an hour-hour of excess water from the stand under the pot must be drained. Autumn-winter watering is somewhat less intense, it is produced the next day after the soil in the pot is dried.

Signal of insufficient soil moisture - sluggish weak leaves with drying tips. If the soil is too dry, it is very likely that mites will actively multiply in the pot with the plant.

Illumination of

Alocasia is photophilic, but does not tolerate direct sunlight, the leaves begin to turn yellow, dry and eventually fall off. Ideal lighting should be bright, but diffused. If monochrome species still somehow can transfer a lack of light, then variegated varieties, for example "Polly", sometimes have to arrange additional illumination.

Soil requirements

As for the type of soil, alocasia prefers a slightly acidified soil, which must be loosened regularly to provide air to the roots of the plant. Otherwise, they begin to rot.

Periodically( at least once a month) the plant must be fed with complex or specialized fertilizers, especially potassium.

Transplant

It's easy to understand that it's time to transplant a plant - you can see with the naked eye when the old pot is small. An additional indicator is that the roots of the alocacia braid the earth's clod, and sometimes even begin to stick out of the drainage hole. On average, transplant is needed once a year.

Pots should be chosen high and narrow from ceramics or plastic, the size is selected only a few centimeters more than the previous pot.

Board

Alocasia juice, like many aroids, is toxic. Of course, it will not lead to death or severe poisoning, but a burn is guaranteed when it hits the skin or mucous membranes. Therefore, all work on care, transplanting and cutting the plant should be done in gloves and beware of splashing juice into the eyes.

Propagation

Alocasia propagates in many ways.

1. Seeds. They should be sown immediately after harvesting in fertile soil to a shallow depth, regularly sprinkled and maintained at a temperature of about 23-24 degrees. Seedlings appear from a few days to two or three weeks.
2. Rhizomes. If necessary, one rhizome can be divided into several parts, sprinkling the place with a charcoal cut or letting it dry out on its own.
3. Tubers. Maybe in the spring. You can transplant seedlings when at least one leaf appears.
4. Cuttings. For reproduction, it is necessary to choose large healthy leaves, cut them with a sharp knife at an angle of 45 degrees and process the cutoff site with growth stimulators.

Possible diseases and problems

Most diseases are associated with improper care and are treated, respectively, by improving the conditions of the plant at home.

1. Slow growth is usually associated with a shortage of nitrogen compounds in the soil, the situation can be corrected by regular feeding.
2. Sluggish and drying leaves may indicate insufficient watering. However, if the liquid is a plant sufficient, and similar symptoms are observed, then this indicates water with a large number of impurities. In this situation, it is better to change the soil, and sprinkle the alocacia with filtered or at least settled water.
3. Pale leaves are a sign that the plant has little light. And dark spots on them mean that the alocasia is in drafts or subjected to sharp temperature changes during the day.
4. The rotting of the whole plant or some part of it indicates an excessively dense soil, as a result of which the disease spreading for many plants - root rot - develops. Alocasia should be removed from the pot completely, remove decayed areas, handle the sections with fondozol, and subsequently regularly and thoroughly loosen the soil in the pot. Even if the plant has been brought to such a state that all the leaves perished, then with a relatively good condition of the root system, it has a good chance of surviving, provided it is of high quality.
5. Pests are most often caused by excessively dry soil. With a small damage to the plant, it is necessary to normalize the watering, and wipe the leaves with soapy water, with a large number of pests, you can not do without special pesticides.

With normal care, new leaves on alocacia grow larger than the previous ones, the plant throws out the tubers in spring and sometimes blooms. Small young leaves speak of insufficient nutrition of the plant.

Because of the difficult conditions of detention, it is often the case that Alocasia is already sold in a weakened morbid state, and the probability that it will be cured at home is small. Therefore, acquiring alocasia is only when it is uniquely healthy, when the plant has a minimum of 3-4 large leaves. Immediately after purchase, the flower should be transplanted into a pot with fresh soil, it is advisable not only to shake the old soil off the roots, but even to wash it off and carefully observe all the care recommendations.

Read the article: monster care