Re: Alocasia 'Black Velvet'

From: Lester Kallus <lkallus at earthlink.net> on 1998.07.04 at 14:29:36(2410) Geoff, I purchased one of those black velvet alocasias about two years ago. I knew virtually nothing about alocasias at the time. Looking at them, I convinced myself that they needed loads of water and kept the soil soaking all the time. The plants did horribly so I watered them even more. They came close to dropping dead before it was pointed out that alocasias need to keep their roots somewhat dry and their air somewhat moist. Once I started doing that, they thrived and did great. Of course, taking them outside this spring into cold nights and rainy days didn't help; they're just beginning to recover now. Regardless, keeping their roots in an airy soil and keeping them warm and keeping the air moist would be my recommendation. Les +More 0 At 10:11 PM 7/3/98 -0500, you wrote: >Dear All, > >I just purchased a plant of a beautiful Alocasia (if you only knew how >difficult it is to find things like this in Britain!) labelled as Black >Velvet. It is quite small with lovely velvety, almost quilted dark green >leaves and silvery veins but flowering profusely even though it looks quite >young. Can anyone tell me anything about this cultivar? What is its parentage, >how large can it grow, any tips on growing etc? Any information will be >gratefully received. > >Best wishes, > >Geoffrey Kibby >http://members.aol.com/dgiscience >

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