Re: Alocasia culture

From: Aloe1023 at aol.com on 1999.11.22 at 04:29:59(3846) Hi Jean. Some Alocasias and Colocasias do like wet feet, just depends which ones. I find most like to be kept moist and not allowed to dry out very much. It's a dilemma growing these very tropical, warm natured plants in a cold winter climate like you have. Bringing them in the house to keep them warm gets them into dry, much less humid air than they like. I'm not sure even the most hardy would survive your winter outside in the ground. If your plants are small I would try to keep them growing rather than going dormant. Dropping back to a tiny tuber is a bit risky. But if they are larger then you can expose them to some cool temps and they will drop back to the bulb. They will want drier conditions then, too damp and the tubers will rot. Bringing them in the house in the dry air may send them into dormancy also, but not real sure what the effect will be. I've heard of folks keeping small ones in terrariums under lights to keep humidity high. Hope this helps... Questions are welcome. Russ.

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