Alocasia Giant Taro

Large, striking leaves with gorgeous, green shades. The stems are lovely and upright and the leaf size will increase as the plant and pot sizes grow. Keep it happy and you will have years of love from this big beauty.

Outdoors in warmer climates they can be grown outdoors where they will reach an imposing size.

This larger pot size will create instant impact.

Commonly known as Giant Taro, Giant Elephant Ear or Upright Elephant Ear, it is a rainforest plant that originates from S.E. Asia, they love humidity, good drainage and bright, indirect light.

Size (HxW): 20-180cm x 20-180cm. Outdoors, in warm regions, they can grow much bigger.

See the Light: Strong, indirect indoor light. If you have to turn the lights on to read during the day it is too dark. Outdoors, morning, rather than afternoon sun is ideal, in too much light the leaves will scorch.

Water Needs: Average water requirements, water well, then allow the soil to almost dry out before watering again. In winter, you can pretty well just leave it to its own devices for weeks on end.

They are native to S.E. Asia and love a bit of humidity. To achieve this, you could place them over a plate with rocks and water, which will naturally form humidity around the plant. Or if you want to get very fancy and grow a few of these tropical treats, a humidifier is a good investment. In a well ventilated room a quick spritz of the leaves would help the humidity levels, this is for the warm seasons only, in cool weather it is likely to do more harm than good. Another option is to grow them in a terrarium.

In cool climates it may go dormant over winter, let them be (no food or water) until they start to shoot again. If you don’t want this to happen keep it in a nice warm spot and add some humidity (16-30C).

I will Survive: When potting on, choose a container with drainage holes, or be promise to be careful with watering - they don’t like to sit in boggy soils. Keep the leaves clean with a regular wipe – this will keep them looking good and growing strong.

Use a diluted liquid fertiliser every other month spring/summer. Keep them clear of cold draughty positions or they will sulk. They don’t mind being a bit pot bound, as required you can increase the pot size, do this gradually, spring is the best time for this.