He likes his soil moist, so check him weekly and water if the top two inches of soil feel dry. Water less in winter.
A nice bright room is his ideal home. Best not to put him right next to a window as he doesn’t love direct sun.
He likes a lot of moisture in the air. He’ll love living in a bathroom or you can mist his leaves every few days.
BOTANICAL NAME
Alocasia calidora
NICKNAME
Alocasia pink dragon; Elephant’s ear
PLANT TYPE
Evergreen; indoor
AIR PURIFYING?
Yes
PLANT HEIGHT (INCLUDING POT)
70-80cm
PET/BABY SAFE?
Toxic if consumed
NURSERY POT SIZE
27cm
In the wild, alocasia pink dragon, or alocasia calidora, grows across many parts of Asia, particularly Borneo. The shape of its big leaves earned it the nickname ‘elephant’s ear’. Left to its own devices, it can grow much taller than an elephant - as much as 4 metres. As an indoor plant it won’t grow taller than about a metre, and will take a while to reach that.
There are over 79 varieties of alocasia. What marks this one out are its soft pink stems. A great way to add a bit of subtle colour to your urban jungle. It would look fantastic arranged with some of our other alocasia, like stripy Zabrina or round-leafed Esme. They all like the same conditions.
It enjoys a warm moist atmosphere that reminds it of home. Nice moist (but not soggy) soil, bright light (but not direct sun) and lots of moisture in the air and it will be happy as can be. It also benefits from a feed once per month in spring and summer.
Did you know?
Alocasia calidora has been grown as food for over 28,000 years (it requires special treatment to make it edible, so definitely do not eat it).
From £60.00
From £4.00
From £10.00
From £10.00
£24.00
Fits pots 12.5-14.5cm
£24.00
Fits pots 12.5-14.5cm
From £25.00
From £38.00
From £10.00
£28.00
Fits pots 20-25cm
£65.00
Fits pots 22-27cm
From £9.00
From £14.00
From £4.00
