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I finally stopped treating my Alocasia like a normal houseplant after 2 years of brown leaves
I had this big Alocasia Polly that kept dropping leaves no matter what I did. Watering schedule was perfect, soil seemed fine, but every new leaf would come out smaller and then go brown. Then I talked to a guy at a plant swap last month who asked if I was giving it a rest period. I had NO idea these things need a dormancy cycle in winter with less water and cooler temps. I was basically drowning it during its natural sleep time. Now I let it go nearly dry in December and January and the new spring leaves are actually staying green. Anyone else miss the dormancy memo for their tropical plants?
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karenh5617d ago
That "dormancy" advice gets thrown around a lot, but I've kept my Alocasia growing year-round under grow lights without any rest period and it's thriving with huge leaves. A drop in temperature and light is usually the real cause of brown leaves, not lack of a winter nap.
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simonp7617d ago
People get weirdly defensive about their grow lights and act like everyone else is doing it wrong. The dormancy thing is real for plants sitting in a normal house with natural winter light dropping off. Sure you can trick them with artificial lights but that's not how most people keep houseplants. Brown leaves are the plant telling you something, not just random bad luck.
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