Elephant ears bred for the windowsill: the white-veined ‘African Mask’, silver-blue ‘Silver Dragon’ and the compact ‘Low Rider’ and ‘Scalprum’ — the showiest foliage on the bench, with a care routine that rewards a little attention.
No houseplant looks like an alocasia. The arrow-shaped, deeply veined leaves stand on stiff stems like a set of shields, and a single plant does the work of a bouquet. The catch is that these are true tropicals: they want more humidity and steadier moisture than a Queen Creek house provides by default, and they take a winter rest that alarms new owners. Meet those two needs and they are not difficult — just less forgiving than a pothos.
We commonly carry four: ‘African Mask’ (Alocasia × amazonica) with glossy near-black leaves and bold white veins, ‘Silver Dragon’ (A. baginda) with pale, silvered, textured leaves on a small plant, and the compact hybrids ‘Low Rider’ and ‘Scalprum’. The rest of the bench is on our Houseplants page.
These are the alocasia varieties we commonly carry. Availability changes week to week and season to season, so call (480) 987-3308 or stop in to see what’s on the bench today.
A compact hybrid with broad, dark, glossy leaves held low and wide on short stems — full-sized alocasia drama at coffee-table scale. Same humidity and moisture routine as ‘African Mask’.
Narrow, blade-shaped leaves with a metallic sheen and pronounced veining on a small, upright plant. A collector form that stays compact.
Alocasia baginda — small, thick, heavily textured leaves in silver-green with dark veins, like dragon scales. Stays under a foot tall, a plant for a bright shelf or a terrarium. Slightly more tolerant of drying out than the thin-leaved types.
The classic: arrowhead leaves in deep glossy green with contrasting white veins and scalloped, dark edges. Reaches about two feet in a pot. Bright indirect light and even moisture; it will drop leaves in a cold, dry room and regrow in spring.
Looking for one that isn’t listed? Ask — we can usually suggest a close match or tell you when it tends to come around.
The care tag was written somewhere else. This is the Queen Creek version.
Alocasias want bright indirect light — close to an east window, or a south window behind a sheer. Too dim and they stretch and stop producing leaves; direct afternoon sun through Arizona glass burns the thin leaves in hours. A bright bathroom or kitchen window is often the best spot in the house, because it solves the humidity problem at the same time.
Keep the mix lightly, evenly moist in the growing season: water when the top inch is dry, which is every four to six days in summer indoors. Use a chunky, well-draining mix in a pot with a hole so “moist” never becomes “wet” — the tuber rots in standing water. Filtered or rain water avoids the leaf-edge burn our hard tap water causes.
Spider mites are the alocasia pest in Arizona, and dry winter air is when they arrive. Rinse the undersides of the leaves in the shower every few weeks, look for fine webbing at the leaf joints, and treat early with insecticidal soap or neem. Higher humidity is itself the best prevention.
Our indoor air runs 15–25 percent humidity most of the year, and alocasias want twice that. Group them with other plants, stand the pot on a tray of wet pebbles, or run a small humidifier nearby; keep them well away from air-conditioning and heater vents. Brown, crisping leaf edges are the plant telling you the air is too dry.
As days shorten, most alocasias drop leaves and may die back to the soil. That is dormancy. Cut back watering to every two or three weeks, keep the pot warm and out of drafts, and wait; new leaves push up in March or April. Do not repot or fertilize a dormant plant.
Feed a balanced liquid fertilizer at half strength every three or four weeks from March through September, nothing in dormancy. Alocasias are toxic to cats, dogs and people if chewed. Outdoors they want full shade and only in the mild months; summer heat, dry wind and any frost damage them quickly, so most stay inside year-round here.
Yellowing, spots, no new growth — snap a photo of the plant and its window and we’ll diagnose it at the bench. Advice is free.
We stock indoor potting mix, orchid bark and perlite for the chunky blends aroids and epiphytes want, balanced houseplant fertilizers, insecticidal soap and neem for the usual mealybug and mite visits, and moss poles, hoops and saucers. The pottery yard has terracotta, glazed and lightweight pots from 4-inch up, plus hanging baskets and cache pots.
In fall and winter it is dormancy — normal, and it regrows in spring; water less and wait. In the growing season it is usually dry air, cold drafts from a vent, or roots kept too wet. Check where it sits and how fast the soil is drying.
Around 50 percent or more, double what an Arizona house provides. A pebble tray, grouping plants, a humidifier or a bright bathroom window all help. Keep it out of the airflow from vents.
Yes. Leaves and stems contain calcium oxalate crystals that burn the mouth and cause drooling and vomiting if chewed. Keep them out of reach of cats, dogs and small children.
When the top inch of mix is dry — every four to six days in summer indoors, every two to three weeks when the plant is dormant in winter. Use a well-draining mix so the tuber never sits in water, and filtered water if you can.
Dry air is the usual cause, sometimes combined with salts from hard tap water. Raise the humidity, move the plant away from vents, and flush the pot with plenty of water every couple of months or switch to filtered water.
Only in full shade during the mild months, and even then the dry wind is hard on it. It has no frost tolerance and dislikes our summer heat. Treat it as an indoor plant and give it a bright, humid room.
Alocasia live on the houseplant bench; any staff member can point you to them. Locally owned, and a short drive from San Tan Valley, Gilbert, Chandler and Mesa.