Detailed Guide to Propagating Alocasia macrorrhizos by Cuttings

1. Cutting time: For Alocasia macrorrhizos, trunk cuttings can be done in spring, summer, or autumn.

2. Cut the trunk at about 5 cm above the soil surface at the base of the plant.

3. The cut old stem can be cut into segments about 15 cm long, left in a shaded place to air-dry for half a day, and then inserted into sandy loam for cultivation.

4. During the cultivation of the old plant, because the environment is shady and humid, or because the leaves are misted every morning and evening in summer and autumn, a few new shoots occasionally sprout on the old stem, with many aerial roots attached; these can be broken off at the junction between the offset and the mother plant and potted up for growing.

Precautions

1. For the section still in a growing state, cut off all fully formed leaves, then pot it up directly as a single plant; cultivation and cutting proceed simultaneously, and after two months of growing it can become a well-formed plant with large leaves, compact branching, and a short, sturdy, vigorous habit, placed indoors it has a certain elegant charm.

2. During cutting, keep the substrate (6 parts sand : 4 parts garden soil) moist, and at the same time increase air humidity; in about 7-10 days many thick roots will grow.

I believe everyone now has a general understanding of how to propagate Alocasia macrorrhizos, so you can try propagating it! After propagation comes daily care, so what common problems do we encounter during daily care and how should we deal with them?

How to Propagate Alocasia macrorrhizos: Propagation Methods for Alocasia macrorrhizos

How to propagate Alocasia macrorrhizos? Alocasia macrorrhizos generally has 4 propagation methods: cutting, sowing, division, and root division. Below, the editor introduces the propagation methods for Alocasia macrorrhizos in detail.

1. Division propagation of Alocasia macrorrhizos

Alocasia macrorrhizos is a plant that is relatively easy to propagate. Every summer and autumn, the tubers sprout small Alocasia macrorrhizos with leaves. When new shoots grow, division can be carried out along with repotting and soil changing. But note that the divided shoots must not be too small; when they have grown to about 7 or 8 cm they can be transplanted. In the growing season, many young seedlings often emerge from the base of Alocasia macrorrhizos; when they have grown to 3-4 true leaves, they can be dug out and planted as new plants.

2. Cutting propagation of Alocasia macrorrhizos

Cutting propagation of Alocasia macrorrhizos is suitable in all three seasons of spring, summer, and autumn. Cut a stem segment or terminal bud of about 10 cm as a cutting, plant it directly in the pot soil or insert it in a cutting bed, water appropriately, and it can become a new plant. During cutting, keep the substrate (6 parts sand : 4 parts garden soil) moist, and at the same time increase air humidity; in about 7-10 days many thick roots will grow. During the cultivation of the old plant, because the environment is shady and humid, or because the leaves are misted every morning and evening in summer and autumn, a few new shoots occasionally sprout on the old stem, with many aerial roots attached; these can be broken off at the junction between the offset and the mother plant and potted up for growing.

3. Seed propagation of Alocasia macrorrhizos

When the fruit ripens after autumn, harvest the orange-red seeds; remove the red flesh of the Alocasia macrorrhizos fruit to obtain the seeds. Sow immediately after harvesting, or dry and store them, then sow after spring the following year. When planting, open-field drilling or dibbling can be used; with appropriate watering and shading, they can be made to germinate.

4. Root division propagation of Alocasia macrorrhizos

Root division propagation of Alocasia macrorrhizos is very simple; just dig out and replant the small bulbs that naturally split off from the roots of Alocasia macrorrhizos.

How to Grow Alocasia macrorrhizos: Cultivation and Propagation Methods for Alocasia macrorrhizos

How to grow Alocasia macrorrhizos: first understand the habits of Alocasia macrorrhizos. It likes warmth, grows rapidly above 25°C, and the most suitable temperature for growth is 25—30C. It has a certain cold resistance; as long as the wintering temperature is maintained above 2°C, it is fine. Placing Alocasia macrorrhizos indoors to purify the air is indeed a good choice. Alocasia macrorrhizos is a very common home-grown green potted plant, but because it is a tropical plant, it generally does not bloom in the north. However, if the temperature and other conditions at home are suitable, it will also bloom.

How to Grow Alocasia macrorrhizos

Watering

Watering Alocasia macrorrhizos should be determined comprehensively according to the size of your pot, ventilation, air humidity, and soil permeability. You cannot water a certain number of times just because someone else says so, because the care environment of every household is different, so you cannot copy it exactly. But you can water as appropriate through your own observation. For small pots, water when the pot soil is dry, and make sure water can drain out from the bottom of the pot. For large deep pots, when the surface of the pot soil is dry, you can dig open the surface soil to look at the color (no need to say how to distinguish dry soil from wet soil). If the soil below is moist or damp, then there is no need to water. Generally speaking, for that kind of deep pot, watering once can last half a month or even a month without problems. In addition, summers are hot and evaporation is high, so in the morning and evening spray a little water around Alocasia macrorrhizos to maintain humidity.

Light

Alocasia macrorrhizos likes a warm, humid environment with slight shading, is shade-tolerant, and can also grow in a shaded indoor environment. But during the flowering period it needs plenty of sunlight, ensuring 3—5 hours of light per day, otherwise the spathe will be greenish, affecting quality.

Soil

Although Alocasia macrorrhizos does not have very high requirements for soil, if ordinary garden soil or pure sandy soil is used, growth will be very slow. It is best to use fertile, breathable nutrient soil (such as a three-in-one mix, perlite : vermiculite : peat soil 1:1:1), and an appropriate amount of sand can be mixed into the soil.

Temperature

Alocasia macrorrhizos can only grow well in an environment not lower than 18°C. If the temperature is lower than 18°C, Alocasia macrorrhizos will enter a dormant state and stop growing. Alocasia macrorrhizos is not strongly cold-resistant, and should be moved into a greenhouse in mid-October. In summer, under shaded conditions, it needs frequent spraying to cool down and maintain moisture.

Fertilizing

Alocasia macrorrhizos likes fertilizer, and should be fertilized every month. Especially in summer, when it grows rapidly and has a high nutrient demand, every 15-20 days alternately apply once a liquid fertilizer such as decomposed soybean cake water and a compound fertilizer (it likes nitrogen fertilizer); otherwise it is easy to cause the lower part of the stem to become bare, with yellow leaves or smaller leaves.

Apply a 2% ferrous sulfate solution about once every 20 days, which can make Alocasia macrorrhizos leaves larger, thicker, and greener. When Alocasia macrorrhizos has grown to a size suitable for placement at home, spray the whole plant with a 2% paclobutrazol solution; the plant will not only be small and exquisite, but also have thick leaves and higher ornamental value.

Pests and Diseases

The most common pests and diseases of Alocasia macrorrhizos are red spider mites and aphids. The symptoms are yellowing leaves, white spots on the surface, a weak plant, and webbing on the leaves. For treatment, you can wipe the leaves clean with a rag dipped in mild soapy water, cleaning both the back and the front, then rinse with clean water. For large pots, spray cleaning can be used, once every two or three days, persisting continuously for a week, and the effect will be fairly obvious.

Pruning

Yellow leaves should be cut off at any time. Because the leaf stalks are long, when moving, placing, and caring for the plant, avoid breaking the leaf stalks. If broken, cut them off promptly.

Repotting: Repot once every 1-2 years. It does not have high requirements for soil, but likes fertile, loose, well-drained sandy loam. The substrate can be prepared from materials such as leaf mold, garden soil, peat soil, and river sand. If sufficient base fertilizer is applied, the leaves can grow large and thick. Because the leaves are large but few in number and the leaf stalks are long, when moving the plant and caring for it, avoid damaging the leaves, otherwise the ornamental value will be reduced.

Alocasia macrorrhizos Care: Hydroponic Techniques

1. Remove the yellow leaves and rotten roots of Alocasia macrorrhizos. If the tuber has no roots, place it in a shaded place to air-dry for 2-3 days before hydroponic growing.

2. After planting, pour in clean water to submerge 2/3 of the root system, change the clean water once every 2-3 days, and new roots can grow after 3 days. After 3 weeks, switch to nutrient solution for care, changing the nutrient solution about once every 4 weeks.

3. Every time you change the water or nutrient solution, rinse the tuber and the mucus on the tuber with clean water, and remove the rotten roots.

Propagation of Alocasia macrorrhizos: Sowing, Cutting, Division

1. Sowing: Wild plants often bear seeds. Sow in spring; the suitable temperature for germination is 25-28°C, and germination occurs 20-25 days after sowing.

2. Cutting: Carry out in April. Cut the thick stem into stem segments about 10 cm long with

several buds as cuttings. After drying slightly, insert them obliquely or lay them flat in the seedbed; when laid flat, the depth should be just enough to bury the stem segment. The cuttings can also be planted directly in pots. After inserting, keep the substrate moist and the ambient temperature at 25-2TC, and after 4-5 weeks they can take root and survive.

3. Division: Potted plants easily produce many small offsets at the base, and in April division can be carried out along with

repotting. After separating the small offsets from the mother plant, plant them separately. Division is best carried out when the temperature reaches 20C or higher. On the basis of keeping the substrate moist, new buds can sprout in about 20 days.