Alocasia Dark Star
Alocasia Dark Star features big, beautiful, heart-shaped emerald-green leaves on upright stems. Both the stems and veins of each leaf are a contrasting dark purple to the green, especially as they age. It is a cross between four different elephant ear varieties, selected with the goal of creating a hybrid that has larger leaves and can withstand cooler temperatures. In prime conditions, it can reach over 6 ft. high with leaves up to 5 ft. wide! Alocasia is toxic to both people and animals, so they are not to be ingested.
They should not be in a position to see the sun directly, although early morning or late evening sun is fine. Filtered sunlight through a sheer curtain is best and most homes are comprised primarily of indirect sunlight. The best spot for them is where they do not see the sun during the majority of the day but still get bright, indirect light.
They will thrive in bright light, but also can tolerate medium light. A good medium-light place in your home would be in the middle of a room that has a regular size window. They can be placed anywhere between the middle of the room and the window. Remember that plants will grow based on how much light they receive.
They need to be watered when the top half of the soil is dry to the touch. That usually takes about 1 week in an average home environment. It will vary depending on the time of year, your environment and lighting conditions, but it's always safer to underwater or give the soil a check before you water again.
They like a high humidity environment, give them a mist daily or as often as possible. Alternatively, you can put them around a humidifier. Although they won't die if they don't receive enough humidity, their leaves may have some dry, crunchy, or yellow edges.
During the plant’s dormancy in the winter months, where its growth slows significantly and it is prone to leaf loss, move it to somewhere warm and bright, while reducing your watering until it starts growing again in spring. If it has become root bound, repot the plant in the spring by planting it into a pot one size up.
The plant comes with a default nursery pot. The nursery pot is usually 0.5" - 1" smaller than stated to fit into the same size decorative pot. Washable Paper Planter Bags are sold separately.
As with all living things, no two plants are alike. There is some natural variation in size, shape, and characteristics. We make every effort to bring you a plant that as closely as possible matches the plant as it appears on our website, in the size you have chosen, and have a good potential to happily grow in your home.
