Hidden Roots

🌿 𝗦𝗢, 𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗡 𝗗𝗢𝗘𝗦 𝗜𝗧 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗣 𝗕𝗘𝗜𝗡𝗚 “𝗡𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗟”?

Alocasias naturally shed older leaves. 🍂 As a leaf ages, the plant can reabsorb useful nutrients from it before eventually letting it go. An occasional older leaf yellowing and dying is completely normal.

But if your Alocasia 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗟𝗬 loses an older leaf every time a new one appears — and its overall leaf count never increases — I wouldn’t automatically dismiss it as “just an Alocasia thing.” 👀

A plant can only maintain the foliage its current conditions and resources can support. 🌱

☀️ 𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 — insufficient light means less energy available to support a larger canopy.

🌱 𝗥𝗢𝗢𝗧 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗟𝗧𝗛 — a compromised or undersized root system may struggle to supply enough water and nutrients to all of the foliage.

💧 𝗪𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 — repeated drought stress or chronically wet roots can both contribute to premature leaf decline.

🧪 𝗡𝗨𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 — Alocasias are active feeders. Nutrient deficiencies or an inadequate feeding routine can limit sustained growth.

🌡️ 𝗘𝗡𝗩𝗜𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 — temperature changes, acclimation, repotting and other stresses can temporarily cause a plant to prioritize newer growth over older foliage.

And 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗬 matters too. A small corm or juvenile plant simply cannot support the same number of leaves as a well-established plant with a substantial root system.

🌿 One old leaf fading occasionally? Normal. ✅
Repeatedly gaining one and losing one without progressing? That’s when I start looking at the growing conditions instead of blaming the Alocasia. 🔎

How does yours behave — does it steadily increase its leaf count, or does it seem stuck in a constant replacement cycle? 👇

🌿💗 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆, 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 “𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱.” 😂

I started selling her corms as coming from a 𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿-𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁 because… well, that’s exactly what she looked like at the time. 🤷‍♀️🌱

And then she pushed out 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 leaf. 💗✨

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗻 — 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 — 𝗼𝗳 𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 🌿

One leaf doesn’t always tell you what the next one will look like. 👀

A plant can produce several leaves with very little variegation… and then suddenly surprise you with a much more dramatic one. 🌱➡️💗

And the same goes for her corms.

𝗕𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿-𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆’𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗹𝗼𝘄-𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱. 🌱✨

Each one can develop differently as it grows.

Variegation can shift from leaf to leaf, and sometimes all you can do is give the plant good conditions and 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁. 👀🌿

Apparently, this one decided to 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 💅😂💗

💬 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗮 𝘀𝘂𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗪𝗔𝗬 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱?

👀 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗪𝗘 𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗣𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗔𝗟𝗢𝗖𝗔𝗦𝗜𝗔 𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗦 𝗕𝗬 𝗣𝗘𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗠… 𝗢𝗥 𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚? 🌱

I started peeling mine after seeing other growers do it, with the idea that removing the outer layer would help them 𝗥𝗢𝗢𝗧 & 𝗦𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗙𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥. 🌱⚡

But after propagating them both ways, 𝗜 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻’𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱. 🤷‍♀️

What I did reconsider was the 𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗞. ⚠️

That outer layer provides 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 🛡️ to the tissue underneath. Peeling or scraping can accidentally damage the corm — and 𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲 + 𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗺, 𝗺𝗼𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 can create an unnecessary opportunity for 𝗥𝗢𝗧. 🦠

If a loose piece comes off naturally, fine. 👍 But I no longer intentionally peel or scrape healthy corms.

🌱 𝗦𝗔𝗠𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗨𝗟𝗧𝗦. 𝗟𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘.

So, I’m curious… 👀

👇 𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗣𝗘𝗘𝗟 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗔𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗩𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗠 𝗔𝗟𝗢𝗡𝗘?

🍂 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗔𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗳!

Alocasias naturally shed older leaves as they grow. If an 𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿, 𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗳 is slowly yellowing while the newer growth looks healthy, it may simply be 𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗳 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿. 🌿

And that dying leaf isn’t useless yet. 👀

During natural leaf senescence, the plant can 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 from the aging leaf and reuse them elsewhere. ♻️🌱

🍂 𝗦𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗼 𝗜 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁?

I let it finish yellowing and wait until it’s fully spent and 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗹𝗹. If it’s still firmly attached, I leave it alone.

🐛 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻? 𝗣𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀.

If the declining leaf is actively infested and could help pests spread, 𝗜’𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 to protect the healthy foliage.

⚠️ 𝗔𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗪𝗛𝗜𝗖𝗛 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴.

One older, lower leaf gradually fading can be normal. But 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲𝘀, 𝗺𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲𝘀, 𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲 can point to something else — roots, watering, pests, nutrition, or environmental stress.

🌿 𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲. 💚

Do you cut yellow leaves right away, or let your Alocasia decide when it’s done? 👀👇🏼

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𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗶𝘅 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘁. 🌱

You can have the right ingredients and the perfect ratio, but 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗹𝘆 or 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 can reduce the oxygen around the roots.

So, 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘁?

One of my favorite signs is 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗵 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝘁 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵. 🤍 With clear nursery pots, you can actually watch new roots appear and explore their new substrate — sometimes 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗶𝗹.

🌿 𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀 𝗜 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴:
• Fresh white or light-colored roots
• New root tips appearing along the pot
• Firm, healthy leaves
• New growth once the plant has settled in

Remember: 𝗮 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗥𝗼𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘅𝘆𝗴𝗲𝗻, 𝘁𝗼𝗼. Give them the right environment to breathe, grow, and thrive.

And when those beautiful fresh roots start showing up? 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘁𝘆 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗹𝘆. 🌱

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘁? 👇

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝗴 𝗜’𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀. 😂🐞🌿

Ladybugs may look harmless and cute 🐞❤️, but they’re actually 𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀. Depending on the species, they feed on aphids, scale insects, mealybugs, mites, whiteflies and other small, soft-bodied pests. 🌿🪲

And the really interesting part? 👀 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘃𝗮𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗼 — 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀. They look nothing like the familiar red ladybug. In fact, they look more like tiny black-and-orange alligators. 🐊😂

So if you ever spot one outside among your plants, that strange-looking little creature may actually be busy hunting pests. 🌱🐞

𝗡𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗽𝗲𝘀𝘁-𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘂𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀. 🌿💚

And this little one showed up completely by accident — landed on my Variegated Frydek 🐞🌱 and gave me the perfect excuse to talk about beneficial bugs. 💚

𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝘂𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀? 🐞🌿👀 Tell me about your experience in the comments! 👇

𝗜𝗧’𝗦 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗔𝗟𝗪𝗔𝗬𝗦 𝗣𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗦 — 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝟮 🌿

This Alocasia had 𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀 (because apparently that’s part of being an Alocasia 🙄)… so I treated her with insecticidal soap a couple of times.

The mites were gone… but then 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴. 👀

🍃 Every new leaf unfurls 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝘆.

🔍 No visible pests.
🤔 Yet these pale, damaged patches start appearing afterward.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲? 𝗣𝗵𝘆𝘁𝗼𝘁𝗼𝘅𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗼𝗮𝗽.

I didn't rinse the remaining soap residue from the leaves and stems after treatment. Repeated applications + residue sitting on sensitive foliage may have contributed to the damage.

💦 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼: Rinse the plant thoroughly with clean water, stop spraying for now, and watch the next new leaf.

The old damage won't disappear, but hopefully the new growth stays clean. 🌱

𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗳 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻 — 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘁𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲. 🌿

📌 𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 — 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘁 𝗺𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗳 𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲! 🌿

𝗠𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗹𝘆𝗻 𝗔𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗮 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 “𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝗻, 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁” 𝗰𝘆𝗰𝗹𝗲. 🌿💛✨

She was growing in Perlite + Stratum and doing okay, but she never seemed to hold more than a couple of leaves at a time. 🍃

I know some growers have great success with Jacklyns in Perlite + Stratum. 🌱 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵, 𝘀𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗻𝗸𝘆 𝗺𝗶𝘅 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗮 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲. 🪴

And now… 𝗙𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲𝘀 — 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗲’𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀. 🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿

𝗦𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁. 𝗗𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗽. 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁. 👀✨

Sometimes the best substrate isn’t the one that should work best — it’s the one that works best in your conditions.

Can’t wait to share her corms with you! 🌱💛

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗹𝘆𝗻 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻? 👇🌿 I’d love to hear what’s working for yours!

Want the chunky mix recipe? Let me know in the comments and I’ll share it. 💚

𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹… 𝗜 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝘄𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲. 👀🌿

The mother Dragon Scale Mint has been growing in 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲 + 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗺, and she’s done really well in it — but one of her corms decided to take things a little further.

𝗦𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

That’s one of my favourite things about growing Alocasias — you never really know what each one is going to give you until those leaves start coming in.

And this one? Definitely outshone its mother. 😅

𝗠𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗺 — 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲? 👀

🌿 𝗔𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲.

📍 Local pickup available in Toronto.
📦 Shipping across Canada available at the buyer’s expense.

🐜 𝗧𝗶𝗻𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝗴𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗿? 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘆𝗲𝘁. 🌱

If you notice tiny dark bugs crawling or floating around your self-watering reservoir or corm propagation container, there's a good chance you're looking at springtails — not thrips.

💧 Springtails love moisture. Reservoirs, moist substrate, moss and propagation containers can be perfect environments for them. They mainly feed on fungi, algae, biofilm and decaying organic matter rather than healthy plant tissue.

👆 Not sure? Give the container a gentle tap. If those little bugs suddenly jump, that's a very good clue they're springtails. Their ability to spring away is exactly how they got their name.

🍃 Thrips behave differently. They feed on plant tissue, so you'll usually be looking for them — and their damage — on the foliage, particularly tender new growth and the undersides of leaves.

An occasional thrips could end up in a reservoir or substrate, but a population of tiny bugs living around the water is much more likely to be springtails.

💚 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗲𝘀𝘁. Before reaching for a treatment, figure out who you're dealing with first.

👇 Have you ever mistaken springtails for thrips?