Alocasia amazonica (African mask)

Does anyone know why my African mask started going yellow and ended up breaking? It was'nt in full sun, and compost was kept moist like instructed. I have heard they are quite hard to keep as house plant. :confused:

 

Hi T O I found a bit of information on a website don't know if its any help ,never grown one myself
Growing Information

Temp: below 45�°F plant may go dormant
Light: 65%-73% shade, likes high light, but will do reasonably well in 80% shade
Soil: aerated mix containing bark, coarse perlite and peat moss
Mature Height: 3-3 �½'
Pot Size: 8-14"
Hardiness: Zone 9
Major Pests: Mites
(Control: Avid, Pentac, and Kelthane)
Diseases: Alternaria, Botrytis Blight, Anthractnose, Phytophthora/Pythium Rot, Rhizoctonia Root and Stem Rot, and Xanthomonas Blight
Origin: South East Asia

Amazonica is an enduring favorite that has been around for a long time. It is a watsoniana x sanderiana. It typically has leaves 12-24" long by 6-11" wide. The upper surface of the leaf is dark green and the midrib is typically a lime-white. The primary lateral veins are surrounded by white-silver zones and some clones have an extensive network of silver veinlets between the primary lateral veins. The lower surface is typically matte purple with a green-white midrib and major lateral veins. Between the laterals on the lower surface the veinlets are pale green-white. The petiole is typically 15" long and is green with dull brown variegation in the lower half. The corms are white with a tint of very pale pink.

I have to add that this is usually the dormant season for alocasias and colocasias, and while I wouldn't totally withhold water, you might want to cut back on watering some, especially since it appears your plant is not in active growth. Don't fertilize now. Wait until it begins active growth in spring. You might want to put the plant outside once the night temperatures are in the 60's, in shade. I think Amazonicas like more shade than some alocasias. I have macrorhiza, wentii, and plumbea nigra, and they can take a bit more light than Amazonica, IMO.

Anyway, for it to be dormant now sounds pretty normal to me. It may be hardy outside in your zone, but I wouldn't try that now. The bumps you noted, to me, are just part of the tuber. My tubers are kind of bumpy right at the bottom where they enter the soil, so I don't think that is unusual either. Humidity could be an issue, and you may have to deal with spider mites, a common ailment for alocasias in a dry indoor environment. Do you have a cool mist humidifier on it, or do you set the plant on a saucer of rocks (saucer wider than the pot) with water in the saucer, but not enough where the water will reach the roots of the plant? I used to just run a cool mist humidifier on my indoor plants that like high humidity environment, and that seemed to work.

 

A few years ago Homebase were knocking out very ragged and somewhat overwatered plants of this very cheaply in early summer. I bought 3 for a couple of quid and planted them out in semi-shade in the border beneath the banana clumps. The first and almost immediate reaction was that they died down. Thinking that they had given up, I stuck a few New Guinea Impatiens in to fill up the space. Within a couple of weeks new spears pushed through and by late July the Alocasias had produced a very handsome canopy of leaves above the Impatiens.

The leaves weren't as large as they would have been if grown indoors, but they created a wonderful combination with the Imps until the return of cold weather at the end of October. I should have dug them up, but forgot and of course they rotted away during winter. I must keep an eye out for similar 'cheapies' this year and repeat the exercise.

They aren't remotely hardy anywhere in mainland Britain, but can cope out of doors during very warm weather if given a lightly shaded, sheltered spot well out of the wind. Those wonderfully coloured 'Angels Wings' (Caladium) can be similarly successful, but they must be very sheltered and kept out of direct sun.

 

Thanks Walnut, plant is in bin now ,new leaves were growing till it went funny. Seeing if it will propagate with leaf layering, or will have to buy new one! My colocasia esculentas do brilliant during the summer outside, and I have a big green alocasia in the house and that's doing fine.