---
title: "Finally took care of my alocasia elephant ear! Bought this guy…"
description: "Finally took care of my alocasia elephant ear! Bought this guy reluctantly from the clearance section, covered in tiny white pests (I suspected spidermites,…"
url: "https://getplanta.com/community/8YJLrBkOSo27kyNSisgUpA/wolquCjAl2oodRU7PACqfZ"
community: "Alocasia Aficionados"
author: "🎲Sunmoth🍡"
published: "2025-02-05T02:16:00.930079Z"
language: "en"
image: "https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/qkbc_2gBPBHMFgU2orEkZ8giKJ0_RmpdDso50TPqY50/NexvUEe9SXuXLztrmANn6w.webp?size=large"
---

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# Finally took care of my alocasia elephant ear! Bought this guy…

_Posted by 🎲Sunmoth🍡 on 2025-02-05_

Finally took care of my alocasia elephant ear! Bought this guy reluctantly from the clearance section, covered in tiny white pests (I suspected spidermites, because of what looked like little white webs in the leaf crevices), and with a lot of damaged leaves. Now after some acclimating time went to repot this guy and found out there were two of them in there! And a bunch of corms too! Sprayed thoroughly with insecticide, hoping they will recover and we'll be able to move them from quarantine to meet the rest of the plant fam:)🌿🪴🌱 (also, any tips for propagating alocasia corms in wet cotton wipes?? Is it better to do it in water or straight in soil ? I've had a lot of success with wet cotton wipes, but any advice would be amazing!! Thanks guys:)

![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/qkbc_2gBPBHMFgU2orEkZ8giKJ0_RmpdDso50TPqY50/NexvUEe9SXuXLztrmANn6w.webp?size=large)

## 10 comments

### c.cat commented on 2025-02-05

ive never seen anyone prop them in water, but i hear that fluval stratum, sphag moss, and perlite work well :)  
im curious as to how do you prop with the cotton wipes?

#### 🎲Sunmoth🍡 replied on 2025-02-05

I should try to maybe move them to those substrates once they germinate hopefully:) About cotton, I place the seeds or corms in this case between two wet cotton wipes and put them in a sealed little box near my lamp so that it's humid and warm. I've had everything from lemon seeds to chestnuts germinate like that:)

![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/qkbc_2gBPBHMFgU2orEkZ8giKJ0_RmpdDso50TPqY50/0uJmOZT-QfOL-O-X8e6i-Q.webp?size=large)

#### c.cat replied on 2025-02-05

oooh ok, a bit like the paper towel\& plastic baggie method, ty!

### WyldMagnolia commented on 2025-02-06

Those aren’t elephant ears. They something much nicer! Maybe Planta can help you out because I’m not sure. But that dark green coloring and the skinny leaves are not elephant ears. These are elephant ears.

![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/TSzCS3t3ANJyhmyGbLYAxEPWcvMfPNml_TuzVjL89Ak/kXhjLEQiQ_KlACx1c3jOiQ.webp?size=large)

#### WyldMagnolia replied on 2025-02-06

See how these look more like big elephant ears?

#### WyldMagnolia replied on 2025-02-06

Oh, and congrats on bringing the plant back to life! It’s beautiful!

#### 🎲Sunmoth🍡 replied on 2025-02-06

Oh wow! Thanks for telling me, I think planta has elephant ear logged in as these dark green guys with firm leaves.. Oh! It's called Alocasia Polly! How interesting:)

#### 🎲Sunmoth🍡 replied on 2025-02-06

And thank you! I'm still getting rid of it's pests, trying to figure out if it's spider mites or thrips, but I think both plants are going to make it:)

#### 🎲Sunmoth🍡 replied on 2025-02-06

Oh, it's actually even more complex than that - this is a mixed variety between Polly and Amazonian Elephant's ear, as far as I understand from Planta"s description

![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/qkbc_2gBPBHMFgU2orEkZ8giKJ0_RmpdDso50TPqY50/RCk8toJmTBiUzggIKE3KZA.webp?size=large)

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