I rescued some plants from an abandoned apartment in my development and HELP lol this is an alocasia, right? How do I save her? The leaves look beautiful even tho the root system is a mess. I’d say it’s been at least a week or two without water as well. TIA
Yes it’s an Alocasia. They can be very dramatic so know in advance that if you lose leaves (or the plant) it’s not your fault. If the soil is dry then I’d definitely water, though you never want to water them heavily in the evening (they hate that) so if it’s dried out I might give a small amount but definitely not a full watering before morning. Give it a thorough check for pests. These guys are absolute pest magnets, especially for spider mites and thrips. A good way to do that is to kind of hold it up to the light (like you would to check a dollar is real or w/e) and try to look through to leaves to see if there are dots or little rice-grain shapes that may be pests.
3 likes Thank you so much! I intentionally haven’t bought one because I know they’re so hard lol should I “lower” the stem back down into the soil when I repot? How much, if any, of that brown flakey dried stuff should I peel off?
0 likes I wouldn’t repot for at least a couple weeks but ideally more like a month. If you don’t see signs that it needs a repot then it’s up to you. If possible, isolate from your other plants for a couple weeks to watch for any signs of pests. You also don’t know what kind of light it was getting, so if you can I’d probably start a few feet from a window and move closer over time. They thrive with high light once they’re acclimated. If you do decide to repot, go with a very well-draining potting mix (or semi-hydro like leca or perlite if you feel ready for it but not necessary).
2 likes Oh, and no need to lower the stem in the pot, either. Honestly these guys are very prone to rotting so generally the fewer pieces exposed to bacteria in soil the better
1 like I should have shown what it actually looks like, but the reason I need to repot is because it’s fully leaning over ☹️ it’s a mess haha I made it look pretty
1 likeI would actually repot after a very short acclimating period because that soil looks extremely compact and dense, which makes me think it’s either hydrophobic or the plant is at risk for root rot
3 likes That’s exactly what I was thinking!
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Definitely repot, the current soil looks horrendous. use a chunky soil mix and water when the soil is dry
2 likes Thank you! There was no way I was leaving that nasty soil in my home LOL
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