Alocasia Portodora

PLANT INFO

If you think it looks big now, you should see Upright elephant ear, or Alocasia portodora, in the wild. It can grow as tall as 4 metres in its natural habitat in South-East Asia. It’s obviously much smaller than that in a domestic setting, but it still commands a lot of space.

Unlike a lot of other alocasia, this species’ leaves don’t flop. They keep pointing magnificently toward the sky, hence the name. To keep it healthy, keep its soil consistently moist (but not soggy), give it as much light as you can and try not to let it get too cold. If it gets a bit cold in winter, it may lose some leaves. Don’t worry. This is just its way of preserving energy. It will grow back with new vigour in spring.