Alocasia Silver Dragon

You might have seen the Mile Marker boards that parents create for their children – they highlight things like the height, weight, likes, and dislikes of their child at various stages of life. We at Nick’s Garden Center think Plant Parents should have something like this for their Plant Babies as well! Our Plant Parent Chalkboard Photos and blogs will provide you with an overview of what each plant needs in order to “grow up” happy and healthy!

With its silvery and dark green textured foliage, it’s no wonder that Alocasia Silver Dragon is a plant that is greatly prized by Plant Parents. This member of the Araceae family is not only beautiful, it’s also relatively easy to care for once you learn how to properly water it. Alocasia wants to be kept in bright light, but it is not as thirsty as most houseplants. This is due to the fact that its roots are rhizomes, which hold water in their bulb-shaped roots much like a succulent holds its water in its leaves.

Where other plants’ roots draw their water directly from the soil as it is needed, plants with rhizomes actually soak up the water in the soil all at once and the plant uses the water stored in the rhizomes as needed. However, rhizomes are (again, like succulents) very susceptible to root rot. For this reason, it’s important to let the soil completely dry out before giving the plant another drink. Try to keep Alocasia Silver Dragon’s leaves dry as well.

When watering houseplants, it’s important to allow the soil in the bottom of the pot to dry out. This is most easily done when the pot has proper drainage holes. Simply run water over the soil and allow it to run through the bottom of the pot. Once the plant has had a good drink, allow any remaining water to completely run out of the drainage hole. Never let your houseplants sit in pools of water as this can cause root rot and other problems. If your pot does not have good drainage, use a Moisture Meter to test the soil at the bottom of the pot. For the Alocasia Silver Dragon, you want the meter to read completely dry (remember, those rhizomes are storing water for the plant to use). Take care when watering plants in pots that have no drainage as it’s easy to add too much water. If this happens, tip the pot sideways and let extra water drain out, but try to avoid this altogether.

Alocasia Silver Dragon, or Alocasia Baginda, is not pet safe, but it is air cleaning. Keep this plant out of the reach of chewers – be they four legged or two legged as it is considered to be toxic. You won’t see flowers growing on Alocasia Silver Dragon, but it can grow to be a nice size at around 20 inches tall. Keep its silver and green heart shaped leaves happy with temperatures between 55 and 80 degrees, and keep its atmosphere as consistent as possible by keeping it away from vents, drafts, and cold or hot windows. As long as they are not over-watered, Alocasia should be fairly easy to take care of, but since it can be difficult to learn how to properly water a plant with rhizomes, we’re calling this one a good plant for Intermediate Plant Parents.

Happy Plant Parenting!