Alocasia Frydek and dormancy/dividing

10 years ago

Hello:

I have always been fond of this houseplant but didn't even know what it was until recently. It has always gone dormant in winter and that's fine with me.

However, when it's warm, it grows from at least 4 different places in the pot, and it occurs to me that perhaps I ought to divide it.

Does anyone know how to do that? I searched here and saw pictures of "bulbils," but at least above ground, mine doesn't look like that. It has what look like tubers (2 or 3 of them) lying on top of the surface, and there are growing tips on the ends.

How do I know where to cut them apart?

When is the best time to do it?

Plus, these tuber things are sometimes barely connected to any roots, and in fact a huge one broke off a while back (I stuck it in a pot outside ... no news yet). Is that normal? Or was I supposed to bury these tuber-ish things?

Thanks!!!

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Comments (6)

grabmebymyhandle
10 years ago
Helps comin!
I'll get back to you real soon!

You don't really want to do anything for a few months so your in ok shape, just keep taking care of them as normal til then.
Need2SeeGreen 10 (SoCal)
Original Author
10 years ago
Excellent, thanks! Whenever you can get to it.

Come to think of it, I can't even remember what I do in the winter when it's not growing. Guess I'll keep watering, but maybe less often. Hmm. Wow, can't believe I forgot what to do so completely.
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Well, that's why I said when I posted that that "your mileage may vary",lol. Its hard to tell people exactly what to expect and how their plants "should" behave when your comditions are quite a bit different from theirs. I can only tell you my experience HERE where I live. Perhaps you can draw from it. If it helps you that's great, if not, you may have to rely on the experience of someone in your same zone. Alocasia, Colocasia and Xanthosoma grown outdoors in the ground, or in water or a bog situation here are very variable in their reaction to cooler temps. We are in zone 9, but barely. On average, we get a few "frosts" (defined by ME at MY HOUSE as nights where the temps are between 27-32F) and a few "freezes" defined again by ME as between 20-27F. Xanthosoma and colocasia grown in water (ponds, natural bogs) sometimes NEVER go dormant. They can stay up all winter, even through freezes to 25-32F here. Sometimes it takes temps in the 20-25F range to knock mine back. However, Xanthosoma and colocasia grown as purely terrestrial plants in the ground will begin to respond FIRST to the decrease in water that accompanies the onset of fall here (we typically have very dry winters)by producing less leaves and smaller leaves. They are also responding to the shorter days. Once the temps fall into the upper 40's/low 50's at night and stay there, some of the terrestrial colocasia will disappear. Some won't. I find it depends on where they are planted. Those planted under tree canopy get less winter sun and disappear. Those in full sun stay longer. Alocasias are variable in their response to cooler temps as well. I have several species planted in my yard and they all behave a little differently. The trunking forms of alocasia (culcullata, calidora, odora, portodora, sinuatis, etc) will maintain their foliage usually until it freezes off in the 20-32 range. The trunks, however, stay intact, and generally no action is needed to protect them in our winters. The non-trunking forms (macrorhizza, frydek, black stem, plumbea etc) act more like colocasias. They begin to respond to less water and less light well before they begin to respond to cold. By the time the temps are in the 40's and 50's, they have usually disappeared for the season. They are dormant UNDER the ground, and we either just ignore them or maybe mulch over them til spring, when they pop right out again. If I was going to try to bring a container of alocasia inside for winter, I would bring it in NOW and put it in front of my sunniest window, and water it once a week. If the conditions were to its liking, it would stay up and growing as a houseplant. If not, the leaves would die back, then I would put it in, maybe, the laundry room? til Spring.
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grabmebymyhandle
10 years ago
Ok...
So...
The big tubers, are tubers! They prefer to be mostly buried in rich fast draining soil. You should maybe save the one that popped off already, if it still exists.
In you unending season, anytime is fine to repot, best done when the plants semi dormant or dormant!
You won't need to cut anything at all, I use the hose to blast the soil free!
It's more gentle than ripping them apart...
What you will find will mostly be long succulent ropey white roots, with a few fine feeder roots, dark roots can be removed or left intact, dead roots should be removed...
You'll also find offset tubers in there too, if you saw my pic of them, you know what to look for, they will look like little nuts in the soil...
Split them off, just a touch will snap them, dirt thru the old soil, it may be FULL of them!
I'd plant them with the large tubers, it'll fill the pot quicker.
DONOT let the small offsets dry out!
The bug tubers can take a beating but the pups can't!
Easy on the water until the plant starts growin again...

Hope you see this, and it helps!
Need2SeeGreen 10 (SoCal)
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks so much for the advice!!!

I have a big backlog of stuff that I should have already gotten done -- Happy New Year to me! - but that's okay, I will get to this and I will let you know how it goes.

At a minimum, the poor thing deserves new dirt, and it would great if I could make some more plants to share too!

Thanks again! I will let you know how it goes.
Need2SeeGreen 10 (SoCal)
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks again for your help!

I had to come here and blab -- this year, it looked like it wasn't coming back!!! Just a week or so ago, I rooted with my fingers all through the pot and didn't find anything that looked promising. I was kind of bummed. Finally I had started to pay it some attention, and I had apparently killed it.

I guess the tuber that broke off last fall was the only one. I put it outside in a pot and it seems to have given up.

Last weekend though, I checked the inside, original pot again and 2 little pups are sprouting!!! Thank goodness. (I've been watering it every week or so through the winter/spring.)

So, I guess they won't be big enough for me to worry about dividing them this year. But, at least they didn't all die. What a happy surprise.
garyfla_gw
9 years ago
hi
found your post interesting because in the many years i've grown this plant it never went dormant until this year.
Went dormant in late dec Thought it had died but since I'm a lazy gardener and didn't need the pot i left it alone and it resprouted in May and is already bigger than it ever has been. if it's "normal" why hasn't it happened over the last 10 years lol good luck with yours one of my favorite aroids because they DON'T go dormant lol gary

Alocasia Frydek and dormancy/dividing

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grabmebymyhandle

Need2SeeGreen 10 (SoCal)
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Alocasia Frydek and dormancy/dividing

Comments (6)

grabmebymyhandle

Need2SeeGreen 10 (SoCal)Original Author

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