The alocasia, or elephant ear, are striking plants to have in your home due to their large waxy leaves and distinct colouring. There are a few different types of alocasia, all with their own unique characteristics and patterns, from the dark leaf polly to the delicate zebrina.
Our Range of Alocasia Plants
There are many different types of alocasia plants to buy for yourself or as a gift to a friend or loved one. If you like plants with darker colouring, the elephant ear polly has deep green leaves, contrasting with white veins, and would be a great addition to a bedroom or home office.
The elephant ear portodora has ribbed, dark green leaves that point upwards, and is a real statement plant for your home. As long as you follow our care instructions, like rotating the plant regularly to get even light, and less frequent watering through the winter, your portodora should remain healthy and strong.
One of the more elaborate and striking looking alocasia plants is the elephant ear stringray. Much like its namesake, its leaves float delicately from its stems (although thankfully the ends aren’t as sharp.). Much like other alocasia plants, as long as you find the right spot and water it regularly to keep the soil moist (it doesn’t need drowning.), it will be with you for a long time.
Caring For Your Elephant Ear
One of the most important parts of caring for your alocasia is finding the best place for it. Having originated from the rainforest, they are well adapted to indirect sunlight, and are best suited for a spot near a window but away from direct sunlight, so make sure you know where light falls as the day progresses.
Another hot topic in plant care is watering. Different plants have different needs, and understanding this is key to a long lived and healthy plant. For elephant ears, they need nutrient-rich soil with good drainage, and will need to be kept moist (but not soggy), as much as possible. Learn more about indoor plant watering here.
Overall, the alocasia is a relatively low-maintenance plant; it will need minimal pruning (snipping off any brown or dying leaves), and will likely need to be repotted each spring into a larger pot to ensure it has room to spread its roots.
Explore Our Other Plants
Alocasia are just one of many plant types to choose from at The Stem, ranging from indoor and outdoor, small and large and even seeds and bulbs. If you aren’t exactly sure which plant you would like, we have a number of categories to help you zone in on exactly the right plant for you. If you’re looking for something hardy, why not view our range of ‘unkillable’ plants. Does your home have very little natural light? Look over our range of plants that can deal with indirect sunlight.
We also have a range of videos, articles and care guides to help you keep your plant healthy and happy, whichever one you adopt into your plant family.
Need any help choosing the perfect alocasia plant? The Stem makes it easy to find the right plant for your home. Use the filters on our website to select the room you’re looking to decorate with plants, the levels of natural light your new plant will receive, the size of plant you’re after and even your plant parenting level.