I believe I have a Colocasia. I'm having problems with yellowing leaves. It gets a fair amount of sun in the morning to early afternoon. Water is adequate. I fertilized with 10.10.10. Anyone have any suggestions. Thanks jf

jfried286: to All Things Plants!

I'm not real familiar with Elephant Ears but your plant may be Elephant Ear (Colocasia esculenta). I know that over-watering can cause yellowing but the leaves in your photo don't look like the result of over watering. At first I thought it might be over fertilization but I wonder if it could be a virus of some sort? There's a virus called Dasheen Mosaic Virus that affects some Aroids, scroll down this page for photo comparisons http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc...

We have a few folks here who are very knowledgeable with Aroids so hopefully someone will pop in soon and be able to offer suggestions.

Hi jf,
Can you give us an idea of your location? My mid-day sun is a lot different than plantladylin's. I'd guess you have an Alocasia but whichever genus @LariAnn or other members may be able to help.

Welcome, jfried. Btw, a better picture would help, yours doesn't open to a larger size so it's hard to see details.

Right, Evan. I was going to guess Alocasia, too. The stem meets the leaf at the edge, in the V there. Alocasias might like more shade especially from mid-day sun.

The yellowing problem looks suspiciously like iron chlorosis to me. Green leaf veins, yellow in between.

Advise you test your soil, or get it tested (our County Extension does soil testing for $5 per sample). Sometimes the soil right next to a wall like that can have lime leaching into it from the concrete foundation. The pH for EEs should be neutral to slightly acidic, (6.5 to 7ish) and if it is too alkaline that will explain your leaf yellowing, maybe. The plant simply can't uptake nutrients properly if the pH is wrong. Also check the pH of the water you are using. My well water's pH is 8.2, so a lot of my plants incl. the EEs really don't like it, and develop chlorosis symptoms if it doesn't rain for a long time. Summer rains thankfully correct the situation for me.

To fix it, amend the soil generously with compost and some peat moss, or lift the plant and move it to a spot with better soil. Water with rain water if possible.

Thanks Evan! I hope Lari Ann sees this post because she's an Aroid expert and will more than likely be able to offer advice regarding jf's plant.

My first thought was Alocasia because it reminded me of my Upright Elephant Ear (Alocasia macrorrhizos) but I really don't know an Alocasia from a Colcocasia and I have trouble comparing photo's most of the time. I've seen EE's growing in full shade as well as full sun down here in Florida but I don't really know what causes leaf problems ... I just remember hearing about that virus which affects some aroids and the leaf photo's at that link resembled the leaves of the plant in jfried286's photo.

Elaine: I'm glad you saw this post and could offer suggestions. I'm so bad at comparing photo's and even though I looked at some photo's showing leaf chlorosis, I still didn't know if that was the issue.

Definitely a soil problem there…Get it tested as Elaine suggested.

plantladylin said:jfried286: to All Things Plants!

I'm not real familiar with Elephant Ears but your plant may be Elephant Ear (Colocasia esculenta). I know that over-watering can cause yellowing but the leaves in your photo don't look like the result of over watering. At first I thought it might be over fertilization but I wonder if it could be a virus of some sort? There's a virus called Dasheen Mosaic Virus that affects some Aroids, scroll down this page for photo comparisons http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc...

We have a few folks here who are very knowledgeable with Aroids so hopefully someone will pop in soon and be able to offer suggestions.

I checked the virus photos, mine don't resemble that. The virus appears to be infiltrating, this kind of follows the veins, thank you

eclayne said:Hi jf,
Can you give us an idea of your location? My mid-day sun is a lot different than plantladylin's. I'd guess you have an Alocasia but whichever genus @LariAnn or other members may be able to help.

I'm in central Florida about 1/4 mile from the beach jf

I'm not that experienced with Ariods specifically so this is general plant info. Since the interveinal chlorosis and scorching is on the older leaves and not the newer ones it would suggest Magnesium or Potassium deficiency. Both deficiencies are common on sandy soils. Since the 10-10-10 contains Potassium that seems unlikely to be your problem. However, excess Potassium can interfere with Magnesium uptake in plants. A soil test would be best. Make sure they test for Magnesium levels.

Or just give it a drink of Epsom Salts, about a tablespoon to a gallon and see if that helps. Can't hurt. I do give all my Ee's a dose of Epsom Salts at least once a month along with regular fert.

Most soil tests just give you pH and general levels of soluble salts, which may or may not indicate Magnesium. You'd have to send your soil sample to UF plant lab and pay $25 for the in-depth test if you want specific salts identified. Unless you know a chemist personally. In the rainy season here in FL, you seldom get much soluble salts showing up in a soil test. They've all washed away with the first deluge.

Jf, you definitely need to give that plant a little more sun protection, morning sun is ok but from about 11am, it's pretty intense at this time of year for Alocasias.

Good to know, Elaine. I almost mentioned Epsom Salts but since I've never actually used them on EE's, I decided against it. Now I know!

dyzzypyxxy said:Or just give it a drink of Epsom Salts, about a tablespoon to a gallon and see if that helps. Can't hurt. I do give all my Ee's a dose of Epsom Salts at least once a month along with regular fert.

Most soil tests just give you pH and general levels of soluble salts, which may or may not indicate Magnesium. You'd have to send your soil sample to UF plant lab and pay $25 for the in-depth test if you want specific salts identified. Unless you know a chemist personally. In the rainy season here in FL, you seldom get much soluble salts showing up in a soil test. They've all washed away with the first deluge.

Jf, you definitely need to give that plant a little more sun protection, morning sun is ok but from about 11am, it's pretty intense at this time of year for Alocasias.

I know what you mean dyzz, but the yellowing preceded the intense heat, which up until the past few weeks has been pretty mild. I'll try the Epsom salt and soil enrichment. Thank you for your help jf

A note on the Epsom salts use. This is from my experience with coconut & other palms in Fl. We had to regularly treat coconut palms with Epsom salts. Don't expect the Epsom salts to work on the leaves that already have the yellowing --- at least that's the way it worked with coconut palms. But the new growth should not show the yellowing problem when you've treated with Epsom salts. On coconut palms, it doesn't show up as yellowing on the fronds but more as spots on them.

jfried, in Fl., rarely does anything truly withstand full sun. I second what others said about giving it more shade. Our sun is just plain TOO intense & 99% of plants do well here with some shade from it.

flaflwrgrl said:A note on the Epsom salts use. This is from my experience with coconut & other palms in Fl. We had to regularly treat coconut palms with Epsom salts. Don't expect the Epsom salts to work on the leaves that already have the yellowing --- at least that's the way it worked with coconut palms. But the new growth should not show the yellowing problem when you've treated with Epsom salts. On coconut palms, it doesn't show up as yellowing on the fronds but more as spots on them.

jfried, in Fl., rarely does anything truly withstand full sun. I second what others said about giving it more shade. Our sun is just plain TOO intense & 99% of plants do well here with some shade from it.

I know your right, I'm just looking for an excuse not to have to move it

Your plant is Alocasia gageana, not Colocasia. it is showing severe deficiency of either magnesium or manganese, as it is the older leaves that are chlorotic. If the newest leaves were chlorotic, it would be an iron deficiency. Epson salts is good for magnesium, but for manganese you'll need to go to an ag or nursery supply house to get your remedy.

LariAnn

Thank you for the update, I've add magnesium, off to get some manganese!

@jfried286, Good luck with the remedies. I hope you can keep us updated on how your A. gageana looks in a few months.

Hi everyone, been holding up to this planted bulb for about 2 weeks now. Have been watering when the soil feels dry, and everything so far so good.
Noticed a day ago that due to water erosion, the top part of the shoot started showing off. Today I was on my daily plant watch when I noticed again the same shoot showing off, this time with a darker coloration and soft touch. As soon as I could I removed the bulb to check for any rot signs, this is how my bulb is looking as of today. After inspecting the bulb I buried it deeper back into its outdoor pot.
I theorize the browning shoot happened due to the Texan harsh sun. What should I do?......... I read in another forum that you can easily remove the brown part and everything cool, but as far as I'm aware this procedure is used for water rot only.
Should I let that brown shoot be, or should I remove it?