hi all,

i have an alocasia odora variegata that is extremely sensitive. i have heard about overwintering alocasia before and was wondering if anyone has ever had any luck overwintering this kind of alocasia or if it's even possible. also if you have ever had any luck or have any tips for overwintering with alocasia in general.

thanks!

What kind of temps are we talking about? Overwintering means a different thing to me here in zone 9A than it would to someone in a much colder zone.
I do grow the variegated ALocasia odora Okinawa Silver as well as the aurea-variegata, and many many other alocasias of different species. I'll attempt to help you if you give me more information about your climate, your growing area, and a photograph of your plant to see what you are working with

mckenziebrentin said:hi all,

i have an alocasia odora variegata that is extremely sensitive. i have heard about overwintering alocasia before and was wondering if anyone has ever had any luck overwintering this kind of alocasia or if it's even possible. also if you have ever had any luck or have any tips for overwintering with alocasia in general.

thanks!

I don't have an alocasia odora, but I have one of its close relatives, alocasia x amazonica. It does of course depend on your hardiness zone. If you're in a mild climate, you'll have to speak to someone with experience there.

This is my first year with alocasia, and I've been instructed to of course bring it inside before the temperatures drop here. It will need high amounts light, but nothing extreme. I'll probably put mine within a few inches of my south facing window, as our winters are very cloudy. I don't want it to freeze right up against the window, though. My alocasia will need to be kept consistently moist to ensure its happiness. I'm not sure if yours will be different since it is a different species. I'll also aim to keep the humidity as high as I can.

Sorry if none of what I said, helped. I'm pretty new to the alocasia world. My advice is to follow the advice Gina and @WillC give. They taught me everything I know!

Alocasia odora is one of the hardiest of the alocasia species and has been used pretty extensively in hybridizing. They will winter outdoors here even in a freeze (of course the top growth disappears). Alocasia macrorhizza and ALocasia gagnea are also quite hardy here, most will re-emerge in spring even after a hard freeze. I have them planted in the landscape with colocasia and xanthoaoma. But our ground never freezes. So everything like that does usually come back.
But anything 'special' I keep in my greenhouse overwinter. Its heated in there at night and gets great light.
If you live somewhere where frost or freeze is possible I would bring it inside.

The real issue is, Alocasia will tend to go dormant in later fall if care isn't taken to give heat and light. When the day length starts to shorten and temps fall below about 55 or so consistently at night, and the rain stops, they will go dormant. They may also do the same thing in the house. You might want to supplement light.

Reviving an old thread. I have two alocasia macrorrhizos seedlings; they both came from the same bulb that I cut in half. The bulbs sprouted but the seedlings never went past the 2 leaf stage. Then they withered. One of them is slowly withering atm.

I have it indoors, next to a north facing window (the only one available), under grow light for 12 hours a day. Temperature is 71F (22C) during the day and 66F (19C) at night. Humidity is about 60%. I water once every 2 weeks. I don't fertilize when there's no growth.

I thought these conditions would allow them to survive the winter but it's not the case. Why's that? Should I remove the bulb from the soil and store it during the winter?