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ELEPHANT’S EAR

Alocasia x amazonica

Elephant’s ears like hot, steamy conditions and have impressive, veined, dark green leaves.

HOW NOT TO KILL IT

LOCATION
Keep the plant at a temperature of 65-70F (18-21C) all year round. Avoid placing it near heat registers, air condition vents, and cold drafts.

LIGHT
Keep the plant out of direct sun in summer – a partially shaded spot is best is best. In winter, move it to a brighter spot.

WATERING + FEEDING
Keep the potting mix moist (but not soggy) by watering lightly every few days. Use distilled, filtered, or rainwater that is lukewarm. Feed once a month during spring and summer. Water more sparingly in winter.

CARE
Alocasias love high humidity, so set the plant on a pebble-filled tray of water and mist the leaves frequently. Ensure that the pot has good drainage. Repot in spring, but only if the roots are significantly outgrowing the pot.

BROWN PATCHES ON THE LEAVES?
This is sunburn.

SAVE IT: Move your plant to a more shaded spot, out of direct sunlight.

PLANT DISEASES

Caring for your houseplants correctly is the best defense against disease, but stay vigilant! Here’s how to spot and treat diseases attack your plant.

BOTRYTIS (OR GRAY MOLD)

Gray fluff can be found all over the plant, especially in cool, damp, or crowded conditions.

TREAT It: Water your plant from below to avoid splashing water on the leaves or crown. Remove any affected areas, along with any moldy potting mix, and treat with a fungicide. Water and mist less frequently. Improve ventilation.

CROWN AND STEM ROT

The lower parts of the plant are dark, soft, and rotten, due to a fungal infection. It’s usually caused by excess watering, splashing the base of the stems, or cool conditions.

TREAT IT: You can try to save your plant by cutting out the affected area and treating it with a fungicide. Avoid overwatering, and move the plant to a warmer, well-ventilated spot.

POWDERY MILDEW

Patches of white dust will appear on the leaves. It’s more likely to occur where plants are crowded together, or underwater plants, or in conditions that are too hot and humid. It’s not fatal but it can weaken your plant.

 TREAT IT:  Remove the affected leaves, and treat your plant with fungicide. Space plants farther apart to improve airflow.

ODEMA

Look for corky growths on the underside of leaves. Odema is cased by waterlogging, high humidity, and low light.

TREAT IT:  Water your plants less, reduce the humidity in the room, and move it to a brighter spot.

SOOTY MOLD

Thick black fungus grows on the sticky waste of aphids, whiteflies, scale insects, and mealybugs. It blocks light and the plant’s pores.

TREAT IT: Sponge off the mold with a clean, damp cloth and treat the insect infestation.

VIRUSES

Signs include mottled, yellow foliage, distorted growth, and white streaks on the flowers.

TREAT IT: A virus would have been transmitted by insects or was already present on the plant when it was bought. There is nothing you can do to save it.

LEAF SPOT

Brown or black spots on the foliage are often surrounded by a yellow halo. Leaf spots can merge and kill an entire leaf. Caused by bacteria or fungi, they are more likely in damp or overcrowded conditions, or if water has been splashed on the leaves.

TREAT IT: Remove any affected leaves and treat your plant with fungicide. Reduce humidity and space plants more widely.

ROOT ROT

Caused by overwatering, root rot is a fungal infection of the roots that will lead to yellow, wilting leaves that turn brown, followed by the collapse of your plant. Affected roots will be soft and dark.

TREAT IT: Remove the potting mix to check the roots. You can try to save it by trimming off any affected roots with a knife, leaving any healthy , white roots. Then cut the plant back to allow for the root reduction, treat with fungicide, and repot in fresh potting mix and a disinfected pot.

PLANT PESTS

Houseplants can be troubled by small, unwelcome guests that can damage and even kill them. Here’s how to identify the signs of a pest infestation, and what you can do to save your plant.

HOW TO STOP PESTS

The best way to avoid pests is to keep your plant healthy—pests are more likely to attack stressed, unhealthy plants. If your plant does become infested with a pest, in many cases you will be able to treat it with an insecticide, either chemical or natural. Natural products are derived from plants or other natural substances.

Sticky traps are especially good for trapping aphids, whiteflies, and thrips, and can help you monitor the level of infestation.

If you have a lot of houseplants in one place that are all suffering from the same problem, you could try a biological control. These natural products are available by mail order and work by introducing predators (usually invisible to the naked eye) to attack the pests.

THE PESTS

You may find signs of these pests on your houseplants. Plants that are particularly prone to infestation will have more details on their care page.

WHITEFLIES

They hide on the undersides of leaves, and clouds of tiny white insects will fly up when your plant is disturbed.

TREAT IT: Take your plant outside and dislodge the insects with a spray of water; you could also dunk the whole plant in a bowl of lukewarm water. A sticky trap hung near the plant will trap a lot of insects.

FUNGUS GNATS

Also known as sciarid flies, these tiny brown or black insects fly around the plant. They aren’t harmful, but they are annoying. Their maggots mostly feed on organic matter in the potting mix, but can sometimes attack roots. Healthy plants can withstand this, but young or weak ones won't.

TREAT IT: Allow the top 1/2—3/4 (1 -2Cm) of potting mix to dry out before watering—this suits most plants, anyway. A yellow sticky trap will attract the insects away from your plant. Cover the surface of the potting mix with a mulch of fine gravel or pebbles to prevent the gnats from laying their eggs.

LEAF MINERS

Look for brown, white, or opaque meandering trails on the leaves, where the grubs have ”mined” them. There may also be white dots on the leaves.

TREAT IT: Remove the affected leaves. Spray with an insecticide.

THRIPS

Also known as thunder flies, these tiny brown or black sap-sucking insects may be seen on plants that have spent time outdoors. Signs of infestation include dull, mottled leaves, silvery white streaks on the leaves or flowers, and distorted growth.

TREAT IT: Sticky traps – especially blue ones – can reduce their numbers and can help you monitor the problem. Spray your plant with insecticide or try a biological control.

SPIDER MITES

Look for bleached or speckled foliage, webbing between the leaves and stems, and leaf fall. If you look under the leaves with the aid of a magnetifying glass, you’ll see the mites.

TREAT IT: Spray with an insecticide or use a biological control. Spider mites thrive in hot, dry conditions, so mist your plants daily to raise humidity if the atmosphere is hot and dry. Be vigilant – use a magnifying glass to look for the mites on the underside of leaves.

VINE WEEVILS

If your plant has collapsed and you haven’t over-or underwatered it, vine weevil grubs could be the culprit. They’re found in the potting mix of plants that have spent time outside. They munch on the plant’s roots, bulb, or tuber, causing it to suddenly wilt.

TREAT IT: If your plant has been outside in summer, drench the potting mix with an insecticide or biological control in the late summer or early fall to kill any grubs. If they have eaten most of the roots, your plant will not recover.

APHIDS

Also known as greenflies, these can be green, black, gray, or orange. They gather on the tip of the suck sap and secrete honeydew, which is then colonized by sooty mold. Aphids can also spread viruses.

TREAT IT: Rub them off by hand, dislodge with a spray of water, or spray with insecticide. Hanging a yellow sticky trap nearby can help.

SCALE INSECTS

These limpetlike insects look like brown lumps on the stems and the underside of leaves. They also excrete a sticky sap, which can lead to sooty mold. If not controlled, your plant will be weakened and the leaves will turn yellow.

TREAT IT: Rub them off, or spray the affected areas with insecticide (don’t spray the leaves of ferns, as they are very sensitive to chemicals). You could also try a biological control.

MEALYBUGS

These white, slow-moving insects coated in white fluff are found in clusters on stems, in leaf joints, and under leaves. They suck sap and excrete sticky honeydew, which then gets colonized by sooty mold. An infestation can lead to yellowing leaves, leaf fall, and wilting.

TREAT IT: Wipe off the insects with a damp cloth or cotton swab soaked with insecticide. Alternatively, spray the whole plant with insecticide once a week. You could try a biological control. Mealybugs are hard to eradicate and it is often simpler to throw away severely infested plants.

International Garden Photographer Contest recently took place with photographers from all over the world - Croatia, China, the Netherlands, Slovakia, USA, Spain, Russia, Ireland and the UK. 

Here are some of the most extraordinary and exceptional pictures we would like to share with you!

3 Place

Unfurling, by Ashley Moore, Kings Canyon National Park, California.

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Highly Commended, Photonic Bliss V, by Petar Sabol, Palovec, Croatia.

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Highly Commended, On Fire, by Claudia de Jong, Lapland.

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2 place, Salad Burnet Flower, by Ian Gilmour, West Yorkshire.

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1 Place, Petar Sabol from Gorican, Croatia, with his image Mayflies.