Marquise plant: care

Its scientific name is Alocasia macrorrhiza although it is commonly called marquise, elephant ear or giant taro. It is a bulbous tropical plant from Asia that belongs to the Araceae family and is unmistakable for its huge inverted heart shaped leaves of up to 1 meter and with very pronounced nerves on the underside. In addition, the plant reaches heights of up to 5 meters in optimal conditions, although logically in a pot it grows much less, but it is still a large plant.

The Marquise produces her flowering in summer, giving rise to a light green floral stem that is reminiscent of calla lilies and that produces a great aroma at the peak of flowering. This pod splits open when the time comes, revealing large orange seeds that can be used to multiply the plant.

It should be mentioned that marquise sap is toxic and it can cause irritations and reactions in contact with the skin, so it is important to keep it away from pets and small children to avoid accidents.

Elephant ear can be cultivated both indoors and outdoors, although in the latter case only if you live in a warm temperature zone. This plant does not tolerate frost or intense cold, so if you want to grow it outdoors but winters are cold in your area, it is best to move it indoors to bring it out again when spring arrives.

Now we are going to leave you with some recommendations so that you know which is the most ideal location for the Marquise plant according to your home:

• outdoors: Find a large area where the soil offers good drainage.
• indoors: You will need to be away from heat sources such as stoves and heaters, which dry it out. Always use clay pots and not plastic ones, which drain excess moisture better.

Regarding light, you need a bright room but protected from direct sun indoors, and from a shaded or semi-shaded location outdoors. If you live in a hot climate like the Mediterranean, locate it in direct shade to avoid damage from the summer sun.

The marchioness needs very frequent watering, so much so that outdoors it runs the risk of drying out the ground on which it is located. But be careful, you should never confuse this with flooding the soil or substrate: if you do, you will severely damage it and end up killing it. However:

• in the warm months: you must water the marquise daily, without letting the substrate or the soil ever dry out completely. In fact, with this plant, pots with a water tank are highly recommended.
• in the cold months: you may reduce frequency water a little, but you must be aware of the plant in case its leaves show signs of drought to return to water more.

The most important thing at this point is that the plant enjoys a soil or substrate with a drainage as best as possiblesince it is vital that despite the frequent watering it needs, its soil does not become waterlogged.

In addition, the plant, due to its size and vigor, absorbs a large amount of nutrients from the soil, so it is necessary to add fertilizer regularly. The most recommended is use organic fertilizers such as earthworm humus or compost, which you can add regularly every 3 weeks outdoors.

Indoors or in a pot, prepare a substrate with coconut fiber, earthworm humus and peat in equal parts, along with a good amount of vermiculite and perlite. This way you will have a very nutritious and well-drained mixture. Add a little more earthworm humus or compost each 15 days in the warm monthsand the plant will develop without problems.

Discover the Advantages of organic fertilizers in the following EcologíaVerde article.

The Alocasia macrorrhiza needs to be transplanted approx. every 2 years when grown in a pot. This should be done during the winter, while the plant is dormant. Move it to a larger container with a good soil mix and it will continue to grow healthy and strong.

If your marquise develops small leaves during flowering, you should not be alarmed: it is a totally natural process in the plant and, once the season is over, it will develop large leaves again as normal. if you see that the leaves turn yellow can be:

• Because the leaf is old and the plant prepares to change it
• Because your marchioness suffers from some plague like the red spider, which you will have to treat. Discover how to eliminate the red spider mite in the following EcologíaVerde article.

If you want to read more articles similar to Marquise plant: carewe recommend that you enter our Garden Care category.