blownz281

Bought a small plant last year and planted it where it would receive sun almost all day.Put out a few years after like two months. Then was kinda a dud. Dug for storage and found fire ants nest in the roots. Got rid of them and wintered stored it with light and it stayed above 60 all the time. Wasn't really happy,started watering it more and grew really great then stopped and looked crappy again. It's been sitting in the yard now planted in a new spot for months and still not taking off. Think it was a tc plant as the grower I got it from gets others as plugs,so figure the same with this. All my other banners are growing great in the same location. Are these plants picky?

oakshadows

Not at all happy with our Maurelii either, all are t/cs and all of the other t/cs are doing great. Some are very pretty and some just don't have it. Sold 4 or 5 and the rest are just sitting around looking sad. The ones in pots are a little smaller but all look the same. They get irrigation and fed organic fertilizer and grow new leaves but refuse to get any bigger. We may add some synthetics to see if that helps. Plant sale coming up so they will be on the "special" sale items. Good growing and stay healthy

__________________
"What this country needs is dirtier fingernails and cleaner minds."

blownz281

Yeah if mine doesn't ever do anything or dies off I will not get another. Don't care for them anyhow just liked how huge they get.

Foreverlad

I'd heard various horror stories about growing Ensete ventricosum var. Maurelii here in Florida and decided to start testing things out for myself. It's not even June yet, so things can certainly change for the worst, but in the meantime, here's 4000 words on my own Red Abyssinians

3/21/13



5/20/13



4/5/13



5/24/13



I've got 5 Maurelii, and each one has doubled in size in the last 2 months alone, despite the leafrollers trying their darnedest to uglify 'em. Shade, potted, sun-potted, shade-potted, sun-ground... it hasn't made any difference. They grow.

Edit: These all started off as T.C.s

Omaha_Banana

What kind of alocasia is that?

Foreverlad

Alocasia Portora.

Omaha_Banana

Thanks! Awesome looking garden btw.

How does it grow so much in just 7 weeks? Heat, light, soil, or what? I live in Nebraska, so I can't plant mine in April.

Foreverlad

I guess it's just genetic. Purchased all mine between July and October as TC, and they grew slowly. This year, I heavily amended the bed for my tropical wall and just went hog wild on watering and fertilizing. The bed mostly consists of Canna, EEs and Basjoo with the front line alternating between Portora and Maurelii. Most the bed gets full sun. I water regularly and have been fertilizing with MG All-purpose water soluble. Temps have been 80-90 every day since early April.

blownz281

It has waken up and putting out leaves now quickly.