Alocasia macrorrhizos

Alocasia macrorrhizos, Giant Taro, is an impressive aroid common in Southeast Asia and Melanesia, from where it has spread with human cultivation into Micronesia and Polynesia. It is a large bold plant with dramatic upward-pointing leaves that have a distinctive arrowhead shape. On the underside the veins are prominent and raised. This foliage creates a very exotic and tropical atmosphere and as the plant matures it forms a thick brownish trunk. This stout and somewhat woolly trunk is also very attractive and the way the foliage appears to spring from it like a giant green umbrella is rather wonderful. It is more tolerant of cold than the related genus, Colocasia and in the UK it will retain its foliage far longer into the colder months. It is however not hardy in the normal UK sense of the word and although it can be overwintered outdoors in some very favoured locations, most exotic gardeners tend to dig them up in autumn and bring them indoors, often burying a suitably large pot each spring to be dug up again in October. It should be kept dry during the winter, gradually introducing it to water no sooner than March and slowly increasing the watering, letting it dry out a little between each water until the summer months when it can be watered and fed liberally. It is not uncommon for older plants to reward with a pale green spathe but it is for the mighty exotic foliage that you will probably want to buy it.