New Guinea Shield
4.6 out of 5 (5 experiences)
Large, lush leaves
Fast grower
About New Guinea Shield
Alocasias, commonly known as Elephant Ears, are some of the most common houseplants although their leaves can reach enormous sizes when grown outdoors! 🐘 They typically only support a few leaves at a time (more, when they get more sun!) so don't be concerned if you see an old leaf begin to retire after a new one emerges. They grow out of underground corms which are similar to bulbs, so next time you repot keep an eye out for baby Alocasias! They contain calcium oxalate crystals so be sure to keep them out of reach if you have children or pets! ⚠️
Taxonomy
Alocasia wentii
Alocasia
Araceae
Alismatales
Also known as
Went's Hardy Elephant Ears, Hardy Elephant Ears, Giant Elephant Ear, Dwarf Elephant's Ear and Elephants Ear
How to care for New Guinea Shield
How often to water your New Guinea Shield
every 9
New Guinea Shield needs 0.5 cups of water every 9 when it doesn’t get direct sunlight and is potted in a 5" pot.
Use our water calculator to personalize watering recommendations to your environment or download Greg for more advanced recommendations for all of your plants.
Water 0.5 cups every
9
Finding light for New Guinea Shield in your home
a window
New Guinea Shield may have difficulty thriving, and will drop leaves 🍃, without ample sunlight.
Place it less than 3 feet from a south-facing window to maximize the potential for growth.
Select your region to see how the current weather in your area affects the placement of New Guinea Shield in your home 🏡.
How to fertilize New Guinea Shield
Most potting soils come with ample nutrients which plants use to produce new growth.
By the time your plant has depleted the nutrients in its soil it’s likely grown enough to need a larger pot anyway.
To replenish this plant's nutrients, repot your New Guinea Shield after it doubles in size or once a year—whichever comes first.
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I just want to share with others who can share my excitement and also trepidation - 😌 I am so excited at how well the Swiss cheese plant, the desert rose and cacti are doing!! I’m learning about cacti - I’m really terrible at growing them - so to see these guys thrive is thrilling! This sweet desert rose was soooo bent when I got her, but she is slowly growing and straightening and the sweet new growth just makes me so happy!! My silver dragon has had 3 new leaves since winter and is also producing 3 new stems/babies and I’m soooo excited! AND I’ve also gotten 3 corms off of her and 2 have grown! I have the first leaf for both of them! I’m so excited! And the red secret alocasia is also producing leaves and seems happy! My trepidation is my leopard lily 🥺😩 she was quite leggy when I got her and then just kept getting taller and so to repot her and keep her upright, I needed her deeper in the soil, but then she started to suffocate and die - so to salvage, I cut her way back, buried her shallowly and am praying she will regrow… 🤞 any wisdom would be welcome!
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why are my leaves doing this?? my leaves keep getting these yellow/ lighter green spots on them. unfortunately, i did have spider mites, but i took care of them. even my newest leaves are suffering. what’s going on??
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Lost its roots?!? Okay.. today I was trying to prop my Silver dragon up bc it was in Lechuza Pon for at least 2 years and it literally must have been attached by one root unfortunately, but it popped off and was pretty much in my hands after that. For a while I’ve debated putting it into an Aeroid mix that I have my other alocasias in. For a while it’s been shooting off a lot of corms above the Lechuza Pon… so, now that it’s a couple years old with no roots, I have no idea what to do. Is it still able to be saved?! I’m currently growing an alocasia Melo corm for the first time so I’m aware of how they have to be grown from the start but I honestly don’t know if I can have it root again.. Thankfully it’s still green and looks okay given it’s situated.. thank you for any help! #SilverDragon #help #roots #AlocasiaAddicts
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#AlocasiaScalprum After a rep, my leaves are turning under, like curving. What is the matter? Thanks I've watered the plant slightly But have seen no changes. #AlocasiaScalprum
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My alocasia is turning yellow/brown. Please help! #Alocasia #yellowing #help She looked perfect when I bought her, and over the last few weeks she’s been getting more and more yellow/brown/dead spots on multiple leaves. I’ve already cut off one really bad leaf, but I’m not sure why this is happening. I’ve moved her so she’s getting more light, I held off watering in case it was overwatering, but it just keeps getting worse! 😭 Does anyone know why this might be happening?
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Why are some of my leaves dying. I water once a week #BlackVelvetAlocasia
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My Alocasia seems to have stopped growing. It is not close to a window but I have a grow light over it. Any tips?
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This Scalprum is just about ready for a new jar! He’s getting too magnificent 💕 I love it when corms work out
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WHATS WRONG She was doing so well after her repot last month and I put water in her saucer yesterday AND SHES YELLOW!! The one thats most yellow isnt even an eldest leaf!!
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Hi! Yesterday I bought this beautiful Alocasia Macrorrhiza for a really good price, and I just wanted to show it to you and ask for some tips. I noticed it had some white mealybugs and spider mites. Yesterday I cleaned the leaves with water, sprayed them with a nettle purin solution, and also removed some of the mealybugs using a cotton swab dipped in alcohol. After that, I sprayed the whole plant with the nettle mix. When i bought it it was all wrapped in a net that i guess didn’t help her I’d love to know if you have any tips! #HappyPlants #help #AlocasiaAddicts #Alocasia
Care Summary for New Guinea Shield
New Guinea Shield
Greg recommends:
Water
0.5 cups every 9 days
Placement
< 3ft from a window
Nutrients
Repot after 2x growth
Based on the 4” pot your plant is in, and that it doesn’t get direct sunlight.
What other plant parents say
Large, lush leaves 5
Fast grower 3
05/04/2021
This plant is fairly low maintenance and pretty- great for beginner plant parents! :) Just make sure that you don’t place in it bright direct sunlight for too long or brown spots can start appearing. On average a new leaf grows every 2 weeks in good conditions.
Large, lush leaves
Fast grower