Chinese Taro
4.8 out of 5 (13 experiences)
Large, lush leaves
Fast grower
About Chinese Taro
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 cucullata
Alocasia
Araceae
Alismatales
Also known as
Hooded Dwarf Elephant Ear, Chinese Ape, Buddha's Hand, 'hooded dwarf', Alocasia, Hooded Dwarf Elepant Ears, Alocasia calcutta and Alocasia rugosa
How to care for Chinese Taro
How often to water your Chinese Taro
every 9
Chinese Taro 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 Chinese Taro in your home
a window
Chinese Taro 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 Chinese Taro in your home 🏡.
How to fertilize Chinese Taro
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 Chinese Taro after it doubles in size or once a year—whichever comes first.
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I'm new and need advice..🙏 Could someone tell me if my Elephant Ear plant is ok inside with a growing light? It has drooped and lost some stems (they were mushy) since i got it a couple of weeks ago. #plantnewbie
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What’s wrong with her ? I had a little pest problem this year, they’re gone now but one of the spidermites victims doesn’t look to hot right know, does someone know what’s wrong and how I could fix it ? #Alocasia #AlocasiaAddicts
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Time to repot? My Chinese taro has a little green root popping up out the soil and her roots are coming out the botton of her nursery pot. She was giving me a new leaf every couple of weeks, but I’ve now lost as many leaves as she’s given me! They keep going droopy, going a bit curly on the end and crispy at the bottom of the stem. I don’t want to keep her squished in there if she’s not happy! #PlantAddict #ChineseTaro #NewPlantMom
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What does “snooze” mean? #ChineseTaro
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Please tell me this is a Chinese Taro? The results are all over the place so are the google lens searches I rescued her from a sad aisle display where the others also needs homes . #ChineseTaro
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My sweet mother-in-law gifted me some babies from her alocasia plant. I have no clue what kind they are but I can't wait to find out!
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This plant started in soil as a nodule and I wanted to try it in water or LECA but now it’s sad and the stem is drooping :( what should I do? I’m new to LECA so any tips? #ChineseTaro
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Droopy not sure what to do #ChineseTaro
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Help me help her! I just recently got an alocasia after having killed several 😂 I am determined to keep it alive this time. The day after I brought her home, one of the bottom smaller leaves drooped over and yellowed. It got dry so I removed it. I repotted it a few days later, and then watered a few days later. Now another leaf is starting to yellow and droop. The plant store had it outside in a covered area, so I put it outside on my patio, away from direct sun. Should I move it in? What am I doing wrong?
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Plant is losing a lot of leafs and remaining leafs have unusual spots please help!  My plant up until now has had no problems with putting out new leaves and looking healthy. However, recently she has lost so many leaves and her remaining leaves have some spots that I do not recognise. I repotted recently to try and fix the problem but nothing seems to help what’s going on? 
Care Summary for Chinese Taro
Chinese Taro
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 6
Fast grower 5
Survivor 4
Browns easily 1
03/05/2022
Encountered this unique boy on a trip, it grows soo fast, you could easy find a new leave coming up overnight. Looks so majestic✨
Fast grower
Large, lush leaves
Survivor
10/30/2021
Noticed they love sticky 70% and up but this is not a deal breaker as long as we keep up with our watering.
Not to be mistaken with other Alocasias, these guys were discovered in the rocky portions of the rainforest, specifically in ultramafic sites.
I tried to mimic the substrate by making it more airy than the usual fluffy loamy Alocasia substrate, using more minerals as I think they rely more on a low and steady supply of Calcium/Magnesium more than Nitrogen, based on where they are found. Watering with ph adjusted to 5.7-6.5 (do not acidify all the time and check the soil if acidity builds up) to make those calcium bioavailable.
They will survive in any soil. Part of the hobby for me is mimicking and nerding out on their natural habitat so yeah 😂
Browns easily
Survivor
08/20/2021
Lives in my downstairs toilet and is sometimes forgotten about!! Can last without watering for a while
Large, lush leaves
Survivor
05/29/2021
Textured and plump leaves, you can’t help touch it every time you see it. Exquisite dark green foliage.
05/21/2021
This baby requires a lot of water but man is she pretty. She’s been growing fast with new leaves coming out of no where. She does attract bugs but minimal. Love the luscious leaves, looks absolutely tropical.
Large, lush leaves
Fast grower
