Alocasia Camouflage Splash

Alocasia Camouflage Splash (Alocasia 'Camouflage Splash') is a compact elephant ear grown entirely for its leaves, reaching about 80cm tall and 70cm across. Each arrowhead leaf is marbled in cream, silver and deep green, and no two are marked the same way. It is small enough for a plant stand or a shaded balcony, and distinctive enough to carry a dull corner on its own.

Why you'll love it

• Foliage that reads as pattern. The cream and green marbling is the whole point. Flowers are insignificant and most growers cut them off.
• Compact enough for real rooms. At roughly 80cm by 70cm it suits an apartment corner or a courtyard pot without taking over.
• It likes humidity. Bathrooms, kitchens and humid coastal gardens suit it, where drier air leaves other variegated plants with crisp edges.
• Steady rather than rampant. Moderate growth means it holds its shape in one pot for a couple of years before it needs dividing.

Where it works best

Indoors. Indoors your climate stops mattering. Give it bright indirect light near an east facing window, clear of heaters and cooling vents.

Pots, balconies and courtyards. A 250mm to 300mm pot suits a mature plant. Shaded balconies work in tropical and subtropical gardens, and elsewhere the pot comes indoors before winter.

Feature planting. In tropical and subtropical beds it makes a single accent under a canopy, among ferns and darker foliage that set off the pale marbling.

Growing Alocasia Camouflage Splash in Australia

Position and climate. Bright indirect light indoors, dappled to partial shade outdoors. Direct midday sun scorches the pale sections of the leaf first. It is frost tender, so outdoor planting is limited to tropical and subtropical gardens. Everywhere else, treat it as an indoor plant or move the pot under cover for winter.

Soil. A quality potting mix opened up with perlite or fine bark. Alocasias will not sit in water, so a drainage hole is not optional and saucers need emptying.

Water and feed. Keep the mix evenly moist through the warm months, watering once the top few centimetres dry out, then ease right back over winter. Liquid feed at half strength every three to four weeks from spring to late summer.

Pruning. No shaping is needed. Cut spent or damaged leaves off at the base with clean secateurs, and remove the small flower spikes so the plant puts its energy into foliage.

What to expect when it arrives

This alocasia is grown and sold as tube stock. A tube plant is young, usually two or three leaves, and it is not the finished look on day one. Pot it into a 200mm container, expect it to fill that over a season, then step it up to 250mm or 300mm.

Foliage plants travel with a little leaf curl and the odd bent stem, and both settle within a fortnight. Give it a warm, bright, indirect position and hold off feeding for the first month. Delivered Australia wide, delivery from $29.95, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Read our guide to elephant ear plant care.
• Browse the wider indoor plants range.
• Compare other variegated foliage plants.

Common questions

Is it safe around cats and dogs?

No. Every part of the plant contains insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, which cause burning, drooling and mouth swelling if chewed. Keep it on a shelf well out of reach in a home with pets or small children.

Can I grow it outdoors?

Only in tropical and subtropical gardens, in a sheltered shaded spot. It is frost tender, so anywhere with cold winters it needs to be a pot plant that comes inside.

Why are the leaf edges going brown?

Usually dry air, or salt building up in the mix from tap water. Group it with other plants to lift local humidity, flush the pot through every few months, and keep it clear of vents.