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Alocasia Flying Squid (5 Characteristics & 6 Caring Tips)

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Are you always in search of a rare plant to have in your home? Not found the best one yet? Well, Alocasia Flying Squid is one of the rare plants from the Alocasia family.

This is a fun plant to have in your home as it looks great with the spooky and unusual leaves it possesses. Alocasia Flying Squid falls under the best choice for collectors of unique plants due to its unique and great looks.

Alocasia Flying Squid is owned both as house plants and outdoor plants. They grow well in areas with warm weather all year. This is an exclusive plant every plant lover craves to have.

The leaves have gorgeous foliage with different colours and textures. Taking care of this plant is relatively easy if you know their requirements.

If you wish to be a great plant parent for your new leafy Alocasia Flying Squid and take its proper care, you just need to read this article.

You have landed on the right place to learn about this plant that helps you in deciding either to have it or not and also to take its care properly.

In this article, you will get to know about all the characteristics of Alocasia Flying Squid and the best tips for taking care of this plant. So, without much delay, let’s get started.

Alocasia Flying Squid
Alocasia Flying Squid via Reddit

Characteristics of Alocasia Flying Squid

Wanting to own a rare plant is one thing, while knowing its characteristics and features to decide rationally is another. Alocasia Flying Squid is one of the unique plants, which makes knowing about it more meaningful before deciding to have it. 

1)    Origin

Every plant has a place of origin. It is the place where the plant was first found. So, where did Alocasia Flying Squid originate from? Do you know?

Well, to let you know, the place of origin and the natural habitat for Alocasia Flying Squid is the tropical and subtropical regions of South-East Asia and Eastern Australia.

It grows pretty well in an altitude range of 0 – 1500 meters. This plant has a limited life span of about 5 years only.  

2)    Scientific Name & Common Name

Alocasia Flying Squid is a unique houseplant with the scientific name of Alocasia Plumbea. It falls under the family Araceae of the genus Alocasia. This plant is commonly called a Flying Squid. Elephant Ear is the other name Alocasia Flying Squid is widely called with.

3)    Size of the Plant

When you know about the size of the plant before having it, you might have an idea of various issues arising afterwards. This knowledge helps you to get prepared for such issues.

Alocasia Flying Squid can be planted both indoors as well as outdoors. They have a compact size of 1 to 3 feet, perfect for indoors. This plant usually grows 1 foot tall. It has a height of almost 15 cm and a width of 10 cm. 

Alocasia Flying Squid 2
Alocasia Flying Squid via Reddit

4)    Leaves and Flowers

The leaves of Alocasia Flying Squid are like the tentacles of a squid or jellyfish, which is the reason this plant is named a Flying Squid. It has tiny leaves at the end of each green and burgundy petiole.

Alocasia Flying Squid is a flowering plant with white colour flowers. The flowers bloom all over the year.

5)    Price

As any flower eventually becomes a part of your family, in the long run, spending some extra bucks will make it quite the investment. So, knowing the price of the plant helps you in taking the decision while having a plant.

The price range for Alocasia Flying Squid ranges from $10 to $20. As it is one of the rarest and unique plants everyone wants to own, it wouldn’t be strange if most of the online plant stores sell it. 

Watch This Video to Know About Alocasia Flying Squid

Caring Tips for Alocasia Flying Squid

1)    Sunlight

Alocasia Flying Squid loves indirect bright light. Avoiding exposure to direct sunlight yields excellent results in this plant.

Despite being a significantly less demanding plant, if you’re growing Alocasia Flying Squid indoors, you need to place it near the window that receives bright light all day long.

As these plants are classified as light-sensitive plants, avoiding direct sunlight exposure is the best thing you can do while having this plant in your home.

They are prone to sunburn, meaning your plant will be in danger, and leaf loss might also occur if exposed to direct sunlight.

In short, the Alocasia Flying Squid has been an indoor plant throughout its lifetime. So, if you think of planting it somewhere outdoors, you will have to protect your plant with some overhead sun protection scheme.

2)    Watering the Plant

The frequency of watering an Alocasia Flying Squid depends upon the level of temperature in the surrounding. You can water this plant lightly once a week.

However, if the temperature decreases, then you need to reduce the amount and frequency of watering. While watering Alocasia Flying Squid, using 0.8 cups of water gives the best results in terms of growth.

As Alocasia Flying Squid doesn’t like being waterlogged, you need to avoid overwatering this plant. They store excess water in their petiole, so no worries even if the soil stays moist constantly.

If you’re planting Alocasia Flying Squid in hotter regions, you will have to increase the frequency of watering as they dry out faster in such areas. So, watering this plant only when the soil gets dry is a great tip to take care of its care.

3)    Humidity & Temperature

Alocasia Flying Squid thrives in high humidity levels around 50 to 70%. It is best to keep the plant away from heating vents and radiators that constantly blow hot air if you want to grow it indoors.

You can even place the plant on a pebble tray filled with water to increase humidity around your plant.

The optimum temperature levels for Alocasia Flying Squid to grow is 60-75°F during the day and 55-60°F at night. These plants can handle many temperature levels due to their resilient nature.

But if it’s really cold in your area, they might suffer from frosts. In that case, you will have to place your Alocasia Flying Squid near a window where there’s warmth during the daytime.

4)    Soil & Fertilizers

When it comes to soil, recommendations are to be careful to avoid the soil from getting waterlogged. This can be done by using a loose and fast-draining potting mix for planting Alocasia Flying Squid.

A good potting mix includes coco coir with an organic base such as Perlite or Vermiculite. This potting mix helps in better drainage.

The fresh soil used while potting contains all nutrients needed for your plant to bloom. So, it is not necessary to use fertilizers as long as you refresh them yearly.

You might need to repot Alocasia Flying Squid if the plant gets out of shape. This can be done once in a year or whenever the pot gets too tight for its roots.

5)    Pest Prevention

Alocasia Flying Squid is affected by various bugs such as Mealybug and Scale. These bugs protect themselves from insecticides and pesticides with the help of cottony saliva.

This makes it difficult for you to get rid of these bugs. However, you can mist your plant with soapy water or neem oil in case your plant gets affected.

Alocasia Flying Squid is still quite resistant to these bugs. So, there might not be any problem even if you don’t use any pest control measures.

6)    Toxicity Control

 If you’re wondering if Alocasia Flying Squid is toxic or not, well, don’t worry. We got you covered. Every part of Alocasia Flying Squid contains Calcium Oxalate Crystals which can cause irritation in your mouth and also the oesophagus if you consume it. This plant is also toxic to cats and dogs.

In short, Alocasia Flying Squid is a toxic plant, be it either you, your kids or even your pets. So, plant it in places where it is not easily accessible.   


Conclusion

If you are with this article right from the start, well, you are one passionate plant lover. You have already known a lot about Alocasia Flying Squid. But have you decided to have this plant in your home yet? If not, decide now.

Alocasia Flying Squid will surely add great value to your home if you choose to have one. This article contains everything you need to know about growing and caring for an Alocasia Flying Squid. We hope that this knowledge will help you grow a beautiful and healthy Alocasia Flying Squid plant.

If you choose to have this plant, do let us know. Also, share this article with your friends and family who’s interested to know about this plant if you’ve enjoyed this article and learned something new from it. At last, thank you for taking your time to read our article. We are always grateful for your support.