Can anyone tell me what's wrong with my alocasias? On these two plants the new leaves are folding inward. They've been this way for a few weeks now. No other signs of any problems, no yellow leaves or mushy bits.

So they don;t straighten out after they harden off? That's kinda weird. Are they getting enough light?

Maybe it is a light issue. I brought them in for the season a few weeks ago but the light has changed dramatically with the season change.

Thanks!

Yeah I am in the process of moving everything I have outside over to the outside of the greenhouse ready to stash if it gets too cold for too long. I could shove it all in now, but I like for them to get the max light and air movement. Its 7am here now and the sun still is not up, it will be full dark by 545pm. Day length (and naturally dried conditions) is definitely affecting the alocasia, xanthosoma and colocasias I have planted out in the yard, they are losing leaves and starting to show some signs of going dormant like every year. If we have a wet winter they will stay up longer, but ones it frosts (if it does, it really didn;t even last winter) the game is over for the season

OMG. It has never occurred to me that there might be frost dangers in Florida! I always just assumed it was a tropical land of milk and honey where if I were ever able to move there I would be able to garden my tropicals out of doors with abandon. At least that's what I tell myself every fall when I grudgingly bring all my plants in.

Do you go to the aroid show down there in the fall?

No my dear we all wish that was true LOL. It has in the past frozen all the way to Homestead. Its rare but it does happen. Most people in the South rarely have to worry. But the Gulf Coast all the way to Ft Myers and Naples has frozen before as well as the Palm beaches area.

I live in North Central in the very center of the state. We do occasionally get to 20-22 but its becoming less and less frequent. Last winter our lowest temp was 31 and I didn't even have frost damage. I grow a lot of tropical plants in my yard, its full of bananas, gingers, palms, brugmansia, bromeliads...but my rare stuff stays protected in my Tropical house which is modeled after a botanical garden tropical house.

You know the only place in the US considered truly Tropical is Key west. It has never dropped below 40F in recorded weather history.

Where do you live?

St. Louis, MO. It's literally the worst weather to try and grow anything in. We have two or three days of spring and fall but other wise it's either 100 or 0. We are already in the 20's so it doesn't look good for the rest of the winter. Oh and random tornadoes and floods....

I've been begging my husband to let us move to somewhere near the southern east coast, but he's says he's not moving anywhere just so I can grow plants....

Just give him time.

But does't Laurell K. Hamilton live there?

You do have that fabulous Climatron in St L. I could spend many days there.

Ha ha yes Laurell k. Hamilton does live here!

The climatron at MoBot is awesome! I love all the fall and winter events there. The winter light up is especially pretty.

Does she live in a spooky house like Ann Rice used to in New Orleans?

Ha ha no, regular ole house in a regular ole neighborhood.

I used to like her stuff. But at some point it all became like soft porn. I had to give it up