Hi all,

I'm not sure this subject has been covered in the forum before so I'll put it to the experts. This is not my first time with baby plants popping up but I have some extra time today to ask.

Regarding fertilizing, I'll use my Alocasia Metallica as an example. Year two and baby popped up. The mother plant has five good size leaves (for indoor) and need its nutrients. If I reduce the nutrients to accommodate the baby plant I feel the mother plant will suffer, and vise-versa. Any thoughts?

@starams5 I realize this is an old post, but the mother plant and the offset can be fertilized at the same rate. IOW, no accommodations need to be made because the offset is new.

When it comes to fertility levels in the grow medium, the ideal situation is A) having all nutrients normally absorbed by the root pathway, in the soil and available for uptake at all times, B) in the soil at a favorable ratio - that is to say at a ratio that closely mimics the ratio at which the plant actually uses the nutrient, C) at a concentration high enough to ensure no nutritional deficiencies, yet still low enough to ensure the plant's ability to take up water (and the nutrients dissolved in that water) won't be impeded (by a high concentration of solubles in the soil solution).

In short, there is both an ideal concentration and an ideal ratio/ combination of nutrients (each to the others) at which the plant will realize as much of it's potential as possible, not withstanding effects of other cultural stress factors.

Al

@tapla

Thanks for the info. Ive given up on alocasias since this post in 2021. I live in Central California where it is hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Each year my alocasias would go into dormacy, and if they returned were never the same. I'e moved on to Philodendrons. I have four which included a Maximum, Giganteum, Congo Rojo, and Selloum. Given my current location I wish I would have gone this route before. Take care.