Thank you for the response. Our soil is very high in organic matter (years of well-rotted barn pickin's and deep mulch) -- and this particular area stays naturally damp (not wet but damp) due to overflow lines, etc. Your assumption on the RH is spot on - very low indeed compared to the rest of the country - but, oddly enough, we have other humidity lovers that are not just growing but are actually thriving (colocasia, bananas, gingers, etc). It seems to me that it always depends on the particular cultivar more than on the species here. In the example of the daylilies, while 1/4 of the daylilies go screaming into dormancy at peak heat, I have (1) particular one who blooms its heart out during that time. So, who knows?
Thank you for suggesting the sun shade - I definitely will keep this in mind. Offhand, are there any Alocasia with "cast-iron" reputations?
