Complete Care Guide: Alocasia Silver Dragon

In this article, you'll find…

Plant Info

Care Guide

      Lighting

      Watering

      Humidity

      Soil Needs

Types

Propagating

Common Issues

Frequently Asked Questions

Plant Info

Alocasia Silver Dragon is a cultivar of the regular Alocasia Dragon Scale (also called Alocasia Baginda), with large, uniformly silvery leaves atop light green petioles. Most Silver Dragons top out at 4-5 leaves at once, but particularly happy Alocasias can have seven, eight, or more leaves at once quite happily! These leaves are mostly bullate, or shield-shaped, with the veins extremely prominent -- they're a significantly darker and deeper silvery-green. An extremely well-cared-for plant may also flower, small peace lily-like flowers that are a creamy light green, hidden behind the foliage at the base of the plant; if you'd like, you can cut them off so that the plant doesn't invest any energy into them!

Take a look at this care guide as an infographic!

Care Guide

Like most alocasias, Silver Dragons have a tendency to lose an older leaf every time they shoot out a new one -- this is actually caused by a nutrient deficiency! The plant is reabsorbing the nutrients out of the older leaf to be able to push out the new one. Alocasias are known as 'heavy feeders' because of this, and should be frequently fertilized during the growing season -- even, weakly, every single watering.

Lighting

Alocasia Silver Dragon doesn't need to be in your brightest spot, but because of the silvery sheen to the leaves, it can always use the energy boost that comes from being in bright, indirect light! East or west-facing windows are perfect -- or a South window, with a sheer curtain.

Make sure to check out our general article on lighting! 

Watering

Most places will advise you to let alocasias dry out 1/3 or even halfway between waterings, similar to philodendrons; this is not the ideal situation by any means! While alocasia like the Silver Dragon can dry out a reasonable amount, they are happiest and grow their best without drying out, and actually prefer being kept consistently moist, but not waterlogged.

What this practically means is that you should water whenever the top of the soil is dry to the touch, but if you need to go on vacation for a few days, you don't need to worry about it!

Make sure to check out our general article on watering!

Humidity

Alocasia need high humidity to be truly happy -- either keep it in a microclimate next to other plants, or run a humidifier nearby!

Make sure to check out our general article on humidity – including a couple common myths!

Soil Needs

Alocasia baginda, including the Silver Dragon, are terrestrial aroids -- so they need a lot of moisture retention while still maintaining good drainage, and some chunks to aerate the roots properly. 

Suggestion: Start with 2 parts peat-based potting mix or coco coir, mix in 1 part perlite, and 1 part orchid bark.

Don't know why you're adding these things? Check out our article on potting mixes!

Types

Alocasia Silver Dragon is itself a cultivar of the Alocasia Dragon Scale, but it comes in a very rare, very prized variegated form itself!

Propagating

Unfortunately, propagating an alocasia isn't quite as simple as a stem cutting -- but fortunately, it's a thousand times cuter!

Alocasias will occasionally send out shoots below the soil's surface that end in corms -- very similar to bulbs. Given time, either attached to the mother plant or detached and placed in a new pot, these corms will grow new plants, right from their very first leaves! All you need to do is place the corm in moist substrate -- or even water -- and it will begin to grow! Check out our article on growing Alocasia from corms here!

Check out our articles on water propagation, soil propagation, or air layering for more details on common propagation methods!

Common Issues

The most common issue, other than watering issues, is for old leaves to die off every time a new one comes in; as discussed above, it's a nutrient deficiency!

All houseplants are susceptible to pests, including mealybugs, spider mites, and more. Alocasias, including the Silver Dragon, are particularly susceptible to spider mites -- even appearing to spawn them sometimes! You should check your alocasias frequently for spider mites. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Alocasia Silver Dragon rare?

The answer to this will always depend on time and location, but overall they are not as rare as they used to be!

Why are the leaves on my SIlver Dragon yellowing?

This is almost always a watering issue, if they're yellowing uniformly. Unfortunately, it can be caused by either under- or over-watering!