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Alocasia in winter: dormancy, how not to lose it and how to wake it up

August 22, 2026

Every autumn the same messages arrive: «my Alocasia has lost all its leaves, is it dead?». Almost never. The Alocasia is a corm plant and, when light and temperature drop, it does what it would do in its jungle during the dry season: it draws reserves into the corm and stops. It's called dormancy, and knowing how to handle it is the difference between throwing away a living plant and having it back in April with new leaves.

Why it goes dormant (and how to avoid it)

There are two triggers: fewer than 10-11 hours of useful light and temperatures below 16-18 °C on a sustained basis. In a heated flat with a grow light on for 12-14 hours, many Alocasias don't stop all winter, they just grow more slowly. If you don't have artificial light, accept the dormancy and manage it: a controlled stop is better than a plant dragging on with a sick leaf for three months.

Option A: keep it active

• Grow light 12-14 hours (a 20-30 W one at 30-40 cm is enough for 2-3 plants).
• Minimum temperature of 18 °C, no cold draughts from the window.
• Reduced watering: the substrate takes longer to dry; wait until the top 3 cm are dry.
• Humidity of 50-60%: heating drops it to 30%, and that's when spider mites move in (see Alocasia pests).
• No feeding from November to February.

Option B: let it sleep properly

If the leaves fall one by one, don't force it. Cut the dry leaves once they're completely brown (not before, the plant reabsorbs nutrients). When none are left, you have two paths: leave the pot somewhere at 15-18 °C with a minimal watering every 3-4 weeks so the corm doesn't dehydrate, or take out the corm, clean it, let it dry for a day and store it in barely damp moss inside a tub with holes, at room temperature. Check every two weeks: it should stay firm. If it softens, cut off the soft part and let it dry.

March-April: waking it up

With longer days, put the corm (or the pot) in warmth, 22-26 °C, and raise the humidity. If it was in a tub, plant it at half depth in airy substrate, tip facing up. The process is the same as with a new corm; it's explained step by step in how to sprout a corm. A lovely detail: many Alocasias come out of dormancy with baby corms around them. Those are the ones you see in our corms section.

Texto redactado con ayuda de inteligencia artificial y publicado por el equipo de Marina’s Jungle Gems.