Growing & caring for alocasia sarawakensis (Yucatan Princess)

Updated 2-21-2023

Where are alocasia sarawakensis from?

Alocasia sarawakensis are native to the tropical jungles of Borneo. It is renowned for its veined, arrow-shaped leaves and its stems that can grow as tall as 4 feet. As a result, it has become quite popular in garden centers and nurseries across the world. The flower stalk on alocasia sarawakensis stands at half the height of the leaves and is covered with numerous purple buds, each producing small white blossoms that often go unnoticed among their impressive foliage.

How do I care for alocasia sarawakensis? Are they difficult to grow?

Growing alocasia sarawakensis can be a bit of a challenge for the home gardener, as it requires bright light and well-draining soil to thrive. To get optimal results from your plant, it’s important to remember to water when the top inch or so of soil is dry and ensure you’re not over-watering your specimen. As such, alocasia sarawakensis are not incredibly difficult plants to take care of – they just demand attentive monitoring so they don’t become over or under watered which can cause leaves to drop.

Check out this useful care video on alocasia regal shield (it has similar care requirements):

How do you prepare alocasia sarawakensis for winter?

Preparing your alocasia sarawakensis plant for winter doesn’t have to be intimidating. To protect your plant over the colder months, begin by placing it in a south-facing window; if you don’t have one of these, using artificial light is fine too. When the temperatures start dropping, move the potted plant indoors. Indoors, try and keep temperatures as steady as possible while avoiding drastic changes in temperature. Finally, be sure to water your alocasia sparingly during winter; overwatering can cause root rot.

How should you fertilize alocasia sarawakensis?

Fertilizing an alocasia sarawakensis is simple, and necessary for optimum growth. An all-purpose fertilizer or one with higher levels of phosphorus should be used to encourage flowering. When used at full rate, it’s important to dilute the fertilizer with water to ensure that you are not overwhelming the roots.

The application rate should start off slow and increase as needed throughout the growing season. This can be done every two weeks or monthly, using about a fourth of the regular strength formula for indoor plants. Finally, adding organic matter such as untreated compost will help keep moisture levels balanced in the soil and promote healthy plant growth.

How much should you water alocasia sarawakensis?

Requiring ample humidity, sunlight, and water, this common houseplant can be a bit demanding, especially when it comes to understanding how much water to give it. For optimal health of your alocasia sarawakensis, you should water it until the soil is quite moist but never soggy or wet. While this plant enjoys regular watering and misting on the leaves with filtered water, allowing a bit of dryness on the top layer of soil before watering again can help prevent root rot and over-saturation.

How much light do alocasia sarawakensis need?

Alocasia sarawakensis need moderate indirect light for optimum growth and minimal water. When the leaves start to yellow, the plant should be moved to a spot with better light. On the other hand, too much direct light can cause sunburn and will eventually lead to deformed leaves. It’s important to find a good balance that works best for your alocasia sarawakensis so you can enjoy its lush green leaves without worrying about having too much or too little sunlight.

How do I propagate alocasia sarawakensis?

Propagating alocasia sarawakensis is relatively simple, and a great way for anyone to boost their indoor plant collection. Cut a stem of the plant just below a node and remove the leaves at that node. The stem can then be carefully divided into pieces of 2-3 nodes each, with its own root system, making sure no nodes are damaged during the process. These pieces should then be planted in compost enriched potting soil and kept moist, but not soggy; they should also get plenty of indirect light.

Once established, alocasia sarawakensis propagates easily as new shoots will start emerging – simply cut them off just below the soil when they reach around 10cm tall and pot them in new containers.

When do alocasia sarawakensis flower?

Alocasia sarawakensis produces large, arrow-shaped leaves with ridged pinstripes. Some gardeners may be wondering when their alocasia sarawakensis will flower – blooms arrive in the late spring or early summer months in warm climates where temperatures remain consistently above 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

The flowers appear in clusters of purple berries contrasting against bright yellow bracts at the base of the stems. Although these delicate lilac blooms don’t last long, they add a wonderful pop of color to any outdoor space.