Zabrina

Elephant ear plant

Alocasia Zebrina

• 
  Bright light
• 
  Easy care

• Elephant ear plant likes...
  • 
    Regular watering

    She likes her soil to stay lightly moist. Water her when her top two inches of soil are dry.

  • 
    Medium light

    Her big leaves like a lot of light, but not direct sun. Away from a window in a bright room is ideal.

  • 
    Humidity

    Moisture in the air helps keep her leaves healthy. The best way to provide that is with regular misting.

• Quick facts

  Botanical name

  Alocasia zebrina

  Nickname

  Elephant ear plant 

  Plant type

  Perennial, indoor

  Air purifying

  Yes

  Plant height (including pot)

  55-65cm; 90-100cm

  Pet/baby safe

  Toxic if ingested

  Nursery pot size

  19cm; 21cm

• About elephant ear plant

  It’s pretty plain to see how the elephant ear plant got its name. Its great big leaves are the exact shape of, if not quite the size of, elephant’s ears. Just as striking are its zebra-striped stems. The combination makes for an eye-catching, sculptural houseplant. 

  It’s found in the wild in Brazil, where it grows at the base of much larger trees. The large leaves help it make the most of all the available sunlight and also mean it can capture as much rain as possible. To keep it happy indoors, try to echo those conditions, with lots of indirect light and sufficient moisture. It will also love you if you give it a feed with liquid fertiliser once per month in spring and summer.

  Did you know?

  In some parts of the world, the stems, which are poisonous raw, are boiled for a long time to make them edible. We don’t recommend this.