Alocasia Black Velvet is a tropical plant and can grow well in homes and offices. Therefore, many people love to grow this plant to decorate their homes and office space. Alocasia Black Velvet is famous for its dark leaves and eye-catching veins.
This plant is relatively easy to grow, easy to care for, and does not take much time to maintain. However, if you grow this plant, you will face frequent drooping of leaves. Alocasia Black Velvet drooping can result from many different causes. In this article, let’s explore the underlying causes and remedies to help Alocasia Black Velvet revive and regain its radiant beauty.
Why Is My Alocasia Black Velvet Drooping?
The leaves of Alocasia Black Velvet that are drooping and weak can result from a variety of reasons. Some of the underlying causes include too much watering, lack of water, improper lighting conditions, too hot or cold temperatures, inappropriate humidity, nutritional deficiencies, or excessive stress. Below is detailed information on what causes this plant to droop and lack vitality.
Flooding
Waterlogging is one of the leading causes of most plants drooping, soft and weak. So is Alocasia Black Velvet. As you know, waterlogging will seriously affect the health of plants and inhibit their metabolic activities. The roots will have a hard time absorbing oxygen due to too much water and the leaves will droop.
Plants will have some initial symptoms such as yellow or brown spots, stems becoming weak and soft, and leaves swollen from too much water. After that, the whole stem and leaves will droop and die.
Solution
To overcome waterlogging, you need to adjust the watering schedule to suit the water needs of Alocasia Black Velvet. Check soil moisture before watering. You should only water when the ground is 2-3 inches dry. Use pots with at least one drainage hole to prevent waterlogging. In addition, you should choose potting soil with perlite or gravel in the bottom layer to create openings. From there, these openings will help air circulation and oxygen exchange.
Lack Of Water Or Watering Too Little
Water is one of the most important elements for plant health. Water provides vital energy for plants to grow and carry out metabolic activities. When Alocasia Black Velvet does not receive enough water from the soil, the cells will shrivel and deform causing their leaves to become dry and brittle. Excessive stress will cause the entire stem and leaves to droop and wither.
Solution
You should observe the ground before watering like checking for waterlogging. On summer days or high temperatures, the rate of evaporation and moisture in the air will be much faster, so you should increase watering during this time. You can water in the morning and water again in the afternoon if the plants have wilted. You should not place the pot in direct sunlight for many hours because the sun will burn the leaves, dry and brittle.
Inappropriate Lighting
Inappropriate lighting conditions are also one of the causes of Alocasia Black Velvet drooping. This plant prefers indirect sunlight and spaces with constant light. Lack of light will seriously affect the health of plants such as limiting photosynthesis, maintaining the green color of leaves, or the health of the whole plant.
Solution
You should place the potted plant in areas with indirect sunlight in the morning and cool shade in the afternoon. Limit intense direct sunlight for many hours. The location next to the window and with a curtain will be an ideal place to place the potted plant.
Temperature Is Too Hot Or Too Cold
Alocasia Black Velvet is a plant that is very sensitive to temperature changes. A sudden temperature change that is too hot or too cold will cause their leaves to droop due to excessive stress. The ideal temperature range for this plant is between 70-90°F (21-26°C). If the temperature is too hot or too cold, Alocasia Black Velvet will droop.
Solution
To help plants grow and have the best growth rate, you should maintain the ideal temperature for Alocasia Black Velvet. You should not place the potted plant in areas where the airflow is too hot, such as from the fireplace, or too cold from the air conditioner. Keep your potted plants in a warm area during winter or frosty days.
Humidity Is Too Low
Alocasia Black Velvet is a plant native to tropical forests, so it prefers moist environments. Maintaining proper humidity is one of the important factors to ensure the health of this plant. When the humidity is too low, this plant will have many difficulties in respiration, metabolism, and health effects.
Solution
To maintain proper humidity, you should use a humidifier to provide the ideal humidity for plants. In addition, you can also use pebble trays, fish tanks, or water trays to place next to the potted plants. From there, when water vapor rises, plants can use the moisture in the air. In addition, you can also group potted plants next to each other to take advantage of the moisture that is released during air exchange by plants.
Nutritional Deficiencies
Nutrient deficiencies will also cause any plant species to grow slowly and stunted. The balance of nutrients in the soil is an important factor to promote the growth and comprehensive development of plants. Nutrients such as nitrogen will help maintain the green color of the leaves as well as the beauty of Alocasia Black Velvet. You can also use organic or slow-release fertilizers to maintain essential nutrients in the soil.
Solution
You should periodically fertilize to meet the needs of the plants. In particular, you also need to pay attention to the frequency and dosage of application because applying too little or too much fertilizer will also affect the health of the plants. Before use, you should carefully read the instructions for use from the manufacturer on dosage and frequency. Too much fertilizer does not help plants grow better but also causes them to wilt due to excessive stress.
Destructive Pests
Diseases and insects are dangerous factors affecting the health of plants. Alocasia Black Velvet will be completely severely damaged, with leaves drooping, withering, and dying slowly. Insects will attack the leaves and stems, sucking up the sap and destroying the structure of the leaves. From there, the leaves will be deformed and droop around the pot. The fungus will also cause problems such as dry leaves, wilting, falling leaves, or brown, black spots appearing on the leaves.
Solution
Regularly cleaning and checking the condition of leaves and stems is one of the effective solutions to eliminate insects and plant pests. Spores from fungi and insect eggs will often appear on leaves and attack soon after they reach adulthood. Alternatively, you can also use neem oil or other organic insecticides to kill fungi and insects. Consider before using chemical drugs because they can destroy beneficial insects in the natural ecosystem.
How To Revive A Drooped Alocasia Black Velvet?
Before taking corrective measures, you must determine the cause and extent of its consequences. Each cause has an effective remedy and prevention if you follow the detailed instructions below.
Waterlogging Leads To Root Rot Disease
You take the whole plant out and ask the pot gently. Check for rotten branches and remove them with a clean, sterile pair of scissors. Then you clean the remaining healthy root branches with a solution that fights root rot and removes harmful bacteria.
Use a new potting soil full of nutrients and a new pot. The reason you shouldn’t use old soil and pots is that harmful fungi and bacteria can still lurk in the soil and continue to damage healthy roots. After replanting the plant in a new pot, you only need to water a small amount to moisten the soil. Then place the pot in a well-ventilated area and only water when the ground is 2-3 inches dry. Alocasia Black Velvet will probably recover in 1 to 2 weeks if you take good care of them.
Lack Of Water Leads To Dry And Wilted Leaves
If your plants are severely dehydrated, soak the entire pot in the tub for 30 to 40 minutes. It will help your potted plant to absorb the best water from all parts of the plant from leaves, stems, soil, and roots. Then you move the potted plant to a location that is cool and has good humidity. You should regularly water when the ground is dry and the leaves are still wilted and dry. In this condition, you just need to provide enough water, the plants can revive in a few days.
Too Much Sunlight Causes The Leaves To Burn
Move the potted plant to a cool area and out of direct sunlight. Then, you water continuously on the leaves and the whole plant to cool the plants. It will help plants absorb water and maintain water in each cell to avoid deformed leaves.
For completely burned leaves, you should remove them because they will not be able to recover. However, you should also not remove too many leaves at one time because the plant will be overstressed by multiple open wounds. In addition, you also need to pay attention to the humidity in the air to keep the leaves of plants fresh and healthy.
Pest Attack
The recovery status of plants will be based on the actual condition of the pests attacking them. If pests have completely attacked the leaves and stem and caused the plants to grow stunted, you should use special drugs to kill them.
If you spot black spots, brown spots, yellow spots, or holes in some leaves early, you need to check their sides and clean them. Remove leaves showing signs of disease or wilting to prevent the disease from spreading to other healthy leaves.
Create A Consistent Care Routine
In addition to methods for quick fixes in serious situations, you also need to develop a consistent routine for each time of year. For each season, you need to determine the amount of watering, watering frequency, appropriate location, and suitable humidity for Alocasia Black Velvet for the best growth and development.
Conclude
Alocasia Black Velvet drooping around the pot and lack of vitality are related to many different causes. Some of the underlying causes include over-watering leading to waterlogging and root rot, lack of water causing plants to wilt, and temperatures that are too high or too low to cause excessive stress on plants. In addition, low humidity, lack of nutrients, excessive fertilization, or damage by pests and diseases are also causes of plants wilting and drooping. To revive plants, you need to identify the cause and take timely remedial measures.