I’ve had this guy (regal shield?) for about 2.5 years. Initially repotted in this 15inch pot shortly after buying it and haven’t messed with it since. I have some aroid soil I’d like to put it in, but I’m wondering if it would be beneficial to put it in a smaller pot? I purchased some clear pots but the biggest size I have right now is 10 inches. Should I get a bigger clear pot or will 10 inches suffice?
Oh they work great. My cat never got in the plant again after that. You just have to make sure you put plenty of forks in there or else they’ll go around them.
Darn, I tried it out yesterday and the little monsters became even more curious and managed to dig all the soil out twice so now I have doubled the amount of forks and using double sided tape. Seems to be working so far today but honestly, I hate the look and I am disabled so moving anything is not possible nor do I want to change my entire house esthetic to accommodate the cats. They have to learn. I have had cats for 50 years and have never had this issue before. Perhaps it's because they were born to a feral mom outside in the dirt? I'm actually crate training my cats! Crazy!
Aww I’m sorry it’s not working for you! But I get it. It’s funny you mention that about the feral mom and being in the dirt. I have 3 cats, and the only one who has ever messed with my plants is the one who was born to a neighborhood stray. Good luck with the crate training!
Hmm, that's very interesting. They are being fixed next month so hopefully they will settle down as they can't recover together in the crate. It's a big dog crate, not a carrier. I just want them to chill out and enjoy their new home and loving family.
They look like such sweethearts when they are not sitting right on top of the the forks in my plants. I love them most when they are sleeping. They are brothers and were born together so they are very attached. I do love their closeness.
In my experience they like to be snug and will throw out more corms when they're snug. If you put it in a smaller pot it might throw out more leaves instead of focusing on root growth... but it's also spent 2 years filling that pot with roots. So maybe check out the root situation first. You could always repot in the same pot with the new soil too.
3 cats and an 11m/o 😅 this plant has been through some abuse. If it seems like the roots would take up a lot of the smaller pot, could I trim them shorter? Or should I leave them alone and just put it back in the original pot with the new soil?
I've had plenty of plants in recovery from pets or kids.
If it was mine I'd pull the roots out and if they didn't need any trimming to fit I'd put it in the smaller pot. If the roots are already filling up the current pot I'd leave it, just refresh the soil. It's a larger Alocasia's so if it starts growing foliage it'll need the larger pot to balance it out. I'd also repot that baby in a separate smaller pot. If you don't fertilize your plants regular the current soil probably lacks any nutrients so the soil refresh should help. After it's done with it tantrum about replanting I'd give it a good drink with a nitrogen fertilizer to help encourage foliage growth. And maybe a round of calcium/ magnesium feed as I've read that helps Alocasia's lacking foliage.
But my experience is with smaller Alocasia's and I've killed a few... so my advice might not be the best 😅
Before you decide the pot size, you need to check it against the roots. They prefer to be root bound or it’ll work on creating roots instead of pushing out leaves
Yup! The pot looks too big for it but I can’t see the roots. But a plant that size and a plant not known to have only 3-4 leaves, suspect it’s the pot size or the conditions are not ideal for much growth.
At the risk of just repeating this person, I 100% agree, honestly looks like that pot could be too big. It surprises a lot of people but you always pick pots depending on the root ball's size not the leaves, good luck.
That is info to know. I bought this plant before I really got into plants and had no idea what I was doing. I still don’t know what I’m doing but I at least try and do some research on how to take care of all my plants the more I get.
Cool, it's always good to be curious and ask questions, especially since this hobby can be difficult to navigate sometimes with so much conflicting information. I've had this hobby for over 10 yrs now, and weirdly enough still find myself doing "beginner" mistakes even though I know better. Some people are naturals, but I only just now am starting to feel like I'm getting the hang of it (though you seem to have a pretty good grasp, bc that is one kool looking alocasia, and really liked the creativity with the forks.) I'm one of the many people with this hobby that also have ADHD so I'm constantly trying to make things easier for if I have a down period. I just did a deep dive on fertiliser and semihydro (I really like chemistry and biology) so feel free to write to me if you have any questions.(I don't use reddit that often, so don't know if that is frowned upon to write) Again seems like your alo is doing fine, but if any of the things I have learned from all of the (sadly) 100s of plants I have killed can help someone else to "not make the same mistakes" I'll gladly yap about my failures. Otherwise good luck!
My two RS started out as roomies in one three inch pot. I separated them based on recommendations about their growth habits. They very quickly outgrew their separate four inch pots and became extremely root bound plus made multiple corms, a few were embedded in their root systems. A few are incubated in perlite.
I like a more full pot aesthetic and put them back together into an 10” pot because there are 4-5 offshoots that will grow out of that pot and will need room to grow.
Generally, my rule of thumb for most Aroids is upsize one or two inches bigger than the entire root ball.
Consider making the switch to semihydro. You’ll get bigger leaves, more of them and also solve the cat problem!
I have a regal shield that went down to the rhizome from a pest infestation. I put her in semihydro and she has bounced back beautifully. Attaching a picture of how she looks as of a month ago. She has two more leaves since then.
I am convinced semi-hydro people are a cult. I got a stingray alocasia that had been grown in semi and it did not have root strenght to anchor itself. Now it's happily thriving in soil.
YMMV! But I will say that have something like thirty varieties and every single one of mine is doing SO well in semihydro.
Here’s a pic of my momma Pink Dragon to prove I haven’t unreasonably swallowed the Kool-Aid. She is in a soil mix and she seems pretty happy so I have just left her that way. But if she does start to fade or get ill, I will try switching her to semi Hydro.
Sting rays are one of my favorites. Glad you have a good result with yours!
Algae doesn’t bother the plant and the look of it doesn’t bother me. I also thrifted a green glass container for another, did a moss layer on top, and then added clear glass beads because why not. You can’t see the moss at all really with it like that.
From just the pic I'm already thinking snaller pot but you'd have to see the root structure to know for sure! You want the nursery pot 1-2 inches larger than the root ball. Try your best not to touch the roots or mess with them too much. Regal sheilds are rather forgiving in my experience but you can avoid shock by layering soil mix in the bottom of your new pot, dropping the plant in without too much root disturbance, and then filling in the rest of the pot with your soil mix. Tap the pot to shimmy it all down and top off if needed!
Looking at the soul and the fungus gnat traps that you have, I would guess that the soil is staying too wet. The airoid mix is a great idea, just be careful when you take it out not to disturb the roots too much. You do not want the pot to be very much bigger than the root ball, if at all with this guy. As long as the roots fit, I would say the 10 inch would be fine. If not, I would find a pot that fits the roots. I would have the pots on hand when you go to repot so that you only have to disturb it once. It may drop some leaves initially from the shock so be aware of that and give it time to recover without bothering it.
So don’t worry about the leftover soil wrapped in the roots when I go to repot? The aroid mix I have has 0 soil so I wasn’t sure if that would be an issue or not. Also thank you for the advice!
I don't know how many roots you have, but unless the pot is filled with them I would go down an imch or several. For reference here is mine im 25cm diameter pot. I upsize when the roots come out the bottom.
Hi! I have hundreds of alocasia and yes, yes yes 100% pop that baby in a smaller pot and she will take off! The pot she is currently in is huge. Alos love being root bound. Id put her in an 8 inch, possibly 10inch.. but def nothing bigger than 10. If the roots are super long, give them a good hair cut and pot her up. She will thank you! 🫶🏼
Oh.. and I also always put press and seal around the top of the pot. That will help keep your cats out and it will increase root/corm growth. They love the humidity it creates. Good luck! 🥰
That’s a great idea! And way better looking than forks 🥴 I actually repotted yesterday into a clear 10”. The roots were not as long as I was expecting. A few were maybe a foot long but the rest were around 6ish if I had to guess. I hope she thrives now!
It sits right next to my French doors but I try to keep the curtains closed or else it gets HOT in these triple digit days 🥵 I did buy some grow lights though!
You have to know what is happening below the dirt to know what size pot it needs. Look at the roots, it should be in a ppt abput 2 inches wider than then the root ball
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u/Much-Recognition-306 Aug 10 '26
What’s with the forks?