TIGRINA RETURNS FROM THE DEAD

For my very first blog entry in March 2010, I wrote about a treasured Alocasia Tigrina plant that I had just purchased online. This gorgeous tropical plant is prehistoric in nature, with giant, reptilian-like leaves and tiger stripped stalks (petioles). I ordered a juvenile plant, around two feet tall but they are rumored to grow over six feet tall with leaves over two feet long. When I first learned about this plant I was immediately in love and when it arrived I was ecstatic. Within a matter of months it had nearly doubled in size but then, unexpectedly, it died back to a tiny stump. I, apparently, had broken two Alocasia Tigrina cardinal rules: 1) give minimal water, and 2) keep it potbound (prefers undersized pot). I was devastated, and since this plant is difficult to find, I wondered if I'd ever have the opportunity to grow another one. But just in case it hadn't died completely, I dug up the tuber, transplanted it into a smaller pot, and waited patiently, hoping for a second act. Sadly, nearly a year went by and still no growth. So this past spring, I once again dug up the tuber and discovered that it had pretty much completely rotted away. But just as I was about to throw it out, I noticed a very small potato ear-like appendage on the side of the rotten tuber. On a whim, I carefully cut the 'ear' thingy off and transplanted it back into a pot of fresh porous soil and waited... and waited. And finally, around mid-summer 2011, a new small plant poked through the earth and now, a few months later, it is around six inches tall and has its first leaf. Check out the photos of it's early stages of growth, the last photo being from just yesterday.

Here's a photo of my original plant soon after I received it
in March 2010. I was giddy as a schoolgirl.

I found this photo on the Internet showing the stunning
appearance of a mature Alocasia Tigrina.

Here are three photos of my newly reborn Alocasia Tigrina,

over the past few month period.

My Alocasia Tigrina story has a curiously odd twist. A few months ago, I noticed what appeared to be a small tropical plant growing in an isolated area of my garden where I only grow berries. I wasn't sure what it was but was curious enough to transplant it into a pot and place it on my kitchen windowsill, which has become an impromptu nursery. Very recently, as the plant grew a bit bigger and a few leaves appeared, I realized that it is actually another Alocasia Tigrina plant! My only possible theory is that when I transplanted the seemingly-dead tuber of the original plant, I must have re-used the dirt from the pot and there was a mini-me version of the tuber in the soil that got distributed to the isolated section of my garden. So I went from no Alocasia Tigrinas to two - I couldn't be happier!