Alocasia 'Silver Dragon' has pale silver-grey leaves with dark green sunken veins, and the same scaled texture as its sibling 'Dragon Scale'.
It is smaller and paler than Dragon Scale, and slightly less demanding, though that is a low bar.
Light
Alocasia 'Silver Dragon' grows best in medium to bright indirect light.
Too much light
The pale surface bleaches quickly, faster than on the darker Dragon Scale, and the scaled texture flattens.
Too little light
Growth stops and new leaves come in smaller.
Watering
Water when the top 3cm (1 inch) is dry, erring on the dry side. The small corm rots easily.
On average:
- Spring & summer: once a week
- Autumn & winter: once every 2-3 weeks
Signs of overwatering
- Leaves yellow and drop suddenly
- Stalks soften at soil level
- Soil stays wet for days
Signs of underwatering
- Leaves droop and stalks bend
- Leaf edges curl and crisp
Humidity and temperature
Humidity of 60% or above. It does noticeably better in a cabinet or terrarium.
Keep it between 18°C and 27°C (65-80°F).
Soil and repotting
Soil
Very free-draining, heavy on bark and perlite, or pure sphagnum moss.
Repotting
Rarely, and only in spring.
Feeding
Quarter-strength balanced fertiliser once a month through spring and summer. Nothing in winter.
Pruning and grooming
Remove fully yellowed leaves at the base. Brush dust from the sunken veins with a soft dry brush.
Dormancy
It drops its leaves readily in winter and retreats to the corm. Keep it barely damp and warm, and check the corm is firm before giving up on it.
Common problems
Bleached, washed-out leaves
Too much light. The pale surface shows this sooner than darker Alocasia.
Sudden leaf loss
Dormancy or overwatering.
Crispy edges
Humidity too low.
Spider mites
Common in dry air, and hard to see against a silver leaf.