Alocasia gageana on 6-2-12, #95-37. The first I removed from Tarlei Hitchcock’s pot of Philodendron bipinnatifidum.
Dwarf Upright Elephant Ear
Alocasia gageana
a-loh-KAY-see-uh gay-jee-AH-nuh
Alocasia gageana Engl. & K.Krause is the accepted scientific name for the Dwarf Upright Elephant Ear. It was first described by Heinrich Gustav Adolf Engler and Kurt Krause in Das Pflanzenreich in 1920.
The genus, Alocasia (Schott) G.Don, was named and described by George Don in Sweet’s Hortus Britannicus in 1839. They were first listed as Colocasia sect. Alocasia by Heinrich Wilhelm Schott in Meletemata Botanica in 1832.
As of 11-18-23 when this page was last updated, Plants of the World Online lists 88 species in the Alocasia genus. It is a member of the plant family Araceae with 142 genera. Those numbers could change as updates are made on POWO.
THERE ARE SEVERAL LINKS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE FOR FURTHER READING.
In 2013 I sent photos of these plants to a well-known Aroid expert. He suggested they were Alocasia odora. Alocasia odora is known as the Giant Upright Elephant Ear. After growing this plant for several years and having it listed as Alocasia odora, I realized something was just not right. After several years and many offsets, they had never grown to over 24″ tall. I wondered how could this plant be Alocasia odora if it was so small? Then one day when I was working on the Alocasia ‘Calidora’ page, a light came on in my head. I had written it was a cross between Alocasia gageana and Alocasia odora… Alocasia odora is the Giant Upright Elephant Ear and Alocasia gageana is known as the Dwarf Upright Elephant Ear. That got me to thinking…
After some research, I realized that the leaves of both species were very similar in appearance. I then posted photos on an aroid group on Facebook. Several members agreed this plant was indeed Alocasia gageana. Several members replied with photos of theirs. I can understand why the expert misinformed me in the first place because at the time my plants were still young.
Then I had to change the name on all the photos and update this page with a different species name.
Alocasia gageana on 7-2-12, #105-5. The tallest is 12″ and the shortest is 6″.
I came about this species in a very strange way. In 2011, I had agreed to take in many of a good friend’s plants for a while at the mansion. During this time, a few plants started coming up in their HUGE pot of Philodendron bipinnatifidum. At first, I thought that maybe the plant was producing offsets and possibly the leaves would change. They looked like Alocasia leaves… Soon I realized that was NOT going to happen. Thomas and Tarlei had no idea and said they never had any Alocasia. SO, where these plantlets came from remains a complete mystery. Although I did have Alocasia, there were none close to their pot for seeds to fall into it. Plus, none of my Alocasia resembled the plants that grew in this pot. The only plant close enough to drop seeds would have been my Alocasia ‘Portora’. Ummm… The parents of Alocasia ‘Portora’ are Alocasia portei and Alocasia odora. It was nearly impossible that seeds from Alocasia ‘Portora’ could have dropped in the pot because they weren’t even close.
Of course, I removed the small plants and put them in their own pots even though all the photos are of the largest one.
Clearly an Alocasia, but at this time I had no clue what species. The largest of the six is doing really good! This photo was taken on 8-12-12 in the west sunroom at the mansion (#115-76).
I had several hundred plants in pots, flower beds, and a nice-sized garden in 2012. Watching unfamiliar plants grow with a mysterious beginning was pretty exciting. What else would bring excitement to a gardener?
Alocasia gageana on 10-28-12, #126-20. The largest plant was 19″ tall when this photo was taken.
Alocasia gageana on 11-18-12, #129-5.
On November 18, 2012, when this photo was taken, it measured 20″ tall already.
Alocasia gageana on 11-18-12, #129-6.
Before I knew the species name, I thought somehow the leaves were one of the key features in finding out this plant’s true identity. The shape and the lateral veins are pretty distinctive.
Alocasia gageana on 2-17-13, #139-52.
The above photo of the larger Alocasia gageana was taken in the east sunroom on 2-17-13. I had some tough decisions to make as I had sold the mansion and was going to return to the family farm in mid-Missouri. I gave up hundreds of plants…
Alocasia gageana leaf on 2-17-13, #139-53.
Of course, when I moved, I took the largest Alocasia gageana and gave away the other five plants.
<<<<2013>>>>
Alocasia gageana on 6-1-13, #151-66.
I mentioned earlier that the plants of friends I was taking care of, the one whose pot these Alocasia came from… Well, Thomas was like a brother to me. Tarlei, his wife, passed away in 2012. Thomas helped me move back to Missouri, pulling the trailer I rented behind his vehicle. It was a long 8-9 hour drive in 30-degree temps all the way. Most of my plants were in the trailer and most of them made it through OK including this Alocasia. I had to choose plants I thought would be OK in that cold of a temperature, even though it would be for just a short period of time. When we arrived at my parent’s home it was late at night and there was a lot of snow on the ground. Thomas and I put most of the plants in the basement but I put the Alocasia odora in the dining room.
While I was in Mississippi I had a blog called The Mystical Mansion and Garden. It was about the mansion, the yard, garden, and plants while I was there. Then when I moved back to Missouri I had to make a change. How could I continue posting about the plants, the garden, the farm, etc. on my blog from Mississippi? I was in Missouri now. That’s when I started the first Belmont Rooster blog.
Alocasia gageana on 7-23-13, #164-8.
When temps warmed up I moved the Alocasia gageana to this spot next to my grandmother’s old goldfish pool. It was in this area in the early 1980’s I made a flower bed that went all the way around the fish pool. The bricks are the remnants of a sidewalk I made to go all the way around it. The trees there now were not there then. To the left of where this pot is was where I dug a shade bed for the Hosta I brought with me from Mississippi.
Alocasia gageana on 8-8-13, #171-2.
Alocasia odora is Giant Upright Elephant Ear and they can grow to a height of 6-8 feet tall… Mine never grew over 24″. clearly NOT an Alocasia odora…
Alocasia gageana on 8-30-13, #181-11.
This Alocasia continued to send up new offsets…
Alocasia gageana on 12-7-13, #208-4.
When cooler temps started coming in October, it was time to bring the plants inside once again. I put this plant in front of the sliding door in the dining room again.
<<<<2014>>>>
Alocasia gageana on 7-12-14, #231-11.
When it started warming up again in the spring, the plants went back outside. The Alocasia were returned to the places they had been in the year before. I didn’t take many photos in 2014. When temps started cooling off AGAIN the plants went inside AGAIN.
<<<<2015>>>>
Alocasia gageana on 5-16-15, #255-4.
The Alocasia gageana was doing very well in front of the sliding door but it was moved to the front bedroom. It didn’t like the change and almost went completely dormant. I knew it would eventually be OK, though.
Alocasia gageana on 6-3-15, #265-5.
By June 3, 2015, the pot of Alocasia gageana was coming back to life pretty well. I vowed never to let that happen again…
Alocasia gageana on 7-12-15, #271-4.
By July 12, 2015, Alocasia gageana was looking really good once again. The cooler weather came, the plants were moved back in the house for the winter.
<<<<2016>>>>
Alocasia gageana on 7-19-16, #274-9.
The above photo was the only one I took of the Alocasia gageana in 2016. The pot was getting crowded but I didn’t separate any.
<<<<2017>>>>
Alocasia gageana on 6-24-17, #349-8.
In June 2017 I decided it was high time I separated Alocasia gageana because it was a disaster waiting to happen if I left them all in the same pot. I put the five larger plants in individual pots and gave one away. There were several smaller plants which I put three to four in a few other pots. I stuck a Coleus ‘Spiced Curry’ stem that had broken off into one of the pots.
Alocasia gageana on 7-9-17, #355-2.
The plants did really good in their own pots, of course, and wasted no time sending up their own offsets.
Alocasia gageana on 8-23-17, #368-25.
All total, there were 25 Alocasia gageana in these pots!
When cooler temperatures were approaching, I had to bring the plants inside for the winter.
The Alocasia inside for the winter on 10-16-18, #384-1.
I took the plants inside for the winter on October 16. I put all one Alocasia gageana on a table to the right and the other in front of the sliding door in the dining room.
Alocasia gageana in the basement on 10-17-17, #384-2.
The tallest Alocasia gageana on the table in the basement was 13 1/2″ tall.
Alocasia gageana in front of the sliding door in the dining room on 12-30-17, #396-1.
I had always kept the Alocasia gageana upstairs in front of the sliding door over the winter. This time I had four larger pots and three smaller pots. I chose one pot and left the others in the basement. After a couple of months, it started acting like it was going dormant, so I took it to the basement and brought up a different pot.
<<<<2018>>>>
Alocasia gageana on 6-9-18, #456-1.
Back outside and doing well on June 9, 2018. Two of them almost went dormant over the winter, but they will be fine.
Alocasia gageana on 6-28-18, #465-6.
Even by June 28 the plants n the two pots in the middle are doing better than the other two. When some Alocasia go dormant it takes a long time for them to come back to life…
Alocasia gageana on 7-29-18, #487-8.
I really like the Alocasia gageana even though they are much smaller than by other Alocasia. There are MANY REALLY NICE smaller Alocasia species that are rarely found in commerce.
<<<<2019>>>>
Alocasia gageana on the front porch on 7-9-19, #599-2.
The Alocasia gageana all pretty much went dormant by the time this past winter was over. I put their pots behind the shed and they eventually came back to life. Since the Japanese Beetles were back in full swing, I decided to put them on the front porch. Normally the beetles don’t seem to bother the Aroids, but this year they started on the Cannas, Zantedeschia (Calla), and even snacked on the Colocasia ‘Distant Memory’.
Alocasia gageana on 7-15-19, #601-02.
As usual, the Alocasia gageana have all done quite well. Even though they don’t get near as big as the other Alocasia in my collection, I have found them delightful and undemanding. They always send up A LOT of offsets. I needed to re-pot them and add more potting soil but I didn’t do that until in January (2020).
<<<<2020>>>>
I didn’t take any photos of the Alocasia in 2020. When I took them out of the basement in the spring, I put them on the back porch so I could re-pot them. Some needed fresh potting soil and many needed to be divided and put in their own pots and others needed larger pots. I wanted to do this before I moved them to the area by the old fish pool where I always keep them. BUT, became very busy in the garden so I was only able to re-pot a few. SO, they were on the back deck all summer in full sun… Surprisingly, they did very well. I was surprised because they had never been in full sun before. Then, I left them on the back porch until October 15 until an “F” was in the forecast instead of taking them to the basement when temps got down to about 45° F. The cooler temps didn’t bother them a bit! Instead of taking them to the basement, I put them in the dining room and back bedroom. It is December 28 when I am updating this page, so I may still go ahead and take them to the basement.
<<<<2021>>>>
Alocasia gageana (Dwarf Upright Elephant Ear) on 8-17-21, #826-5.
Even though not near as large as the other Alocasia, the Alocasia gageana is a great species. They don’t require as much space as the larger species and this one multiplies QUICKLY! If you remove the offsets, the next thing you know they are hurrying to fill their pots.
Alocasia gageana (Dwarf Upright Elephant Ear) leaves on 8-17-21, #826-6.
The leaves are quite a bit smaller than the other Alocasia in my collection, but they are very nice.
I didn’t take any photos of the Alocasia gageana in 2022, but they are still alive and well.
I will continue adding more photos and information as time goes by.
You can visit my Alocasia parent page with a list of the other Alocasia I am growing as well those of the past.
I hope you enjoyed this page and maybe found it useful. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, I would like to hear from you. Please click on “like” if you visited this page. It helps us bloggers stay motivated. 🙂 You can check out the links below for further reading. The links take you directly to the genus and species of this plant.
The Belmont Rooster 
I wasn’t able to give this page a thumbs up, but consider this comment a thumbs up!I just found some elephant ears in my backyard and had struggled to identify the variety, until now. This is my first time growing alocasias so I was a little nervous, but feeling more confident and prepared now!
I’ll be sure to revisit your blog for all future plant advice. Thank you thank you!
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Hello Christina! Glad to meet you! I am not sure where you live so I wouldn’t want to say for sure that you have Alocasia gageana in your backyard. 🙂 That would definitely be a find, though, and I have been pleasantly surprised many times. Did you check out the Colocasia esculenta page? That one is the classic Elephant Ear. If you could, and wouldn’t mind, you can send photos to me at thebelmontrooster@yahoo.com. I am always here to help. Take care and thanks for your great comment!
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I was wondering if you knew what the discoloration was from on the leaf margins in “Alocasia gageana on 11-18-12, #129-6.” and how to treat it?
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Hello Andrea! Well, the photo in question was taken in 2012 when I lived in the mansion in Mississippi. I would say the discoloration was due to the plants being in to much sun. Over the winter months, the sun was lower at certain times of the day. They were in what I called the west sunroom, and later in the afternoon the sun really intensified through the windows. I moved the Alocasia gageana to the other side so the sun wouldn’t be so intense. Also, you know as the plants grow, the older leaves discolor somewhat and turn brown and die. Alocasia gageana does keep more leaves than some species. I have several plants of other cultivars that rarely have more than three at a time.
Even now, I keep the A. gageana on the front porch or somewhere they have bright light/shade but only a little direct sun. The larger Alocasia are on the back porch in full sun for now and doing great. I kept them on the back porch all last summer because I was “going to” repot them. I didn’t get them finished, but they did amazingly well in full sun.
I hope you are doing well. Take care and thanks for the comment!
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