Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ on 4-15-12, #86-7.
Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’
Alocasia Amazonica x Alocasia macrorrhizos
a-loh-KAY-see-uh am-uh-ZOH-nik-uh x mak-roh-RY-zos
I bought my Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ from Brent & Becky’s in the spring of 2012 while living at the mansion in Mississippi. This hybrid Alocasia was developed by Brian Williams of Brian’s Botanicals. Brian is one of the foremost Aroid breeders and if his name is on it, you can bet it will be AWESOME!
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.
In the following photographs, you will see that Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ is one of the hardiest and easiest to grow. I think that is attributed to its parents and their hardiness also. Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ can grow to 8′ tall. Some information on the internet says they will grow in sun to part shade, but I have never had them in full sun until 2020 when I kept them on the back porch. They are supposedly hardy in USDA Zones 8-11, depending on what website you look at. I normally moved mine inside if the temps drop close to 45 degrees F because some Alocasia can go dormant if the temps get around 45. However… In 2020, I left them on the back porch until an “F” was in the forecast and they did awesomely well. So, remember, these are NOT Colocasia.
THERE ARE SEVERAL LINKS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE FOR FURTHER READING.
Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ on 4-15-12, #86-8.
Beautiful leaves of the Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ with pollen on it from the Ligustrum tree in the backyard at the mansion in Mississippi.
Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ on 6-2-12, #95-7.
Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ has the potential to grow to 8′ tall x 4-5′ wide. They are winter cold hardy in USDA Zones 8-11.
Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ on 6-8-12, #97-2.
Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ has these nice dark green leaves with creamy white midribs. The interesting thing is the maroon undersides…
Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ on 7-3-12, #107-10.
When cooler temps started approaching I had to move the Alocasia into one of the sunrooms in the mansion.
Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ on 10-28-12, #126-6.
The above photo was taken in the parlor on 10-28-12 and it measured 44″ tall x 54″ wide. This was the last photo of A. ‘Mayan Mask’ at the mansion in Mississippi. Of course, I brought it with me when I moved back to the farm in mid-Missouri in February 2013.
<<<<2013>>>>
Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ on 5-14-13, #148-5.
I brought my Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ with me when I moved to Missouri in February 2013. The three in this photo, Alocasia ‘Calidora’ (right), Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ (Center), and Alocasia ‘Portora’ (right) had been in the basement until temperatures permitted them to go outside on May 14. They did very well in the basement in front of a window and I was pleasantly surprised.
Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ on 7-14-13, #162-8.
I decided to put my plants from the basement next to and behind the shed in the backyard where my grandparents used to live (where I lived from April 1981-July 1987).
Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ on 7-23-13, #164-2.
Not many insects bother the Alocasia, but it appeared a hungry grasshopper gave one of the leaves a try. They were really bad in 2013 and so were the crickets. Sometimes a branch or twigs would fall out of the trees and poke holes in the leaves or tear them.
Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ on 8-23-13, #178-6.
Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ with its first baby. NICE!
Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ on 9-18-13, #188-7.
Moving back to Missouri was a big change for me… I had grown so used to being at the mansion with “just right” conditions I got really spoiled too. I grew up here but a lot has changed since 1987. So, not only will I have to get used to it again, so will the plants.
The Alocasia did just fine all summer and cooler temps started approaching. In October I moved them back into the basement.
<<<<2014>>>>
Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ on 6-1-14, #228-9.
We made it through our first full winter in the basement with flying colors. I decided to put the Alocasia next to the barrel that covers the old well in my grandparent’s former backyard. This spot gets some morning and mid-afternoon sun but it lightly shaded the rest of the day.
Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ on 6-12-14, #229-3.
I was glad the Alocasia liked this spot and do very well here.
Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ on 6-29-14, #230-13.
I was excited when Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ started growing her first bud. I didn’t take many photos in 2014, but we got through the summer and through the next winter.
<<<<2015>>>>
Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ on 7-12-15, #271-2.
Once again back outside in their favorite spot, Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ is doing very well by mid-summer. I didn’t take many photos in 2015 either…
<<<<2016>>>>
Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ leaf on 7-19-16, #274-5.
One of the best things about growing Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ is their leaves with maroon undersides with prominent creamy midribs and lateral veins.
Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ on 7-19-16, #274-6.
I now had three pots with Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’… Looks like the big one needs babies removed again…
<<<<2017>>>>
Well, we made it through another winter pretty well and now I have to do some work removing babies…
Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ on 6-24-17, #349-6.
I had already removed the larger babies from this pot so I left these for later.
Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ on 7-11-17, #356-4.
Which, of course, grew… Ummm, something looks fishy.
Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ on 8-11-17, #365-2.
And grew. But something was very weird…
Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ on 8-11-17, #365-3.
How in the heck did Alocasia ‘Portora’ babies get in this pot with the Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’?
Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ on 8-23-17, #368-29.
FINALLY, on 8-23-17 I had to do some re-potting. After I was finished with the biggest pot of Alocasia ‘Calidora’, I took the biggest pot of ‘Mayan Mask’ to the table… The two bigger “babies” should have been removed a long time ago. In all, I removed seven babies. I removed four ‘Mayan Mask’ and three ‘Portora’.
This was the original plant I bought from Brent& Becky’s in the spring of 2012. I always keep the original tag (if they have one) with the original plant.
I STILL have a couple of pots of ‘Mayan Mask’ that have babies that need to be removed, not counting A. ‘Portora’s pots!
Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ on 8-29-17, #369-9.
Just look at that AWESOME leaf!!!
Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ on 8-29-17, #369-10.
I was taking photos for a post about aroids and why Alocasia leaves stand upright and Colocasia leaves droop. As with this photo, you can see how the petiole attaches almost straight into the midrib. The area where the petiole and midrib join is called the apex.
Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ on 10-11-17, #382-7.
As temperatures started to cool off it would soon be time to bring the potted plants inside for the winter.
The Alocasia inside for the winter on 10-16-17, #384-1.
I moved the plants inside on October 16. The Alocasia always do very well through the winter in the basement.
<<<<2018>>>>
Alocasia in the basement on 1-12-18, #397-2.
January brought very cold temperatures and the Alocasia were glad to be in the basement.
The Alocasia did pretty well in 2018 but I didn’t take many photos of them. The Japanese Beetles ate the leaves off of the trees they were under which provided less than favorable conditions. As a result, the Alocasia didn’t look their best so I didn’t take photos.
<<<<2019>>>>
Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ on 6-9-19, #585-2.
Two of the larger Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ went dormant over the winter in the basement, which never happened before. Lingering cool temperatures slowed them down from coming out of dormacy, but as you can see in the above photo, they are now coming back to life.
Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ on the front porch on 6-16-19, #591-2.
I gave away a few Alocasia ‘Mayan Mask’ offsets last summer but kept this one. I gave the others away because I only need so many. I kept the plant in the above photo, as well as an Alocasia ‘Portora’, in my bedroom through the winter instead of with the others in the basement. It is happily doing well on the front porch now.
<<<<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 when 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.
I will continue adding more photos and information as time goes by.
The Alocasia parent page has more information and links about Alocasia and photos of the plants I have grown. I also have a separate page for each one.
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. If you see I have made an error, please leave a comment or send me an email at thebelmontrooster@yahoo.com.
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