How to Grow & Care for Alocasia Baginda ‘Dragon Scale’ (2024)
Why is a plant named Dragon? Are you thinking the same? What is there in this plant? Does it also fly or is it harmful? STOP! STOP! STOP!
I have got all the answers to your questions. The plant is named Dragon Scale because of its appearance, which looks straight out of a sketchbook. I got attracted to this plant just by hearing the name and decided to grow it, but do you know just planting is not sufficient to grow them? You need to know what the perfect environment is to maintain for thriving.
What are we waiting for? Let’s start to learn about them in detail and then grow them in the house.
Key takeaways:
- The plant also resembles a dragon scale that is plucked from a forgotten pile of gold.
- The plant leaves do have varying shades of green that make the plant more attractive.
- The plant is able to grow up to 3 feet tall indoors and wide about 2 feet across.
Plant care
| Botanical Name | Alocasia baginda ‘Dragon Scale’ |
| Common Name | Alocasia dragon scale |
| Family | Araceae |
| Plant Type | Perennial, corm |
| Mature Size | 2-3 ft. tall (indoors), 1-2 ft. wide (indoors) |
| Sun Exposure | Partial |
| Soil Type | Moist but well-draining |
| Soil pH | Neutral, alkaline |
| Bloom Time | Spring, summer |
| Flower Color | Green, white |
| Hardiness Zones | 9-11 (USDA) |
| Native Area | Asia |
How to Grow Alocasia Baginda ‘Dragon Scale’?
Alocasia Baginda ‘Dragon Scale’ plant is also known as the dragon scale alocasia because of the presence of a plant that looks straight out of a sketchbook. The plant is native to Kalimantan, Indonesia where the plant grows in rainforest warmth and humidity.
For growing Alocasia Baginda ‘Dragon Scale’ you have many options like seeding, propagating in which you can grow by stem cutting and by growing corms out of these options growing through seeding is a slow process but propagation gives you good results. After growing, the most important stage is to care for the plant as I have explained in detail below.
Growing by division:
Step 1– First, make ready some pots that are filled with a good amount of well-drained soil mixture.
Step 2– Leave them at one side and now remove the offshoots from the plant and keep it aside.
Step 3– Lose the soil at the growing level so that the offshoots come in contact with the roots but make sure not to destroy it.
Step 4– In the containers, you have to put the pups by removing them from the parent plant.
Step 5– Pat down the soil so that it sounds equal for the plants to grow well.
Step 6– Assure to keep your plants watered as being new, they need more water to thrive.
Step 7– By getting back the mother plant in its place add some soil to it.
Step 8– Keep your new plants in a place where they can feed themselves with a good amount of indirect sunlight.
Growing by corms:
The following are steps to grow Alocasia Baginda ‘Dragon Scale by corms:
- You need to unpot the plant from the old pot and keep the plant beside you.
- Now with the help of your hands dig the soil near the roots of the plant to make the small corms uncover. Avoid any breaking of the roots of corms.
- After uncovering the corms you need to remove it from the mother plant.
- You need to peel off the outer layer of the corms.
| Experienced Tips 1. Assure to treat your plant like your own child. Feed them with neem oil once a month for their vigorous growth. 2. Being attacked by pests, you have to use any horticultural oil like I said so that the pests go away. 3. For the process of photosynthesis, there should be clean leaves on the plant, so clean the plant with any cloth slightly after a few days. 4. Be patient! It is the key to grow the plant at its full potential. 5. If you want to Repot your plant, then instead of your sake you have to see what the plant wants and it doesn’t like to be Repotted much. 6. At the time of Repotting, you have to make drainage holes in the pot and keep the plant carefully without damaging its roots. 7. For a balanced and healthy plant, you have to keep rotating your Alocasia Baginda ‘Dragon Scale’ so that they grow at its highest capacity. |
How to Care for Alocasia Baginda’s ‘Dragon Scale’?
You need to take care of growing Alocasia baginda according to your native environment. The following are some ways by which you can maintain the growth and care for the plant:
- Light
- Soil
- Temperature
- Humidity
- Fertilizer
- Pruning
- Repotting and potting
Light:
- As per the rainforest location, the sun shines brightly but the plant receives a filtered Sunlight. But the average hours are 5 hours a day but there the rain happens often.
- The light required by the plant is from moderate to bright and ranges from 5,000–26,000 lux.
- For providing the plant to meet the light requirement you can place them in an east-facing window.
- In case you are keeping the plant in a south-facing window you need to protect the plant from full sun that will damage the gorgeous leaves.
- In case to protect the leaves you can hang a sheer curtain that will act as a shield for your plant.
Soil:
- The soil in the native area is very loose and porous having a lot of organic matter thus for planting the plant in your house you need to maintain a soil similar to that.
- The pH level for growing the plant is from 5.5 to 7.
- You can make your own compost by adding one-third each of peat moss, perlite, and orchid bark.
- You can also add some calcium carbonate or bone meal to give the plant more benefits.
Temperature:
- The perfect range of temperature for planting the plant is from 61 to 81ºF (16 to 27ºC).
- Providing the plant with a higher temperature makes the plant happier.
- Avoid dropping the temperature below 60 degrees Fahrenheit as the plant does have low-temperature tolerance.
- You should not keep the plant outdoors at a low temperature.
Humidity:
- The perfect level of humidity required for growing Alocasia Baginda ‘Dragon Scale’ is between 60 to 80%.
- If you find the environment is too dry then you need to add some extra moisture to help the plant to grow well.
- You can also maintain the humidity of the plant by planting it on a pebble tray Or buying a small humidifier.
Fertilizer:
- In case of adding fertilizer to the pot you need to provide with balanced ratio i.e. 20-20-20 but adding more will be harmful to the plant.
- For mixing the fertilizer you can dilute it as liquid fertilizer and pour the mix all over the surface of the soil.
- You should apply it once a month to every 6 months and water the plant after Fertilizing it.
Potting & Repotting:
- The need to repot Alocasia Baginda ‘Dragon Scale’ is every 2 to 3 years.
- The perfect Reason for repotting them is in early spring.
- You just need to select the pot that is bigger than the actual pot but not too much and that does have a good drainage hole.
Pruning:
- To maintain the plant shape you need to schedule the pruning of the plant.
- Pruning is important in a way to remove the dead leaves or diseased leaves that can kill the whole plant.
- In case of disease leave you should cut with the stem back
- You should use only sharl, small, Sterilized scissors for cutting the leaves or trimming the leaf so the disease is not spread to other parts of the plant.
Conclusion:
You should protect your plant from other common problems that you can have while growing Alocasia Baginda ‘Dragon Scale’ like saving the plant from pests by spraying water on the leaves mostly underneath the leaves of the plant. Need to avoid overwatering that will develop bacterial or fungal disease.
In this guide, you come to know about one of the best plants to grow in your home garden. Folks, I am happy that you read the full guide and finally know the process to grow your Alocasia Baginda ‘Dragon Scale’ in your home garden. Still, if there remain any queries or doubts, then you can let me know about it or you can read out the guide again to understand the process. I hope you are doing great in your gardening field. So, see you in the next guide till then safe gardening.
Thanks for reading! Happy gardening!
