How to Grow & Care for Alocasia Wentii ‘New Guinea Shield’ (2024)

Trust me, you can grow any plant, including Alocasia Wentii, if you provide them with all the requirements such as soil, light, water, fertilizer, temperature, and humidity.

Still, if you find Alocasia Wentii too challenging to grow, follow the guidance below, it will help you to add them to your houseplant collection easily. Here, I have explained some more important requirements to help you grow Alocasia Wentii ‘New Guinea Shield’ like a pro. In case you find them difficult or encounter any problems, you can ask me in the comment section.

Quick takeaways:

• Alocasia Wentii does have arrow-shaped leaves with having deep green hue on the top having a bold purple underside.
• Alocasia Wentii is also known as New Guinea Shield.
• The plant is able to produce large, glossy leaves.
• The leaves of the plant showcase a rich dark green hue and have purple color underside which makes them look like two color plants.  

The following table will give all the important information that you need to grow and care for Alocasia Wentii ‘New Guinea Shield’:

Scientific name	alocasia wentii
Common Name	Hardy Elephant Ear, New Guinea Shield, Purple Umbrella
Light	Bright indirect sunlight
Watering	Weekly, water if the top 2 inches of soil is dry
Temperature	59-86°F (15-30°C)
Hardiness Zone	8a to 10b
Humidity	60-80%
Soil Type	Rich, quick-draining, loamy
Soil pH	6.1- 7.3 (slightly acid to neutral)
Fertilizing	A balanced feed once a month in spring and summer
Repotting	Every 2 years
Pruning	Beginning of the growing season
Propagation	Divide offsets
Toxicity	Toxic to humans and pets
Mature Size	5 feet as a houseplant
Bloom Time	Rarely blooms

Grow & Care for Alocasia Wentii ‘New Guinea Shield’ 

The Alocasia wentii comes under the Alocasia category which is the easiest variety to be grown with minimal effort. The following are some important requirements for growing and caring for Alocasia Wentii ‘New Guinea Shield’  

• Light
• Watering 
• Temperature 
• Soil
• Fertilizer
• Pruning 
• Repotting and potting
• Humidity 
• Propagation 

Light: 

• The plant  Alocasia wentii basically is a hybrid elephant ear that originated in the rainforest of the South Pacific.
• According to the plant the light needs for growing the plant ranges from  10,000-20,000 lux.
• The best way to provide light is by placing the plant where there is bright but indirect light.
• You can place the plant in the window of the north or east-facing room to get the right amount of light.
• If you Place it in a room with the window facing the west plant or south plant to protect the plant from full sun exposure.
• If the plant gets too much amount light it will damage the leaves of the Alocasia wentii.

Watering:

• The plant is being originated from rainforests where the rainfall is frequent but the soil drains well.
• For planting you need to fulfill the same requirement for watering the plant.
• You need to check the soil moisture and water the plant with gentle streaming.
• Remember to stop watering the plant when the water comes out of the drainage holes at the bottom of the pot.
• Avoid keeping the pot to sit in a place where water is collected which will cause the plant root rot.

Temperature:

•  The temperature of growing Alocasia wentii ranges between 55-85 (13-30ºC).
• The plant has a bit more hardiness than other plants and can survive in a temperature below 50ºF (10ºC).
• You can easily meet the requirement of temperature for planting Alocasia wentii but you need to, be sure to keep them protected from the air conditioning vents or fans.
•  If you want to keep the plant outdoors you can keep it but make sure to bring the plant indoors before the cold weather may kill your plant or damage the foliage of the leaves.

Humidity:

• The ideal humidity for growing Alocasia wentii is pretty high which is between 60-80%.
• Maintaining a high humidity level is not possible in a house but you can create a microclimate for maintaining the humidity to grow by placing the plant on a large pebbles tray and filling the tray with water that will help in moistening the air around the plant. 
• If you are not able to place the pebble tray then you buy a small humidifier for maintaining the humidity.

Soil:

• For planting  Alocasia wentii you need soil that retains moisture as well as well draining. 
• The soil should have a ph level range between 6.1 to 7.3.
• According to me, you can add commercial soil mix to grow  Alocasia wentii mainly for aroid that you easily find online.
• You can also create the soil mix on your own by combining equal parts of potting soil, perlite, and peat moss or coco coir, and for important ingredients, you can check at any nursery shop.

Fertilizer:

•  For maintaining the growth of Alocasia wentii you need to provide the plant fertilizer.
• You can fertilize the plant with a liquid indoor plant fertilizer with a balanced ratio of 10-10-10.
• You need to use the fertilizer every few weeks in the growing season of spring and summer.
• You can gently pour the fertilizer over the soil surface by diluting the liquid fertilizer twice according to the water you have mixed.

Potting & Repotting:

• You need to repot the plant every two years most of the time as the plant is able to grow in a crowded pot also.
• The preferred time to repot the plant is when you see that the roots of the plant are growing out of the drainage holes you need to repot the plant to maintain the soil moisture.
• Remember not to move the plant into a much bigger pot. The pot should be only 2 inches in diameter and bigger will stress the plant.
• The new pot should have enough drainage holes.
• After repotting you need to use a fresh potting mix and water it well.

Pruning:

• In the case of growing Alocasia wentii only one time of cutting is enough to remove the dead or damaged leaves.
• The leaves of the plant are bigger in size so if there are any damaged leaves it will detract from the overall appearance of the plant so there is a high need to trim the leaves off.
• You need to use a sharp, sterilized knife or pair of scissors for cutting the damaged stem out.
• Avoid cutting off the stems that are healthy and supporting the healthy leaves.

Propagation:

• You can propagate the plant by dividing it at the time of repotting.
• For propagating the plant you can take the cutting that can grow to a good size.
• Propagation done by stem cutting can create a root system to support growth.
• You need to gently pull out the baby plants from the mother plant after removing the root ball from the pot.
• Plant the baby plant into a small pot.

Conclusion:

I have explained here in detail what to do and what not for growing and caring for Alocasia Wentii ‘New Guinea Shield’ so that the plant is able to grow into a beautiful and healthy plant that will add beauty to your house.