16/06/2021
Plantita Diary Entry: ALOCASIA REVERSA
My story with A. Reversa officially started last May 9. I had 15 root-less tubers of these, and none of which was liking our soil. I used premium aroid mix, fast-draining mix, yung mga soil in bags we can find typically sa mga garden shops on and offline. Basta ayaw ng lupa ng 'Pinas. They were rotting despite being treated with hydrogen peroxide and fungicides.
Bilang mga imports ito, imagine my stress and anxiety. Shipping fee pa lang kasi, lumolobo per kilogram added. 😣 So I figured, I should try to put them in sphagnum desperately.
A. REVERSA SA SPHAGNUM MOSS:
To make this happen, I needed:
*12 liter transparent storage box
*sphagnum moss
(yung genuine kasi ang daming mislabled sa Lazada/Shopee na sphagnum when in reality the product is green moss na a bit too acidic for the tubers.)
Using my metal chopstick, binutasan ko yung cover ng storage box to allow aeration. Sa klima ng Manila, need mo ng hangin kahit papaano to avoid the constant condensation sa loob ng box at sobrang taas humidity for your propagations.
Step 1: Wash the sphagnum moss using water with diluted rooting solution and hydrogen peroxide. Pwede mo ring ibabad for some time para makaabsorb yung moss.
Step 2: Make sure na all the tubers are treated for rot and air-dried. This is of paramount importance dahil any mushy part on the tuber will get so bad in just 1 day. Aim for the treated parts to callous.
Step 3: With your tubers prepared correctly, it's time for you to prepare your moss correctly din. PIGAIN hanggang wala ng tubig na mapiga. Lalo pa kung walang ugat ang tuber/cutting na ilalagay. Excess moist is the bane of propagating in boxes. How so? Kasi aamagin. Walang roots na mag-aabsorb at makakain ng amag yung tubers at mabubulok.
Also, removing the excess moist will force the tuber to work double-time at producing roots. 😉
Step 4: Place your box in a bright area. Huwag sa arawan na mag-tataas ng humidy sa loob that could lead to molding.
Step 5: Sa first week, okay lang kung often ka mag-bukas-sara to check your tubers dahil ito ang period na pinaka-basa yung medium. Basta dapat vigilant tayo against amag. 😎
Step 6: Kapag nag-start ng mag-produce ng roots, don't get too excited to take them out. The safe time to do so is kapag may dahon ng nailabas at na-unfurl (see picture why).
BUT BE AWARE. If you feel that stable na yung progress ng tuber sa pag-gawa ng roots, I recommend that you take them out individually kasama ng moss nila and place them in cups or i-set up mo ulit yung box with dividers. The roots will expand and become entangled! Masasaktan ka mag-tanggal ng buhol nila (see picture).
After a month, I am happy that my A. Reversa tubers thrived and are now complete plants. They have stabled and were transplanted to a really good soil-less mix, in 3x4 in pots. Just look at how pretty those leaves are. I am excited to watch them grow into maturity and finally become a fully-established, homegrown jewel alocasia.
