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Field Guide · Alocasia

Alocasia cuprea: the mirror-finish jewel that refuses to be ignored

Alocasia
70% Minimum humidity where cuprea stops protesting

The Borneo copper-leaf is the most photogenic Alocasia you can buy — and the one most likely to collapse in a sulk if you treat it like a houseplant.

The picks
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Alocasia cuprea 'Red Secret'
Terrestrial · metallic leaf

The selected form most often sold under the cuprea name, with thick, quilted blades that flash copper to oxblood depending on light angle. Leaves stay compact — 8 to 14 inches — and the plant rarely climbs. Give it warmth, airflow, and a coarse mix and it will push a new leaf every three to four weeks in summer. Stress it and it will drop everything and retreat to a corm.

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