Houseplant · Araceae
Alocasia 'Polly'
Alocasia × amazonica 'Polly'
Give it warmth, humidity, and bright indirect light, and the African mask plant rewards you with striking arrowhead leaves.
Bright indirect
USDA 10–12
1–4 ft · 0.3–1.2 m
Overview
Alocasia 'Polly', often sold as the African mask plant, is grown for its leaves rather than its flowers. Each one is a glossy, arrowhead shape in deep bronze-green, edged in a soft wave and cut through with thick white veins that look almost painted on. It stays compact, reaching about 2 feet tall, which makes it a striking plant for a bright corner or a shelf.
It comes from the Araceae family and is a hybrid bred for indoors, happiest in the warm, humid, bright conditions of its tropical parents. That also makes it a fussier houseplant than most. It wants steady moisture without ever sitting wet, humidity higher than the average room, and warmth year-round, so it pays to give it a spot that suits before you bring one home.
The one habit that throws people is its winter rest. As the light drops, the plant goes semi-dormant and can shed most of its leaves, looking for all the world like it has died. It hasn't. Ease off the water, keep it warm, and it pushes fresh foliage when spring returns.
Care
The short version: bright indirect light, soil kept evenly moist but never soggy, warmth above 60°F (15.6°C) all year, and humidity higher than the average room. Back off the water through winter while it rests.
Light
Give it bright, indirect light, the kind near an east window or set back from a brighter one. It takes some partial shade or gentle sun, but hard direct sun scorches the leaves and deep shade leaves it weak and leggy.
Water
Keep the soil evenly moist but never soggy through the growing season, letting the surface dry slightly between waterings. Cut back hard in winter while the plant rests, since the fastest way to kill it is to leave it sitting wet, which rots the roots and stem.
Soil
Plant it in rich, loamy soil that holds moisture yet drains freely, with plenty of organic matter worked in. It's relaxed about acidity, taking a pH anywhere from 5.5 to 7.5, but it will not forgive a mix that stays waterlogged.
Temperature
Warmth matters all year. Keep it above 60°F (15.6°C) and away from cold drafts and chilly windows. Temperatures below about 50°F (10°C) push it into early dormancy and can damage the plant.
Humidity
This is a high-humidity tropical, and dry indoor air is what gives you brown, crispy leaf edges. Lift the moisture in the air with a humidifier, a pebble tray, or a group of plants, and keep it clear of heating vents.
Feeding
Feed with a balanced houseplant fertilizer through spring and summer while it's actively growing. Stop entirely in winter, when the plant is dormant and isn't using it.
Pruning
Trim away yellowed, damaged, or spent leaves right at the base whenever they appear. Heading into winter indoors, you can cut the plant back to just the top one or two leaves as it goes dormant.
Repotting
Repot every 1 to 2 years, or sooner once roots circle the pot, offsets crowd the surface, or the soil dries out unusually fast. Keep it potted year-round rather than lifting and storing it as a bare corm.
Overwintering
Bring it indoors before the first fall frost and expect it to go semi-dormant, often dropping leaves. Keep it on the drier side, cut back to the top leaf or two, and start watering and feeding again when growth resumes in spring.
Size & spacing
Indoors it stays compact, reaching 1 to 4 feet (30 to 120 cm) tall with a spread of 12 to 24 inches (30 to 60 cm). Give it room to hold its leaves out without crowding a shelf or its neighbors.
Troubleshooting
Most trouble with this plant traces back to water, air, or pests. Read the leaves and the stem base, since they tell you early whether you're overdoing the water, the air is too dry, or something is feeding on it. Match what you see below and act before it spreads.
Wilting leaves and a soft, mushy stem base
This is root and stem rot, almost always from overwatering or soil that won't drain. The roots turn brown and slimy instead of firm and white, and the base of the stem goes soft. Stop watering, lift the plant, cut away every rotted root, and repot into fresh, well-drained mix in a pot with a drainage hole.
Fix:
- Stop watering and allow the soil to dry appropriately
- Remove the plant, cut away rotted roots/tissue, and repot into fresh, well-drained mix
- Ensure the pot has drainage and discard standing water
Speckled or webbed leaves and sticky or cottony patches
These are sap-feeding pests. Fine webbing and pale stippling point to spider mites, which love dry indoor air; cottony white tufts in the leaf joints are mealybugs, and soft clustered insects leaving a sticky film are aphids. Rinse the foliage, wipe the bugs off, then treat with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil and keep the plant apart from your others until it's clean.
Fix:
- Rinse foliage and wipe off pests
- Treat with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil, repeating as needed
- Isolate affected plants to limit spread
Leaves dropping as the days get shorter
This is winter semi-dormancy, not death. As light fades and the room cools, the plant pulls back and sheds foliage, but the rhizome stays firm underground. Ease off the water, cut back to the top leaf or two, keep it warm and bright, and pick the watering up again when new growth pushes in spring.
Fix:
- Reduce watering and keep the plant on the drier side while semi-dormant
- Cut back all but the top one or two leaves
- Keep in a warm, bright location and avoid cold drafts
- Resume regular watering and fertilizing when growth resumes in spring
Brown, crispy edges while the leaf center stays green
Dry air is the usual culprit here, since this is a high-humidity tropical that hates a parched room. The damage shows up worst near heat vents or in winter when the air dries out. Raise the humidity with a humidifier, a pebble tray, or a cluster of plants, keep the soil evenly moist, and move it away from drafts and radiators.
Fix:
- Raise ambient humidity (group plants, use a humidifier or pebble tray)
- Keep soil evenly moist during active growth
- Move away from heating vents and cold drafts
Toxicity
This is a genuinely toxic plant. Every part holds insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, sharp microscopic needles that burn the mouth and throat the moment they're chewed, and the sap can irritate bare skin. Keep it well away from pets, livestock, and children, and wash your hands after handling it.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds · People
Cats Moderate
A cat that bites a leaf gets an immediate burning mouth from the calcium oxalate crystals. Expect heavy drooling, pawing at the face, vomiting, and trouble swallowing.
Dogs Moderate
Chewing any part brings on intense oral pain, drooling, and vomiting almost at once. The mouth, tongue, and lips can swell, which makes swallowing hard.
Horses Moderate
The same crystals irritate a horse's mouth and throat, leaving it drooling with painful, swollen lips and tongue. Horses can't vomit, so the discomfort stays put until it passes.
Rabbits Toxic
The crystals make the leaves a poor and painful thing for a rabbit to nibble, sparking mouth irritation, drooling, and a refusal to eat. Keep the plant well out of reach.
Livestock Toxic
Cattle, goats, and sheep that browse the foliage suffer a burning mouth, heavy salivation, and a swollen, painful tongue. The irritation puts them off feed.
Birds Toxic
A curious bird that pecks at the leaves faces the same stinging crystals, with mouth irritation and drooling the likely result. There's no upside to letting a bird near it.
People Caution
No part of this plant is meant to be eaten, and a bite delivers a sharp burning of the mouth and throat. The sap alone can leave skin red and itchy, so wash your hands after handling and keep it away from small children.
All parts contain insoluble calcium oxalate crystals; sap can cause contact dermatitis. Wash hands after handling and keep away from pets and children
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
What's sold as 'Polly' is one cultivar of a single hybrid, and you may run across a close relative under the same parentage. These are the names worth knowing.
Alocasia × amazonica 'Polly'
The compact one most people grow, reaching about 2 feet tall with leathery, wavy-edged arrowhead leaves in dark bronze-green and thick white to silvery veins that stand right out.
Alocasia × amazonica 'Boa'
A separate cultivar of the same hybrid, recorded in the Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder alongside 'Polly'.
How to propagate
You don't grow this one from seed at home. Instead you split the plant up, taking advantage of the pups it forms around its base, which is simplest at repotting time in the warmer months.
DivisionModerate
Spring to summer, at repotting · Several weeks
The easiest way to make more is to divide the plant when you repot it in spring or summer. Alocasia spreads from a rhizome and throws off small pups around the base, so tease the clump apart and pot up each piece with its own roots. Give the divisions several weeks of warmth and steady moisture to settle in before you expect new growth.
Offsets & pupsModerate
Spring to summer · Several weeks
You can also lift individual rooted offsets off the parent clump in spring or summer and pot them up on their own. Each pup roots and finds its feet over several weeks, so keep it warm and lightly moist while it establishes.
Myths
A leafless Alocasia 'Polly' that has dropped its foliage over winter is dead.
This plant naturally goes semi-dormant in winter and often sheds most or all of its leaves. Tip it out and check the rhizome before you give up on it. As long as the rhizome stays firm, it will push fresh leaves once warmth and watering return in spring.