Alocasia 'Jacklyn Ghost' ('Mint')

Alocasia 'Jacklyn Ghost' ('Mint')

Alocasia 'Jacklyn Ghost' ('Mint') has pale mint-silver leaves with the deeply divided shape of Alocasia tandurusa. The light blade colour makes the dark veins stand out clearly across each lobed leaf.

It grows from a rhizomatous base, sending up upright petioles with textured leaves above the pot. New leaves emerge paler, then the vein contrast becomes clearer as the leaf hardens.

Mint-silver leaves with dark veins

• Pale mint to silver-green foliage.
• Deeply lobed Alocasia tandurusa leaf shape.
• Dark veins across a lighter blade surface.
• Textured leaves on upright petioles.
• Soft new leaves unfold more easily in humid air with gentle airflow.

Sulawesi origin and pale new leaves

Alocasia tandurusa is native to Sulawesi and grows in wet tropical habitat. Its divided blades carry long lobes that create the antler-like shape.

The pale leaves can bruise, scorch or develop translucent patches more easily while they are soft. Keep them out of direct sun, and avoid letting the mix dry hard while a new leaf is opening.

Care for pale Jacklyn Ghost leaves

• Light: Give bright filtered daylight. Direct sun can mark the pale blades.
• Water: Water again once the top few centimetres of substrate have started to dry. If the mix dries out hard while a leaf is opening, the new leaf can stick, stay smaller or develop marks.
• Substrate: Use a fine-to-medium aroid mix with bark, coco chips, perlite, pumice or lava. This gives the rhizome air and lowers the risk of rot in wet mix.
• Humidity: Aim for around 60% or higher while new leaves are soft. Gentle airflow prevents damp leaf surfaces from lingering.
• Temperature: Keep it away from cold glass, cold shelves and draughts. Cold exposure can cause translucent patches on pale new leaves and slow water uptake.
• Feeding: Use light fertiliser while the plant is producing new leaves. Too little feed during active growth often shows up as smaller fresh leaves.
• Potting: Use a draining pot and keep the rhizome firm near the substrate surface, not buried in the wettest part of the mix.
• Propagation: Corms, offsets or rhizome divisions can be grown on once they have active roots.

Pale marks, mites and small leaves

• Translucent pale patches: Check for cold exposure, direct sun or handling damage while the leaf was soft.
• Small new leaves: Check light level, root space and feeding if fresh growth keeps coming in small.
• Several yellowing leaves: Look for wet roots, repeated dry swings or root rot.
• Speckling or webbing: Check the undersides, veins and petiole bases for spider mites.

Placement and handling

Alocasia 'Jacklyn Ghost' ('Mint') contains irritating crystals in its tissues. If leaves or stems are ingested, they can irritate the mouth, tongue and throat. Place it away from pets and children that may nibble plants, and wash your hands after handling cut tissue.

Meaning of tandurusa

Alocasia belongs to Araceae, the aroid family. The epithet tandurusa is derived from Indonesian tanduk rusa, meaning deer antlers, a reference to the deeply lobed leaf outline.