Taking care of my Black Coral Colocasia

Who knew gardening could be so challenging?

For a while now, I have been really wanting to get into gardening.

Something about having a home full of greenery seems so relaxing to me, and I want that for my future; I want lots of greenery for my home that’s soon to come. But, I can’t stand the look of plastic plants, so that means that I’ll have to raise plants of my own.

But, who knew taking care of plant’s could be so tricky!! I swear, each plant has a personality of it’s own! But today, we’ll be discussing my journey on how I am raising my Black Coral Colocasia.

This is what my plant looked like when my grandmother first gifted it to me,

The picture is from afar, but you can already see that intense purple-black color, drawing your eyes immediately to it. The plant has a radiant presence which demands attention, and that’s what I love about it!💜🖤💜

But recently, I’ve been having a hard time trying to get this beautiful plant to flourish in it’s dark purple hues once more. Having had the Black Coral for a little over 7 months now, I can definitely say that this is one finicky plant!

I’ve lost lots of leaves due to my lack of knowledge when it came to it’s care. But that didn’t deter me and my motivation for wanting to see this plant thrive. In fact, it strengthened it. I am determined to make this gorgeous plant live, and live it shall.

So now, I’ll go into detail on what I’ve learned trying to raise a Black Coral Colocasia.

First things first, it requires moist soil, but not so much that it’s constantly drowning, just enough to make you say, “yeah, that’s some wet dirt.” And this is because in my research, I learned that Black Coral Colocasia’s are actually bayou plants and they thrive in wet, humid climates. Luckily for me, I live in Florida.

But, unfortunately for me, Black Coral’s don’t like too much sun. And from my experiences, giving the plant too much sun, can burn it’s beautiful leaves, and even impact new growth.

In the photo, behind that lovely green leaf you can see just how much damage the sun did to it when I left it out too long. And I only left it out for 3 hours! Reasons being, is that the sun is what gives the plant that blackish color, which I was struggling to obtain.

However, you must not fear only the sun, but other obstacles that my come from environmental factors. One of these factors being… My cats. One of them in particular has quite a fondness for chewing on my plants, while the other thinks that the long, hanging leaf are a wonderful toy to play with in their free time. Can you guess which one is which?

*Yeah. Forewarning, be cautious with pets and plants.*

As you can see, the cats did their damage to this beauty, but… It was I who did the most.

In December of 2023, I decided to fertilize this plant. Let me paint the picture. This is my first time caring for a plant. I’ve done my research, but lack experience in plant care and most importantly, how to fertilize a plant properly. So, using an indoor fertilizer, I get a cup of water and pump 2 pumps of fertilizer into the cup.

This, destroyed, my Black Coral. And for weeks, it shriveled, shuddered and grasped for anything and everything it could grasp to stay alive. It’s appearance, haunted me all throughout the winter months.

I regret how I took care of this plant, however, now I know how to care for it better. And thankfully, it’s given me the chance to keep it going.

My Black Coral Really is a fighter!

This is currently, what my Black Coral looks like. And I know what you’re going to say, “There’s no way that’s the same plant!” Unfortunately, it is… 😅

My Black Coral been through a lot, from the misuse of fertilizer and lack of knowledge from its owner, to the abuse of a gluttonous cat and it’s rowdy partner.

But, I haven’t given up, and neither has my Black Coral. If my Black Coral still has the strength to keep fighting, then so do I! I’m going to keep trying to get this beauty back to the elegant, purple-black hue it used to have.

I’ll keep updating you guys on how the process is going!

Until next time!