Alocasia 'Balloon Heart' Pink Variegated

One parent. Five different plants.

'Balloon Heart' is a pink-variegated mutation of the plant nearly every collector has owned or wanted at some point, the classic Alocasia 'Amazonica'. Where Amazonica is all deep green and bright white veins, this mutation adds pink, and it changes the leaf shape too. Expect unusual, mutated forms: puckered, ballooned, heart-shaped blades that are rarely the same twice.

This week's five plants all came from the same parent, and that is the interesting part. Corm-grown from one mother plant, they have each expressed their variegation differently, from softly marked through to heavily pink. Because they share that parent, the variegation may well follow through and develop further as each plant matures, though as with all pink, nothing is guaranteed.

Priced by variegation, so you choose

Rather than one flat price, each plant is priced on how it is currently expressing. The more lightly variegated plants start at £75, the strongest example is £125, and the rest sit in between. You pick the plant that suits your eye and your budget: a lightly marked one to grow on and see what it does, or the boldest of the batch to have the finished look now.

A note on pink, honestly

Pink is the least stable and least predictable variegation in Alocasia. The heavily pink leaves carry little chlorophyll, so this is a plant for a collector who understands that pink expression varies, can shift leaf to leaf, and needs good light and patience to keep the plant strong. That unpredictability is exactly what makes a well-expressing 'Balloon Heart' so prized.

Each plant is corm-grown, ships established in Fluval Stratum, with a free pot and pon included and free delivery.

The drop

Five plants, priced £75 to £125 by variegation. Sunday at 4pm.

The collector list gets first access. Choose your plant when the drop opens.