Elephant ear drooping with very strange spots

[AmiandJesse]

About two weeks ago, I noticed my elephant ear drooping quite a lot on one side but after a few days in better light it was fine. However, after coming back from a short trip I came home to a different stem (larger and older) drooping with these very odd spots.

The spots are dry and flimsy but also gritty. We have had some issues with fungus gnuts but they have been gone for some time. I’m located in the Gold Coast, Queensland so it’s just started getting cold for winter. Could this be a possible issue and causing the drooping?

The stem of the leaf is not soft at all (which they usually are if the leaf is dying) and the rest of the plant is fine.

What could be causing the leaf spotting and such aggressive drooping? Can it be fixed?

Thank you for any help we have been really struggling with this plant since we got him!

 

[Marck]

Greetings, welcome to the Forums.

It would be good to see a closer macro shots of those leaf spots.

One possibility is that this is the beginning of a spider mite (Tetranychidae, Acari) infestation. On most plants, spider mites have usually already covered all or most of a leaf by the time they are discovered, but because of Taro or Elephant Ears' (Colocasia esculenta) large leaves, an infestation often appears as grey spotty patches at first. Try wiping away the spots with insecticidal soap. Also spray the rest of the plant especially leaf crevices. Re-treatment may be necessary, but if there are no visible mites consider spraying the leaves with just water each time you irrigate and see if that keeps the mites in check.
For a more permanent solution to this ailment, consider moving the plant outside where humidity, rain and natural predators will keep spider mites in check. Winter on the Gold Coast is usually quite mild. You could still bring the plant in on the coldest nights. Of course, I do understand if you want the plant as an indoor ornament. In that case, consider having another Taro and alternating the two, one indoors and one out.