Hundreds of Elephant Ears

16 years ago

Look for I was able to get.

This guy out in the country has 200 Elephant Ear plants that he is going to cut down and winter storage the bulbs so I asked if I could have have some leaves, he said take all you want, man, if that wasn't a bad thing to say to me!!

I only took 8 smaller ones but this one is 28"long and 18" wide. I was so sad the rest of the leaves will go to waste.I casted it with Porland cement & sand, reinforced with drywall tape.

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Comments (7)

justadncr
16 years ago
Great job! I am so jealous. That was a small one?
emtnest
16 years ago
Beautiful leaf!!!
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There are some things you need to know about Elephant Ears. First of all, there are two basic kinds. One is a great big bulb. These will have leaves that face the sky. The other kind grows on roots. These face the side. If the ones you have face the side, they are very likely invasive. Do a search on Elephant ears and you can read how incredibly difficult these can be to get rid of in your part of the country. I have read that some of the side facers are clump formers, specifically Black Magic. I sure would like to have confirmation of this from someone who grows it. But that's for another discussion. Back to your questions. If you have leaves that are laying on the ground, you can trace them back to their base and cut them off. The plant should regenerate fresh leaves. Any that are withered should be removed too. Cannas (the kinds that grow on roots, not bulbs) like nitrogen and water. They will actually grow in standing water (which is why you see them growing so well in ditches). Even if you damaged your original plant, keep it watered and you should be fine in a few weeks. As far as Miracle Grow is concerned, I don't recommend it ever for a newly planted or newly divided plant. It has very strong salts in it that can be harsh on tender roots. That being said, it's unlikely you hurt Elephant Ears. In the future, try using it at half the strength the bottle calls for, or better yet, use Fish Emulsion which is an organic fertilizer that never fails to do plants a world of good. Back to the invasiveness issue. If you determine that your EEs are the invasive kinds, I would highly recommend that you dig them out before winter comes, if not sooner. Not to worry, you won't get them all out. Any roots that break and remain in the ground will come back next spring. At that point, you may want to transplant a few of them into large pots, so you can enjoy these beautiful plants without having to declare all out war. Again, do a search for several threads on them.
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I have had success planting elephant ears for the last few years. I've left them in the ground, except for the couple times I took some in containers into the garage and left them there for winter. I heavily mulched the ones in the ground over winter (about 8 inches of cedar mulch), with no watering in winter. They usually come back bigger the next year, although some have rotted. I'll be uncovering them in the next few days, and I'll "help" slough off some of the decayed tops, if there are some that have decayed. When I do this, they usually sprout new growth shortly thereafter. Some have grown to amazing size: as high as about 8 feet, with a base over 2 feet. Don't give up on the ones you planted, but remember that frost knocks them back, and they have to be mulched in winter. Let's hope you weren't too early. When they get going, I sprinkle bone meal around the area above the bulb a few times during summer, and it seems to keep them going strong. Good luck!
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Heythere, Mike. Hopefully you've gotten the Colocasia storage thing squared away from the excellent advice above. You can also do dormant storage like this with Caladiums, Cannas, Gladiolus. There are also vines that can tolerate dormancy in a dark, cool, dry place, like Mandevilla and Bougainvillea. Not always successful, but nothing lost if you had the plants anyway and are just trying to save them. Among hardy plants, look for unusual and especially large foliage, wild color, growth habit. Covering the trunks of mature trees with desirable vines like climbing Hydrangea and dutchmans' pipe can add to the look. The more closely you pack things, the more tropical it will look. Avoid pastel flowers, which can make it look cottage-y instead, and go with lots of red, yellow, bright fuchsias, in jumbles, not what appears to be a thought-out plan. Make use of seed vines and annuals that compliment your look, and wild-looking fast-growers like Perilla, Coleus, sweet potato vines, Persian shield, castor bean, and veggie plants that have a striking appearance. Peppers originate from the tropics afterall. Then there are micro-climates, my favorites of which involve deep leaf piles and warm, brick areas, planting against foundation/basement walls, raised plantings, cold frame. More ideas in this one. Then there's the removal of that which ruins the appearance, within reason, budget, property value, personal taste, sentiment, etc... of course. I also think that butterflies add to a tropical appearance, so whatever you can come up with for nectar plants will help encourage them to visit. Some of my workhorses in that area are tall Zinnias and Basil. Couple bucks' worth of seeds makes large plants that attract them for months. When Coleus blooms they like those flowers too.
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If not this, it's quite similar: http://plantlust.com/plants/colocasia-esculenta-ele-paio/
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elephantear
16 years ago
Very nice leaf-have you painted it yet?
I also have a large one I cast just before it got cold although not quite as large as yours, you look so proud and so you should be! I brought 2 large pots of EE bulbs inside which are still growing quite well. I'll put them in the cooler root-cellar as soon as they start to go dormant. I did this last fall then took the pots outside again as the weather was suitable in the spring(no frost warnings). Being inside for the fall gave me a little more time to cast smaller EE leaf gift bowls etc for Christmas 2006. One plant while upstairs even produced a peach color 'bloom' of sorts, sorry I've forgotten what it was actually called. Have fun! Wendy
tarol
16 years ago
I have been making large elephant ear castings, building them fairly thick (2 inches). Several have cracked, starting from the top of the leaf where it is shaped like a "V" and working down through the center where the vein is. I would appreciate any feedback on how to prevent this and also how to repair them as I want them to hold water.

My castings are made with portland cement and vermiculite.
gansn
16 years ago
I make large elephant ear castings too, and I have been using drywall tape as reinforcement. I put on a layer of concrete (I use portland and sand 1:2, or vinyl concrete patch mix)about 1" thick, keeping the mixture about 3/4 inch from the side of the leaf, then I let that set for 10 or 15 minutes. Then I lay the drywall tape out running it down the length of the leaf, not touching, but about 1/2 to 3/4" apart. On top of that layer of drywall tape I place another layer running perpendicular to the first. Then I add the second layer of concrete to make the casting about 2" thick. The second layer usually makes the first spread a little more, closer to the edge. My edges are usually thinner than the center. I'm not walking on them, so that's not a problem.

I have used this method to make some tables, adding some wrought iron bases and they seem sturdy. I don't have a problem with cracking. You have to be sure that you are making the concrete over the central vein thick enough,sometimes that's hard to judge.
wannadanc
16 years ago
Tarol - my guess would be that it is the lack of sand that is causing your leaves to crack.
neshane
Original Author
16 years ago
I've never had any crack but mine is made with Porland cement & fine sand equal parts plus I put down a layer on the leave then use 4-5 strips of drywall tape in enforce it and add another layer of cement mix on top of that.

Hundreds of Elephant Ears

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justadncr

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Hundreds of Elephant Ears

Comments (7)

justadncr

emtnest

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