Tmelrose - if you planted the regular colocasia esculenta (green elephant ears), no need to worry about rotting. They can grow in standing water, ponds, bogs, etc. If what you have still in the ground is the same thing, they should be back since they are hardy to zone 7, probably 6 with protection (mulch).

Caladiums are much more tender, so you will probably have to replace those. I think even in mild winters, they will die. They are considered "tropical" in nature.

If you like calla lilies, most of them are hardy in the ground here, and some have striking foliage, from bronzes, to mottled green. There is a new zantedescia aethiopica 'White Giant' that has been out for a couple or three years now, that gets humongous and is very hardy. The foliage and flowers on this plant can reach 6' tall. Supposedly very vigourous, too.

If you like elephant ears, you may like other aroids in the araceae family, like arisaema (Jack in the Pulpits) that come in all sizes, shapes, colors, and degrees of difficulty, and most of which are ground hardy here. Alocasias (can take drier soil than colocasias), like macrorhiza which is upright. On alocasias, the difference is that the leaves point upward, where on colocasias they droop a bit. Arums are pretty little plants. All aroids have spathe-like flowers, as on the Peace Lily, which is in the same family. Amorphophallus is another genus in the family, and you may or may not recall when they had the famous A. titanum flowering at the OKC Myriad Gardens. These are very large plants and the flower can tower well over the tops of people's heads. The odor is like that of rotting flesh, though it lasts for only a day. I think they paid a hybridizer $1,000 to bring in the pollen to pollinate the plant in OKC and it did in fact flower. I know of at least one Amorphophallus that is hardy in the ground here, which is Konjac. They are very temperamental as to moisture during the cold, though. Cold wet can rot the tubers easily. I have one, and I just throw it in a pot in the spring, fertilize it, and then in fall, after the foliage dies back, I remove it from the pot, separate the new tuber (which grows on top of the old one), and set it on a shelf in the kitchen. No need to store it in peat moss or other medium. They are really, really cool looking plants.

I also grow sauromatum venosum and pinellia pedatifolia in the garden, both of which are hardy in the ground, too.

Check out some of the photos in the Plant Delights catalog. I attach the link so you can check out some of these lovelies. I think you can find these cheaper than at PD, a few locally in OKC at Horn's, Satterlee's, Lowe's, and Home Depot, for instance.

I probably told you more than you will ever want to know about Aroids. Wolflover also grows tons of them, too.

Susan

Here is a link that might be useful: Aroids

Tmelrose,

What kind of elephant ear bulbs did you plant? The giant green-leaved ones or just regular caladiums?

If they are the regular caladiums, I wouldn't water too much until the soil temps exceed 70 degrees or they may rot. If they are the large green elephant ears (colocasias), they can handle a bit more water.

As far as not digging them up from last year, the colocasias may have survived, depending on how wet and cold your ground was this winter, but the caladiums may not have survived.

They should try to emerge once your soil temps are no lower than the mid-60s, and may not emerge until the soil temps get up to 70. Down here in the far southern part of the state, our soil temps are only now in the mid-60s, so I haven't even planted caladiums yet.

If my elephant ears aren't up by early May most years, I start thinking they didn't survive the winter. You're farther north, but I should think you'll see them by mid-May if they are going to come back.

Dawn

I planted the regular big green elephant ear bulbs last week. The ones I planted from a established plant last year were the regular green ones and also I planted a Black Magic elephant ear (which I absolutely loved!) It looked deep purple in the sun. The caladiums I planted last year were the deep red ones. Guess I better get down to Lowes and get a package of those since those are probably goners. They had the caladium bulbs half-price yesterday. I'm in zone 6 so fingers crossed the EE from last year survived. I did put a ton of leaves on top of them and had mulch around them too. The bulbs I planted last week had pink things starting to shoot out (roots??). The instructions said plant pointed end up, but since both ends were pointed I planted it sideways (both points on each side) so hopefully it will find its way out of the ground. Boy do I have a lot to learn. I'll have to get some of those calla lilies. Those are really pretty.

Hi, Tmelrose:

The beauty of plants, they figure out which way is up and which way is down. The only thing I have ever had problems with were begonias and it just took them a little longer to grow back up to where they needed to have the branches on the top. I bet the pink shoots are not roots but rather the new growth. I planted peonies years ago and they did great. Next yr, I had these pink things coming out of the ground where my peonies had been so I pulled them out of the ground. Those were my peony shoots, so we all are learning and believe me I have made some fabulous errors. My caladiums came back for two years in a row but I doubt if they come back this yr. To much ice and cold weather but will wait and see. In the meantime, I have stand by caladiums in a pot so I can move them when time.

Gardening is fun, frustating, but one of the most relaxing ways to create something everyone can enjoy.

Hang in there, there is always someone here who can help you out or give suggestions. Susan and Dawn intimidate me sometimes when they start off on some subject and using long words and explaining some of the stuff. I dont think I have room in my brain for even half the data they have stored away in their brains. Thats why I come here.

Chat more later. Steffie

My two cents again...:~)
Steffie...I have to tell you this... but shhh! don't tell anyone else okay? I also get intimidated with all those big words. I start to think what in the heck is that? when the experts start using all those names of plants...I do well to tell a lily from a tulip...lol.

Tmelrose...I have also planted bulbs sideways when I couldn't figure out which was top from bottom...hahaha. I have more than likely planted some bulbs upside down before. Makes me wonder if the poor little guys just grew downwards into the ground or what? lol lol

Susan...I wish I had known calla lilies did well outdoors. After the freeze when I was getting plants at Lowes they had tons of calla lily plants at half off. I would have gotten some but I really had no idea they would be hardy outdoors here. Shoot!
Oh but do they need to be planted in the shade? I don't have much deep shade around my place. Just some spots which are shady some of the day.

Well my two cents has run out.
G.M.

Thank you everyone!

NOTE! I have calla lilies coming up - my purples are earlier than the apricots and blush pinks. They are up about 6" - just noticed them yesterday.

I didn't know they were hardy here either until I saw an Oklahoma Gardening show where they were touring gardens in NE Oklahoma. A lady had been growing them in the ground for years. So, I bought some of the packaged tubers at HD.

I attached a link to the International Aroid Organization's list of hardy aroids. It's kind of old and needs to be updated to include some newer cultivars and species, but it will work. Tony Avent is the author of this list, and he is the owner of Plant Delights and heavily into aroids of all kinds, arisaemas, alocasias, colocasias, arums, and others.

There is a new black cultivar called 'Black Ruffles', that I LOVE! It has ruffled edges on it when it is mature. It is hardy here, too. There are many striking cultivars of colocasia esculenta.

I don't intend to be intimidating, I just have an urge to research a lot. That's what I did in my job as a paralegal - tons of research. So, I guess it just comes naturally to be inquisitive about latin names, etc. Some plants that are called by their common names can be confusing, so it's easier to use latin for me because it clarifies what the plant actually is. I think nurseries should use latin names in parenthesis below common names, so you know exactly what you're getting. In growing plants for butterflies, especially, it helps to know what the family name is. If its something in the solonaceae family, I know it's probably going to attract some hornworms or sphinx moths, for instance. The common name "daisy" can mean anything in the aster family or other families, for that matter. Some "daisies" don't do well here in Oklahoma, like pyrethrums, for instance, which are more suited to cooler climates than ours.

Once you get the knack of learning latin names, it comes fairly easily. You can almost look at a plant and know what family it comes from. Like apiaceae family members. If they bloom in "umbels" (looking like an umbrella of tiny flowers), it's probably in the apiaceae family. Carrots, Queen Anne's Lace, dill, fennel, astrantia, etc. all bloom like that. Of course, there are others that look similar but are not apiaceae members. So, you do have to exercise caution. I just look at tons of images, read tons of descriptions of growth habits, blooms, bloom times, etc., to try to figure out what something is or resembles.

Sorry, I've gone on too long. I just like to pass on information to anyone who will listen. I guess it is just a passion of mine. I think Dawn would say the same thing. If I see something I like, I have to KNOW what it is - I am totally compelled to know what it is. I hope I never stop learning, and it is a PROCESS for me.

Susan

Here is a link that might be useful: Aroid Hardiness List

Oh Trust me when I say I love the knowledge and wisdom of you 'experts' on plant info of all kinds. I do get amazed that you can remember all those Latin names and even SPELL them! I love research! I do it all the time. My DH says I should hire out my passion for research...hahaha. But my trouble is I research but don't retain much of what I learn so I have to store vast amounts of info on my computer...it has far greater capacity than I do! LOL.
I just get so tickled that you guys know so much and retain the knowledge. Please don't feel like we don't like it! We LOVE it! This forum is the best thing that ever happened to me! I can post a question and get fast and applicable info for all my problems. And they are many...LOL.
So Susan and Dawn...keep it up. I for one salute you and honor you and humbly thank you for all of your help!
G.M.

Good morning y'all!

Oh, I hate to think that I might be intimidating anyone. I am like Susan in that I like to do research and it does come naturally after a while. Retaining the info is getting harder than it used to be. Apparently my brain is aging right along with the rest of me. :)

I try to include Latin names when I remember them because there are many plants with similar or very similar common names and I don't want to confuse anyone, including myself! If I have the Latin name, I stand a better chance of getting exactly what I want. Elephant ears are a great example. When someone mentions elephant ears, you might need to know if they are referring to caladiums, alocasias, colocasias or xanthosomas, among others. Surprisingly, this is even true among wildflowers and weeds. We got into a discussion once on a weed that many of us know as 'beggar's ticks' only it eventually became clear that the plants we were talking about were different plants, depending on where you live, yet all had the same common name.

And I do not consider myself an expert at all. Not at all. I consider myself an avid gardener, maybe even a tomato maniac. Possibly even a vegetable and flower-obsessed mini-farmer. But, an expert?? Oh, no, no, no.

My daddy had a phrase he used when referring to someone who was good at producing crops, whether for just his/her own family or for a market stand or as a large-scale commercial farmer. He called them 'ordinary dirt farmers' and he did mean it in a VERY respectful way...like how did they produce all that stuff out of ordinary old dirt? So, I like to think of myself as an ordinary old dirt farmer. The term 'expert' is, well, that's just too fancy for me and I want to laugh when one of you refers to me in that way. I am flattered and take it as a lovely compliment, but, honestly y'all, in my brain I think of myself as an ordinary old dirt farmer.

Dawn

Dawn I do hope you realize I have a strange sense of humor...and while I certainly do have high amount of respect for your knowledge I am also a big nut who likes to joke around a lot....Merryheart...you know? I have been working since my many different diagnosis to develope as much humor and joy as possible. But I do realize in written format it sometimes does not come across as I intended or can be easily taken wrongly since there is no way to see my facial expression or body language.
I do indeed honor and respect your knowledge and ability to retain all that info...and your being able to pronouce and spell all those words.
I do also know that many of the common names are used interchangeably. One example is hens and chickens...to me it one thing to someone else is completely different looking plant. lol. Still I can only recall a very few Latin names....and especially when it comes to all the different varieties...another example is I can remember a maple is an acer but then you get into all those long words referring to the variety or type and I get a mental block. Thank GOD there those like you who know what everything is!
I do hope you will continue using all those names...perhaps some will eventually sink in????
And please do realize I am just goofing around...while giving you honor where honor is due for all your learning and knowledge...I also kid around a lot.
I am so happy to have found all of you and I do so hope I will not be offensive with all my kidding around. I will eventually be able to get out into the yard and not lurk around on here so much when this old back of mine gets over it's little mad spell. I can't wait. My roses need dead heading badly.
Love ya all,
G.M.

G.M. - you're just too funny! LOL! I don't take offense at all. I've learned what I've learned by digging for answers. I am a plant archeologist. Hee Hee!

Same with Dawn, but she knows far more about veggies than I do. I just am not able to grow them in my garden because of lack of sun. I grow a couple of tomatoes for my hornworms, and that's about it. In fact, I bought my plants this morning at HD. Their plants were actually looking very good! Lots with blooms and tomatoes on them.

I haven't got out much in the last couple or three days due to the weather - rain and cooler temps. So, actually, I probably did myself a favor. My foot is still bothering me after 2 1/2 weeks, that toe is still swollen and bruised. Shouldn't it have healed by now (rhetorically speaking).

What's funny is trying to figure out which gardening positions are the best - kneeling, standing and bending over, kneeling to one side or the other, etc. I can't squat anymore because I can't get up off my legs. Ditto kneeling, but I use the kneeling bench, and it is WONDERFUL! Still, I can't bend over on it for too long or the spinal saboteurs sneak in and CLENCH! Sometimes I don't know I hurt it until 2 or 3 days later. I'm going along thinkin', hey, dudes and dudettes, I got out of this one really smooth, and then CREEEEEEAAAAAAAK! I can't move and I'm walking like the Bride of Frankenstein.

I have to laugh about it cause it is funny to me (looking at myself, no one else). My mind has yet to reconcile with my body a lot of things I used to do and cannot do now. My daughter gets really frustrated with me because I tend to just DO and not think about the consequences. But, I am NOT going to give up my gardening no way, no how! I shall perservere.

Of course, it wouldn't hurt if I could lose a few pounds! LOL!

Susan

lol, I guess there's many of us in the same boat. Kinda makes me think about that old zombie movie where they were coming out of the forest in lots of different spots, all walking stiff and scaring everyone. I didn't imagine, in my youth, that I'd be walking like that someday because of my cranky old S-I joint. Watch that movie again and say, "Oh, I bet their gardens look wonderful!" lol, lol

I'm hurting quite a bit today, been sitting too much at work and causing "compression". I spread some grass clippings around my tomato plants this afternoon and it was just about all I could do. It does bring me joy to see things budding out and blooming.

Susan and Ilene
Good grief! What bunch of decrepit old gardeners we are! LOL Lord have mercy...how DO we get to be this way? Ilene the zombie movie? Actually I looked that bad or worse after I hurt my back last week. It was not pretty...LOL

But hey I am pretty happy tonight...I spent hours outside today. I got all the rest of my roses dead headed plus trimmed some which our wind the other day had actually broken and I used those to make some cuttings. Which are all potted on my patio...east facing and doesn't get sun where they are sitting. Also I put two in the shade out in the yard and covered them with large clear plastic Pub Mix containers. (My DH loves the pub mix from Sam's..hahaha). So we shall see if they work or not.

Susan what is wrong with your toe? Have you tried getting a short stool of some kind to carry around so you don't have to bend, stoop or squat? I have one which my dad actually made when I was a child. It was at the old place and last summer I asked mom for it. I sanded it....lots of sanding...and repainted it and I use it for gardening. Dad made it with a hole in the middle of the top just right to slip your hand in and carry it that way. It does help a lot since I absolutely must stop squatting. My hip joints just will not take it anymore.

Well I am at least glad to hear I am not the only one who has these problems and keeps doing it even when I know I may suffer for it. Go girls go!

I am about to turn in and read a bit just had to see what was going on here first. Long day since 5:30 this morning I woke too early again.

G.M.

G.M. - I ran into the bedstead over two weeks ago. I thought I just broke the darn things around the joint areas, but it seems like it might be higher up on the lower part of the foot area now. Oh, me, oh, my. I'm always doing something as everyone here will tell you. Last October, I broke my foot jumping up off the porch to chase a butterfly - BOOM! Down I went into a bucket of manure tea, hee, hee!

I bruised my tailbone when I fell backwards trying to pull weeds last summer, and sprained my ankle doing the same butterfly thing around June.

I'm just such a clutz!

Susan

Oh my gosh Susan! You need a keeper...lol. I am so sorry for all these mishaps! Girl you better be more careful. I can just picture you chasing butterflies. You know I used to do that back when I was...oh...about 6 or 8 years old...lol lol lol.

But seriously, Did you have your foot looked at by a doc? Or get it ex-rayed? I do so hope it heals soon...something like that can take a very long time to heal.

My husband once was walking the curb to the mailbox in his sock feet...the neighbor lady across the street yelled at him and startled him causing him to slip off the curb when he looked up. He apparently twisted his ankle and it was months before he got over that! And it even worked it's way up to his knee before all that ended. I had to do all of the yard work that year as it was too painful for him. BTW the Neighbor didn't yell at him anymore after that...lol.

I do so hope your foot heals soon!
G.M.

G.M., I enjoy your sense of humor. I can handle the kidding, and just hope no one actually believes it and thinks I am an expert at anything!

Susan, I think I am going to have to get a kneeling bench, as my back seems to bother me more and more as time goes on.
I hope your toe is OK. Did you go to the doctor? I would have thought the swelling would have gone down by now.

Ilene, I think I see a movie in here somewhere...."The Curse of the Southern Lady Zombie Gardeners"! Well, let's all just think of gardening as an athletic event, and all of our aches and pains and problems are athletic injuries. lol

The latest issue of Organic Gardening magazine actually has an article on getting in physical shape for gardening....but it is too late for us since our gardening season started long before the magazine arrived.

Having spent much of the last 2 days in the Fort Worth-Dallas metroplex, I am completely exhausted and feel brain-dead. Too much traffic. Too many people. Waiting too long at restaurants. Too many nurseries with too many plants that I liked but (mostly) didn't buy. It is good to be back home in our quiet little county.

While we were driving down a very busy highway in Lewisville, my DH told me that the population of the D-FW metroplex is projected to reach 7 million by 2010. That is just mind-boggling to me. When we moved here from Fort Worth in 1999, the metro population was about 4.5 million, I think. Now it is about 6 million and growth is still strong. I am glad we moved here when we did, although the growth has come right up the I-35 corridor and into Love County too.

The nurseries I visited down there were chock full of people and plants. It was just mind-boggling. I did see some of the cape fuschias that Susan and I had discussed earlier. I didn't like these as much as I thought I would. These were in quart pots and seemed to have very small flowers. After I saw one, I really didn't want it anymore!

I did bring home some ornamental sweet potatoes. I bought Blackie, Pink Frost, Golden Marguerite, Ace of Spades, Sweet Caroline Red, and Sweet Caroline Lt. Green. There are all very small, but will grow fairly fast once it warms up a little more. They had Sweet Caroline Bronze, but I just didn't like the color of it, so I didn't get that one. I still want to find Ivory Jewel and Ladyfingers. I bought 2 Coleus plants, 'Curly Lemon Lime" in 5" pots and each pot has 3 plants, so I will divide them into different pots tomorrow.

I hope to get some gardening done tomorrow afternoon. Lately there are so many interruptions, and I hate it when real life gets in the way of my gardening. :)

Every time I turn around lately, someone is dying, being born, graduating, getting married, having a party for this or a shower for that. I have hardly had time to even think about the garden here lately and I feel like I am suddenly so far behind on everything.

I bought caladium bulbs to plant but am waiting for the ground to warm up a tiny bit more. Another couple of days like today, and I think it will be warm enough. Can see the black smoke from the Wynnewood refinery fire all the way down here, but it is otherwise a lovely afternoon.

We bought a new lawnmower at Lowe's after looking at them at Lowe's, Home Depot, Sam's and CostCo, so as soon as we got home, DH had to crank it up and mow part of the lawn while I was unloading my plants and visiting my veggie garden to see if all was well there.

It is always nice to go somewhere else for a day or so, but I am happy to be home.

Dawn

Dawn, the ones I saw on Oklahoma Gardening (Cape Fuchsias) were larger plants and the tuberous flowers looked about 3-4" long. Maybe the flowers get larger as the plant continues to grow. Another one that has longer tuberous flowers (tropical, too), is Iocroma. I think that is a beautiful plant, too. Have planted seeds of Antigonon leptigon vine because I heard the hummingbirds really liked them. They also have tuberous flowers that are red/orange. It's probably root hardy in your zone, Dawn.

I'm excited because a lot of my plants are either putting on blooms, getting ready to blooms, or are finally coming out of their winter dormancy. Amazing what rain followed by nice, warm, sunny days can do.

I am still waiting on my boehmeria cylindrica (false nettle) to break dormancy - it's supposed to be extremely hardy, though, and a lady in southern Mississippi said hers just did show growth not too long ago, so I still have hope.

....and, Dawn, boys must have their toys you know!

Susan

Dawn I like the new movie title you came up with for us...it sounds just perfect for me at least! We will see if Ilene agrees...Lol.
But athletic? Perhaps that is part of my problem I was never very athletic at all and never learned to do all the physical preparations needed. I just go for it when the mood hits and then....OUCH! haha

Susan I am so glad you got to go to the swap meet and I hope your foot didn't bother you too much. It sounds like a wonderful time and most interesting. Just lots of plain old good fun but you also get to take home plants. now that is a wonderful bonus at most get togethers all you take home is dirty dishes (and perhaps a touch of heartburn). Lol
We do things like that with RV'ers and it is a lot of fun.

Hey we got to get out of town yesterday too! We made it all the way to Gainesville!!! haha. Just a spur of the moment thing to get away for a few hours. I got a couple of ornamental sweet potatoes. I bought Blackie...I wanted some of the solid light green...was it Sweet Caroline? But the few pots they had of that had been eaten by something and looked pretty bad. So I will look someplace else.

At Big Lots we found the perfect garden arch/arbor in good heavy steel. It has a fence at each side of the arch and has a working gate in the arch as well....but they were out of that one....wouldn't you know it?
I have wanted an arch to go between my 'cottage' and the house across the stepping stone path since we built the 'cottage' in 2003. Never could find the right one. This one is IT if only I can find it in stock before they are all gone. I plan to call Norman and other stores when they open today.

Oh and I found the identity of my bush I was asking about in another thread. It is:
Leucophyllum frutescens
Family: Scrophulariaceae
Texas Ranger, Texas Sage, Barometer Bush, Cenizo, Silverleaf, Purple Sage

I am sad that one of them died. They were so perfect for the hot, sunny west facing front of my house in with my other very heat and sun tolerant plantings.

Well I need to get moving before I can't move at all. Been sitting here too long this morning reading all the new posts.

Ya'll have a great day today!
G.M.

GM - there is also a Big Lots in OKC at 63rd Street and May Ave. I'm gonna check them out because I need a really strong trellis or arch for my hops that is coming up. It's the golden colored hops, and it is so gorgeous!

Well, I did kind of pay for being on my feet, but I wouldn't trade the pain away for not being there - I had such a good time!

The sweet potatoe (ipomeae) is probably "Margarite" that you were looking for. A very dependable vine in Oklahoma, and the hotter it gets, the better it likes it. I have never done very well with the dark forms like 'Blackie' or 'Heart of Spade' or whatever it is called, nor have I done well with the tri-colored one. Call me nuts!

Yesterday, I didn't post too much - came down with a horrid migraine - you know the kind that makes you throw up and the pain just is indescribable. I used to get them a lot after my brain procedure to fix an aneurysm, but hadn't had any in about a year and a half. Don't know why I suddenly had another. But, I muddle thru without an ER trip this time. Anyone else here get migraines? If I'm gonna get one it is usually this time of the year or fall, when the seasons are changing.

I wanted to bring a ton more plants, but just couldn't get it done - the potting up, etc. I'm such a perfectionist that if I can't bring them in new soil, potted up nicely, I won't get it done at all.

I can relate to the not being athletic. Seems like the few times I tried, something always happened. My ex tried to get me to ride bikes (10-speed) with him, and the one time I did, I was following him, and he went over a curb. It was too late for me to stop, so I went over it, lost the peddle, the peddle (with teeth on them), slammed into my shin and I had the worst bone bruise for months on end. That was the end of bike riding and he thought it was hilarious! He was very mean like that. I did used to play tennis quite a bit, and if I do say so myself, I was better at it than he was. He thought that if you just hit the ball as hard as you can, that was good tennis. No thought for strategic placement of the ball. Oh, and I used to love to dance, too!

Well, we're in for another rainy week! Does anyone else ever recall us having this much rain in spring?

Susan

Susan the Big Lots on I-240 and Penn had several kinds of arches and would look GORGEOUS with hops growing on them!
I got the white one with a gate and fences at each side. There was a really pretty one in a sort of bronze color which was truly gorgeous too. And I noticed they had at least one or two more arches. Just be sure and don't get the green one with the skinny tubing type construction. They are not strong enough. All the others are nice sturdy ones.

Susan I am sorry about the miagrane and yes I have sure had my share of those ugly monsters! I get them still and just have to go to bed and wait them out...usually at least overnight. And I am this morning struggling with bad sinuses. I have sneezed about a hundred times so far today and it is only 8:30. If I can't get the sinus under control sometimes I get a miagrane or I get them from my cervical spine area also.

Do you think you should talk to your doc due to your history? Do you feel okay since the miagrane is gone? you take GOOD CARE of yourself now please!

Oh and I found the Margarite Sweet potato I was looking for at the little tent nursery in front of Sooner Mall in Norman! of all places. None of the Lowe's or Home Depots had it. And at one of them there were 3 of us at one time looking for it. So that one is going to scarce it seems.

I just now got a call from the vet...our cat has been at the vet for days now. We brought him home on Friday evening only to take him back again Saturday morning. He had a bladder blockage. He is only 3 years old. He was unblocked but then blocked up again. Now the vet says he is not drinking so they are putting in another IV to keep him hydrated. Oh my! I was so HOPING he would be so much better today. If he doesn't improve soon we may have to do what we HATE to do so badly. I just feel sick!!!
I have about a million things to do but I need to get out to the vet and see him...perhaps some company from us would help him not to feel abandoned and start drinking?

How is it when we get older our pets become our babies? My little tiny poodle...all 3 pounds of her is for sure my constant companion and I love her so very dearly. She is with me every where I go. She of course went on our shopping trips over the weekend wearing her pink and purple dress Printed with "shopping Queen" and "born to shop" purses scattered over it. She gets so much attention! LOL.

Well I need to GET BUSY! This computer sucks me into this room far too often...haha.

I sure hope you feel better today and don't have any more headaches!

G.M.

Yeah - I'm seeing sprouts from one of my EEs from last year! Hope my black one survived too!

Tmelrose,

That is great! I hope your black one survived too. They are so gorgeous. Keep us posted.

Happy Growing!

Dawn

I noticed sprouts on my new EE I planted last year. It may be A. macrorhiza, but looks a bit different that it. Also, my calla lilies are coming up, too. Jack-in-the-Pulpit is blooming and I have another Jack species coming up now, too - just the stalk - no leaves yet.

My typhonium is up and will probably be blooming soon. I get tons of seeds from this one.

I am afraid I might have lost my Alocasia lutea, but I will give it another month. Sometimes they don't come up until really late. It is so pretty, I hate to lose it. Here's an early photo of it last year. Note the yellow veins and stems.

Susan

I recently purchased an EE from HD, that was potted. What does it mean if the tips of each leaf has water on it after i water it. Thanks, Nana

I am assuming you watered overhead with a sprinkler or water hose?

You will notice that the EEs have large, funnel-type leaves that are designed to catch water and funnel it down to the root zone. The droplets on the leaf tips will drip down to the root zone to help water the plant. It is not a bad thing.

Dawn

Elephant ear leaves emit water droplets from their leaf tips, a process called "guttation." It is simply the release of excess water pressure that has built up inside the plant and usually occurs early in the day. It is not a sign that anything is wrong or that you have overwatered.

Susan

Susan,

My poor elephant ears never emit water that I have ever noticed. Maybe they are too dry? :(

They are in fairly sandy soil, though, so might they be starved for water?

Dawn