My black magic have started to come up with small leaves. I'm pretty pleased that all three bulbs have shown life. It surprises me because none of my greens have grown yet and they're usually the first to make an appearance. I have one Illustris that has made an appearance, one silver leaf that has made an appearance (which surprised me because I thought they died off last summer. They really did not thrive at all for some reason), and quite a few of Chicago Harlequin. At least, that is what I think they are. The nursery claims they were CH but I don't believe they are. I planned to get rid of them come spring but I figured I'd give them a second chance. Since they have runners, I decided to put them in a pot this spring. My Nancy Revenge died off and I really have no interest in replacing it. mrsig - I can't help but wonder if you have Black Runner if leaves have popped up farther away. Black Magic clumps together while Black Runner sends runners to grow plants further away.

Dear ccckoball, Everything on your "have" list would be of interest at the exchange. I have seen tree peonies and they went like hotcakes. Meeting and Greeting is reason enough to attend. There will be others at the swap who will be hosting exchanges later in the spring and summer at private homes. These are really nice events. As for plants, the less common it is the more likely you will have takers. Trade ediquett is very subjective. Some attend with a coveted rare plant and will settle for nothing less than an equal trade. What's precious to some is common to others. For example, one new trader attended with a double daisy which a close friend has passed along to her. The sentimental value of the plant exceeded the horticultural value. In my mind, there is some personal attatchment with every plant I trade, so I really liked the thought of that daisy in my garden and I gladly made an exchange. It's subjective. And it's really fun. I always bring divisions of things I just want to give away and if it results in a trade, so much the better. I never come home with less than 20 new things for my garden. In fact, there are trades where I wished I had come home with less :) You will see well over 100 different cultivars/plants among the traders. In the end it's less about savvy trading, and more about the getting together and sharing stories and plants from our gardens. Hope to see you there Saturday, Regards, Jim Eichner

Agree that they will grow in any exposure, but if you want the really big leaves, mostly shade is best, IME (a few miles north of AL/FL border.) I moved this bulb this spring from a much more sunny location where it had been for a few years and it's making leaves about 10x bigger than before. (The babies bulbs that were with it were also put in more shady locations and are all much bigger than the mama ever was in too much sun.) I also have a mini-compost pile at the base of it, and put mostly greens there, like watermelon rinds and other kitchen scraps that "melt" quickly in the heat. Next to it is a 5-gallon bucket with a slit in the bottom. I fill up the bucket and it takes a couple hours to drip out, which I try to do just before the sun hits it, so it has ample moisture during that time, about 90 minutes of direct sun. Otherwise, the leaves fall over. After they do that, they might or might not stand back up so I put a tomato cage around it. The newest leaf on this plant is about 6 ft. tall and about 3 ft. long, which is about 8" longer than the last leaf. Constantly losing a leaf is common but happens more slowly if there is ample moisture and plenty of organic matter in the soil. I usually leave the dying leaf connected but bend it back to rot near the bulb. Unfortunately, I don't usually have rain water for it, but start by dumping the water from the bucket our dog uses for his water bowl (which came from the hose the day before,) then fill the rest with the hose. With splashing and the dripping that happens before the bucket is full, I estimate it, and the other plants sharing the root space, are using about 6 gallons of water per day, some of which is probably taken by a large oak tree nearby. Just an ordinary Colocasia esculenta I got from Lowe's about 10 years ago. The leaf that is leaning out didn't seem like it would bend into the tomato cage without breaking and since it was the oldest (going to yellow and die soon,) I didn't make any effort to cage that one:

Wow, we have so many of the same plants! If that Coleus (green edges with red center) is the same "wizard" as one I grew from seed, look forward to some really big leaves from it! In your 2nd pic, I see a big seashell just like one on a table on my front porch. I'm curious about the "eggs?" Your EE's look so healthy and nice, very happy looking! I don't think your plants are the same kind but definitely close relatives. Here's mine today, really noticed a difference in the leaves being more upright since I put the water bucket by them. A couple days ago I also put a bunch of watermelon rinds under the bucket. Time will reveal the wisdom (or stupidity) of that decision... There are a few others that aren't getting the same treatment, so that should make it easy to compare. This new leaf doesn't look like it will be any bigger. I think this spotted one is about max leaf size already. Does anyone have one with bigger leaves? The tomato cage is to keep our dog from stepping on these.