Elephant Ear Bulb

17 years ago

When planting elephant ear bulbs do you completly cover the bulb with soil or should the tops stick out of the ground a bit? Any help would be great.

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Comments (8)

diamondm
17 years ago
I also have an elephant ear question. I planted some EE bulbs in my NYC backyad about 3 weeks ago. When should I see growth?
maxe9007
17 years ago
The one I bought 2 weeks ago said to plant 1 1/2-2" below soil line. I put mine in a pot as I intend to move to arkansas this fall. I still have not seen any new growth. What i do to find out is use my fingers or something soft enough to not damage the bulb and move the dirt away from the top to see whats going on in there. Today I did this and it is just starting to form roots and a couple of little nubs are starting to grow up. Finally ,I hope, in a few more days it should start pushing thru. I hope I was of some help. Max.
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Hi Wesley. Here in Atlanta we've had more cold spells than usual for a spring. My plain old colocasia esculanta elephant ears have been trying to explode for over a month, now. They keep getting nipped back. They were at least 8 feet tall last year. My colocasia 'Illustris' next to a west-facing brick wall of our house are beginning to put up small leaves. It's a later-than-usual start for them. You're a bit colder than we are here, so I'm not surprised yours are taking their time waking up. By July I'm sure both of us will have our jungles in their full glory. One thing I've found that helps a lot in over-wintering subtropicals that I leave in the ground is to only cut them back to a foot or two in the fall once the first frosts get to them. I used to cut them flush with the ground, but leaving a foot or two of stalk has really made a difference in more severe winters. I don't get nearly as much die-back. This works for my large elephant ears and my hymenocalis "Tropical Giant", which gets 4ft tall and 6ft across. Of course, in 6b Wichita you probably need to dig everything unless you have a sheltered microclimate.
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I use a gallon size plastic bag, puncture several holes around the bottom, place bulb in bag and fill with potting soil (top and bottom). I then pour a small amount of water into bag and then seal it and forget it. You will see condensation in the bag which is good. After a while, roots will form and stalks will start poking out. When the stalks reach the top of bag, I open the bag and leave it open until ready to plant. Learned this method on this forum many years ago, and I use for colocasia and cannas.
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I have elephant ear planted on a wet-weather creek that runs through my backyard. If I have a very wet year the elephant ears will get up to 5 ft tall and wide. If the year is dry each barely gets 3 ft and has to be watered. The largest elephant ears I ever saw were growing on the side of a hill where there was a seep. They like clay and if you can put them in the ground they will grow better, and taller than in pots. Definitely give them a larger container.
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Please educate me about elephant ear bulbs
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Comments (20)
This post has shamed me into taking a little better care of the elephant ears I dug. Last week I took a photo of the tub full I dug last fall.... they're still sitting in the (barely heated) garage just like they've been sitting since early November, and although the top tubers are drying the bottom ones are far too wet from all the slimy mud that was still stuck on the clumps. They were in the ground and because we had a rainy summer, they multiplied way too much. I'll keep them completely dry and warm all winter and they should do well, but I have no idea if this is the best thing to do with them. It works for me though. Kitsei- I think your bulbs look similar to mine, just a little better cared for! I don't remove anything unless it just falls off on its own. Over the winter the old leaf stems and dirt clumps slowly dry up and fall or can be pulled off but that's it. Nicholsworth- if you ever want to get rid of a Jack's Giant offset let me know. I just looked it up and I think I need one... even though the ones I already have are too much work lol. Maybe I have a canna or something else you'd like? I hope it's ok to sort of hijack a post, but does anyone have tips on overwintering other alocasias and colocasias? The ones that don't form as big tubers still give me trouble. I don't have a warm spot to keep them growing and they either rot while dormant or slowly dwindle and die if I try and keep them growing.
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greenclaws UK, Zone 8a
17 years ago
Hi, I planted one a few weeks ago and it already had a pointy sprout on the top of the bulb so I planted this just poking out above the soil line. It said on the pack to plant the top of the bulb a couple of inches below soil level. My bulb was fat and round, wonder if yours looked the same? Here's a pic of it so far...to get it going (I live in the UK and dont have your temps), I placed a clear plastic cover over the soil and the sprout opened quickly once it rooted and got going. Been some confusion over it's name..see my other post 'ALOCASIA/COLOCASIA' a few posts down on this page which 'may' give you some more info or confuse you like me! Think I will keep it in my g/h though as it looks like the leaves could get damaged in the winds.
birdsnblooms
17 years ago
Josh, it's best planting the entire bulb underground..But like others here have done, starting in a pot is much quicker than directly outdoors..This way you'll have an early start, especially since you live in z6..Toni
josh_palm_crazy
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks alot. This is my first expirience with EEs. My father inlaw gave them to me. He's been growing them for years. He told me to plant them with the tops of the bulb sticking out but that seems odd to me. I planted them about 2 1/2 weeks ago. I hope they show some growth soon. My only question now is do I pull them up or wait a little longer to see what happens? I wish I would've asked you guys first. Although I did cover the bulbs with a little soil and mulch.
josh_palm_crazy
Original Author
17 years ago
One more thing. Would it be ok to fertilize an EE bulb? I have four in the ground so should I fertilize one to see if it makes any difference?
maude_2008
14 years ago
We live in central texas and had a couple of hard freezes, which is unusual. our elephant ears that we have had for years planted in the ground have turned to mush and show no signs of coming back. what should i do? any advice would be appreciated.
jaxtropix
14 years ago
Alocasias seem to be happier protruding out a bit (since part of the corm is actually a trunk) while colocasias can be completely covered.

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Elephant Ear Bulb

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diamondm

maxe9007

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Elephant Ear Bulb

Comments (8)

diamondm

maxe9007

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greenclaws UK, Zone 8a

birdsnblooms

josh_palm_crazyOriginal Author

josh_palm_crazyOriginal Author

maude_2008

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josh_palm_crazy
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