Is it to late to plant Elephant Ears??

13 years ago

I would love to get a couple of black elephant ears, if I can find them. But wondering if it is to late in the year to plant them.

Piper

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Comments (9)

jardineratx
13 years ago
Elephant ears are pretty indestructible, so if you can find the varieties you want, go ahead and plant them. EEs love water so you need to be diligent in providing them enough moisture. Planting them now will give them plenty of time to get established before their winter dormancy.
Hope this helps,
Molly
Janet Myers
Original Author
13 years ago
Thank you for your reply. After reading what you said, I found someone selling 3 plants, in pots, for $25.00. I thought that was a fair price compared to some of the other prices I was seeing. And since they are already growing I thought that was even better. Now to figure out where I will put them.
Piper
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Are you referring to colocasia or alocasia? If you are I would go ahead and plant them now, they like the heat and warm soil to get started anyway. Are you planting in the ground or in pots? I grow mine in pots and bring them inside for the winter. You can either grow them as house plants or just store them (in the pots or dug up) in a cool spot like the basement until next spring when you can start them up earlier indoors in pots and them plant them outside once all threat of frost is past and the days and nights are warm. Hope this helps.
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I bought taro roots from the Oriental stores month of December, I just put them in a tray no water and leave them on the refridgerator then i check back the end of January you can see the green slips coming out from the tubers, so plant each tuber in those lil containers with soil potmixing ( i used some small coconut fiber cups 4" high) from HomeDepot then l line them up in a tinfoil pan with water 1 " by the window for 2 wks, check back you won't believe they 6" inches tall but I wait till mother's day then I transfered them to outside garden, i fertilized them with all purpose then I flooded them with water everyother day. They grow about 3' tall, my problem that I should cut out the old leaves liked it mention above so they grow taller. We cook the taro leaves with cornbeef as our best dish for dinner. What I am asking for I have tubers ready to plant outside but afraid might they get by the frost, is there any idea when to start plant them, last year I plant them very late.
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Most baby elehant ears have very small leaves. Mine was a huge bulb about 7 inches long and 3 inched wide, and it had a pretty big first ear size, but a smaller blub or less roots will result in smaller begining leaves, but by late july or so it should be much larger. good luck
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Sweet potatoes from the grocery store is a different type of tubers than used for the sweet potato vines used in planters. The only elephant ear I know from a grocery store is a pastry. You have to buy the bulbs from a garden center.
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elphaba_gw
13 years ago
Yes, my experience is that they love heat and REALLY love water. You can actually plant them IN water and they like it. I think planting now is actually better than planting in the spring for these guys. That's true if you live in zone 9 anyway, IMO.
jardineratx
13 years ago
BTW, the black EEs need sun to bring out the beautiful dark foliage...in shade you will not get that coloration. It is also true that you can't overwater them.
Molly
prairiepaintbrush
13 years ago
I was thinking of putting EEs in pots with no holes and burying them in the ground, to keep them in moist soil or even standing water most of the time. Would that be alright? Then I read that they don't like to be in standing water in the winter. Would they need to be dug up? My sister likes them and I don't know anything about them, so I'm trying to learn so I can help her.
Janet Myers
Original Author
13 years ago
I can hardley wait for the black EE to get here. I think I will start a new bed out in the corner of my yard near the street where there are no trees. I wonder if there are any black flowers I could plant around it.
Piper
elphaba_gw
13 years ago
I don't think they like water if it's cold for long periods. Doesn't happen in Zone 9. Don't know what the zone is for the original poster here.

I agree they tolerate sun better than the traditional elephant ears but given the 100 plus degree weather we've had here in Houston, I think some protection might be in order. Again it depends on the climate of the original poster whether they should plant these in full sun.
jardineratx
13 years ago
Although EEs love water, I would not keep them submerged in it. They go dormant in the winter (even mild winters) and can rot.
Molly
Janet Myers
Original Author
13 years ago
I'm in East TX, Gladewater, which I think is zone 8. If I start a new flower bed for these Black EE's it will be in full sun. Will that work?

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Is it to late to plant Elephant Ears??

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Janet Myers
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Is it to late to plant Elephant Ears??

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Janet MyersOriginal Author

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