Thanks, I'm looking into that now. I will try to contact Aroidial Research and see what they have available. I think I'll also take the leap and try the "borneo giant" and just see what happens--either success of failure.

Hello Everyone, I just wanted to say hello and that i missed this thread...probably because i have been so busy in the friendly skies!!! LOL... WHew..not real friendly anymore!!! LOL... Dixie, Thank you so much for your kind comments...you know that i love your yard...How did your house weather Irene? Did your yard flood? What kind of damage.. i hope all is well with you all...i was thinking of you while we were having the same here in VB. I do love my plants/trees (Plumies) and of course my palms. I did pick up another one last week from a vendor, it was a deal!!! But i made the mistake of having my hubby help me with it out of the car...LOL "What are u going to do with that?" LOL Oh well...it could be worse...i could have a problem with shoes or clothes...LOL Vince, You should have witnessed the procession every year bringing in the "beast" inside the house. It poked evryone and anything... I finally decided it was time to plant it outside. I had enough of bringing it in and out. This AGave is very sentimental to me, you all know how our plants have such meaning when passed down from friends. I will protect it this winter with frostcloth and lights if neccessary. Jin, Thank you for the ID..i wasnt sure what it was, the greenhouse had no clue and i was hoping it was what u had. It really has doubled in size since it was planted. The AGave will do alright outside this year...(hopefully) and ill watch it carefully.... Trishmick, Coolers are always welcome as well as visitors to my house!!! LOL...Buffet will be playing or maybe even Zac Brown...anything will work!!! DOnt even need to bring chairs..i have plenty!!!! Alex, Lani is a must have... i have enjoyed this beauty all summer. I have several that are blooming now. It has been the best summer for my inflos...Im a happy camper!! : ) I hope all is well with you!!! Did u have any damage? Greg, It really was a job geting this bad boy planted...but thsnk goodness that my son was home from College and my Hubby helped...they only had a few "pokes" LOL We purchased this "Sunglow" greenhouse from Costco. I really love it and will get great use this fall and winter, but as far as putting it together...well, the only thing i can say is..:NEVER AGAIN" LOL it was a lot of work. It was just my hubby and myself doing the job. I became very handy with the tools and the rivet gun!! LOL But it was a lot of work....if you were to ask my DH, he would have a few other things to say about putting up another one...LOL!!! "NO WAY" Take care everyone... Laura in VB

To Jimhardy, As everyone else has already said..."WOW". It is now summer 2011, and I was wondering how well your yard looks now? I too am from Iowa (Des Moines) and in the past have had some small banana plants in a pot and started growing elephant ears in the ground.. This year(or next) I am thinking of planting the bananas in the ground and digging up in the fall. Do you just cut off the leaves and store them? Are they better to cut the leaves off to preserve their energy?...if still in a pot? and should I store them in the basement and not water them? They are only about 3ft. tall, but I hate to lose them. and as I can see from your past pictures, you dig up the whole plant and store it, do you water them at all? Thanks Jim

That thing is huge!!! I have a few differnt elephant ears. I have borneo giant not sure if it gets as big or maybe bigger. This year it was in bad dirt. Next year I will use tons of compost. You should check out my tropical page on flickr. I live in zone 5-6 and tried tons of tropicals this year and will be trying to overwinter them different ways this year. http://www.flickr.com/groups/northerntropicalplants/ join the group and post pictures and messages Here is a link that might be useful: Flicker northerntropicalplants