This is a rather vigorous plant that does better with plenty of root room. However, to start it off, you need to plant in a pot just big enough to accommodate the tuber (barely covering the tuber), using a multi-purpose and perlite or sharp grit mixture (50:50 is about right). This will prevent compost becoming overly wet before the roots have formed and avert rot. Water well and allow to drain, then stand in a bright, warm place indoors. Until growth gets underway, water only when on the dry side, but once the pots has filled with roots, you can keep the plant constantly moist. Repot as necessary, bearing in mind that the more vigour the plant, the bigger the pot needed and in turn, the more vigorous it will become. Apply a balanced liquid feed at weekly intervals during summer and keep in a bright position shaded from direct sun. It can be stood outside in a sheltered spot in summer. Alocasia odora does not have to die down in winter and provided you keep it above 5C, it will remain evergreen. This is a species that is being tried out of doors permanently in very mild parts of the UK, but it is too early to say whether it will succeed or not. I don't think it is as cold tolerant as the closely related Alocasia macrorrhiza and that species can rot away in spring if we don't get and early blast of warmth.

Hi Dave, thanks very much indeed for the detailed advice. I am about to go and put it all to good use. I'll keep you posted on the results. Thank you very much once again.

I would strongly reccomend planting it straight into a 10 litre pot or the flowerbed. The offset can be planted at any depth as it will root from any portion of the stem.

They need constant supplies of water without being waterlogged and for feeding I suggest a large handfull of growmore every 4 weeks.

Snails can be a problem with small plants otherwise they seem to be pest free outside. The growth rate of these plants is immpresssive once the weather warms up, with each new leaf larger than the previous.

I've not yet left one outside all winter but my pot was left out until temps dropped to only 3c or 4c which it tolerated without loss of leaves.

Frost is likely to destroy all foliage similar to dahlias and stems of plants in the flowerbeds may be best wrapped up like bananas.

Motiati

Here is a link that might be useful: Alocasia odora

Since the tuber is still dormant, there is a very strong risk of it rotting if it is planted directly out into the garden. Once it has developed a good root system it can cope with large volumes of compost or soil. At this stage there is a likelihood of it remaining too moist for too long. It needs to be actively growing first. By planting in a comparatively small pot, it is easier to control moisture levels and encourage a strong root system. Once that has formed, it can go into a much larger container.

I would also be very cautious about leaving it outside for winter even if protected. The problem is unlikely to be with the light, very occasional frosts experienced here in Devon, but once plant is forced into dormancy by cold weather, the tubers may survive only to fail due bacterial rot encouraged by the the lack of real heat in spring. Alocasia odora is not as hardy as A. macrorrhizos and that species is difficult enough to encourage into growth without decent heat.

It doesn't surprise me that A. odora retains its foliage at 3 or 4C - it does that here. However, at those temperatures, the species is very close to its margin of tolerance and a drop of a few more degrees causes dormancy. I do agree though that an established well-rooted plant will relish plenty of fertiliser throughout the growing season and copious watering coupled with summer heat will encourage rapid, strong growth. But, the plant needs to be growing first.

That advice may have been good in March, but it is May now and they should be growing fast. Obviously, don't plant it in the ground if you want it as a pot specimen, but bear in mind that the one thing most likely to kill it or arrest its development is the lack of water.

Most of mine have been outside now for the last 7 weeks and Devon may even have the edge on London for temperatures.

Alocasias do make lovely house plants but keep them out of direct sun shining through the windows otherwise the leaves will crisp.

Grow baby. Grow.

Moriati

Since it is a dormant tuber, it needs to be treated as such and co-erced into growth regardless of whether it is March or May. I've had enough of these things to know that you can't simply chuck them into a in lump of soil and water like it was going out of fashion. You have to get it growing before giving more lavish treatment. Temperature-wise some parts of Devon are rather warmer than London with lighter frosts (if any) of a much shorter duration plus a slightly longer growing season. However, that applies to coastal regions - go up on the moors and it is very, very different!

I bought an assortment of tubers from the West Indian shop (cheapskate!) and there is still not a sign of growth on them - they are in smallish pots in a propagator. Sometimes I give them a bit of water. Might I as well give up on them now? I had success with this method a couple of years ago but it has failed since. Shame, I love those leaves!

I purchased the tuber and brought it to life by putting it in a bowl of water with some Plant Starter, a US product that encourages strong root growth. After about five days (changing the water everyday and putting in new plant starter), the roots started to show signs of growth. I transferred the tuber to a small pot. Now it's in big pot on the outside deck, with three lovely large leaves emerging.

Hi, I bought an elephants ear bulb back at the end of April(Not sure what kind it is but it has dark green leaves) and put it in a 15cm width terracotta pot with grit at the bottom and ordinary mircacle grow compost. I kept it inside for 30 days and watered it only when it looked a little dry on 27th May I had a shoot come up and then on the 30th I put it outside. I went on holiday for a week on 4th June and when I got back last saturday it had a large leaf on it. Its doing really well and I will water it more now as I read up about these and the advice I found was not to water them much when they are bulbs but water a lot when the roots have formed.

I buy the small taro bulbs called eddoes(Colocasia antiquorum) from ethnic groceries and stand them in water. They don't take long to root and will soon start producing beautiful deep-green, sagitate leaves. I usually stand them in the pond in the summer. I have been thinking of planting them in the ground this year, but we have had very little rain and our soil is dry. Taros do like a moist environment.

I buy the small taro bulbs called eddoes(Colocasia antiquorum) from ethnic groceries and stand them in water. They don't take long to root and will soon start producing beautiful deep-green, sagitate leaves. I usually stand them in the pond in the summer. I have been thinking of planting them in the ground this year, but we have had very little rain and our soil is dry. Taros do like a moist environment.