Challenges of overwintering Colocasia as houseplants
7 years ago
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (55)
- 7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
- 7 years ago
Related Discussions
Colocasia 'Black Magic'
Comments (12)My that is an absolutely beautiful pond! Hopefulauthor, I don't want to sound like a know it all, but you have asked so many questions about 'elephant ears' I think I can help you understand about them a little more. 'Elephant ears' are Aroids. They are in the same general family with Philodendrons, Anthuriums, syngoniums, caladiums, etc. "Taro" are 'elephant ears'. Taro is a sort of a general term used for the edible tubers of elephant ears. Taro is a very important food crop worldwide. Its most commonly known as "poi" in Hawaii. Its also called dasheen and eddo. The type of taro most commonly used as a food source is COLOCASIA. In the ornamental plant trade and industry, there are really only three types that are used on a widespread basis in the USA: Colocasia, Xanthosoma, and Alocasia Of these three types, Colocasia and Xanthosoma are widely grown in water. Alocasia are more terrestrial. There are a couple of alocasias that will tolerate being grown in very wet conditions like standing water, many will not and will simply rot. Here is a series of photos of some of the plants I grow. There are a lot of them, I apologize, but I hope you will find them interesting and helpful. Almost all of these grow in my yard. They go dormant in winter whether they grow in the ground or in water, and come back every year. A very few of these I have to keep in my greenhouse, they would not make it outside here. You may see some here you might want to try sometime. I will split it into 3 separate posts. First, COLOCASIAS: This is a very small colocasia that I use as a ground cover. Its called Colocasia Fallax. It will grow in water or in the ground. It spreads very readily by overground stolons. It rarely gets over about a foot tall. This is a very large growing Colocasia cultivar called Nancy's Revenge. I grow this both in tubs filled with water and in the ground. It also spreads quickly and rapidly by overground stolons This is a relatively new colocasia to the plant trade, but it is actually one of the oldest forms in cultivation, having been one of the major varieties grown for decades in Hawaii as a food crop. This is a variegated colocasia called "Milky Way". The old Hawaiian name for it is "Elepaio". This type loves water and I grow it in water, and also in some of my flowerbeds in the ground. This is another variegated colocasia called "Yellow Splash". This variety is very beautiful, but the variegation can be a bit unstable. If you give it too much fertilizer, it will revert to all green. I grow this one mainly separate from all the others in its own tubs of water so that the can be grown "hard" (without fertilizer) to keep their variegation Here is one that is very readily available, this has been in the trade a long long time. Colocasia antiquorum "Illustris" (also known as "Imperial Taro"). I have these in many different places in my yard. The ones in this photo grow in a natural bog which alternates between being dry in periods of no rain and wet when we get adequate rain. These plants are about 5 feet tall with leaves that measure 12+ inches wide. The all green colocasia to the right is a large growing variety called colocasia "Ruffles". This is a "mixed" photo. The green ear is a Xanthosoma called "Lime Zinger" planted with Colocasia "Black Magic" for maximum contrast. These grow beside a small inground pond in the back yard. The smaller ear to the far left is Alocasia Culculatta. The COlocasia "in the distance" to the far right is Colocasia fontanessii, another definite water lover. This is a tub garden I have that has 3 different contrasting plants growing in it. The dark ear is Colocasia "Black Marble", then there is Colocasia "Yellow Splash" and Xanthosoma "Lime Zinger" And this is one of the newest colocasias on the market, it is called Colocasia "Tea Cups". The leaves are cpuued and point up, and hold water like a cup. This is a PARTICULARLY AQUATIC colocasia and loves water. I only grow it in water. It can get 6-7 feet tall....See MoreSiam Ruby and Thai Giant as houseplants
Comments (15)I can't speak to the Alocasia, I've never had a lot of experience with them. Regular Colocasia elephant ears (aka Taro) are pretty easy to overwinter dry and dormant. I generally just dig mine up around the time of first frost, cut off all about about 3-4 inches of the stalk, then dry them out for about a month in the basement on a tray before packaging in cardboard boxes in sawdust or wood shavings. They keep reasonably well in this manner in the basement, which is on the dry side and about 60 degrees all winter. Bananas are really easy to overwinter. I just stop watering them, cut off the foliage, and put the pots in the basement. Same conditions, dry and about 60 degrees. I keep them in virtual total darkness and don't water them at all. For in-ground non-hardy bananas, I just dig them just before first frost, and shake most of the soil off the root system, then put each plant into a paper lawn and leaf bag before taking to the basement. I've had about a 90% overall success rate on bananas this way. A few rot once in a while, but the vast majority come through like champs and resume rampant growth the next year....See MoreGrowing Colocasia "Thai Giant" from seed
Comments (12)What a beast! you must have treated it well. Lucky you, I wonder what pollenated them around here! what area do you live, its frigid here today... : ( My understanding of how to over winter them is to dig them, clean the roots of most or all soil, remove all but the newest 1-3 leaves and place in a few inches of water. These guys are notorious for NOT producing a tuber, thats why over wintering them is such a challenge. Mine did produce a tuber this year, as well as several bulbils, so it can happen, i havent chopped away all of the plant yet to determine exactly how large the tuber is, I plant on either leaving in the bucket of water, which scares me a bit, or planting in in a small pot and hoping it squeaks by. My goal is also to have a decent sized plant come april, maybe a few if these bulbils make, i planted them straight away. With the end goal being gettin the plant as big as possible, hopefully 7'+ leaves. my giant also felt the wrath of all this recent wind it got its 2 largest leaves shredded about a month ago... It was sad...this early cold cut the season short about 3 weeks too...it was throwing a new leaf every 3-5 days before that, that would be atleast 5 more leaves i would have gotten this year too... oh well...See MoreColocasia ID and care indoors
Comments (9)Both alocasia and colocasia are referred to as "elephant ears". The easiest way to tell them apart is by leaf orientation. The stiff leaf stems, or petioles, of Alocasia extend into the leaves. This causes the leaves to follow the line of the petioles. As a result, most Alocasia leaves tend to point upwards. Some Alocasia varieties have leaves that extend horizontally. By contrast, the petioles of Colocasia connect down from the notches in the leaves. This enables the leaves to droop or hang at a downward angle. This visual distinction makes it easy to tell these plants apart: If the leaves point up, the plant is probably an Alocasia; if the leaves point down, it’s probably a Colocasia. Care for both is very similar - part shade to part sun, moist but not overly wet soil (although colocasia will tolerate standing water). I would move them outdoors when the temps become suitable. You will get much more vigorous growth under those conditions, even in a container....See MoreRelated Professionals
Accokeek Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Azalea Park Landscape Contractors · Eureka Landscape Contractors · Round Lake Landscape Contractors · Salem Landscape Contractors · Tigard Landscape Contractors · Suisun City Landscape Contractors · Eagan General Contractors · Flint General Contractors · Lewisburg General Contractors · Los Lunas General Contractors · Montebello General Contractors · Mount Vernon General Contractors · Norfolk General Contractors · South Laurel Siding & Exteriors- 7 years ago
- 7 years ago
- 7 years ago
- 7 years ago
- 7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
- 7 years ago
- 7 years ago
- 7 years ago
- 7 years ago
- 7 years ago
- 7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
- 7 years ago
- 7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
- 7 years ago
- 7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
- 7 years ago
- 7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
- 7 years ago
- 7 years ago
- 7 years ago
- 7 years ago
- 7 years ago
- 7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
- 7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
- 7 years ago
- 7 years ago
- 7 years ago
- 7 years ago
- 7 years ago
- 7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
- 7 years ago
- 7 years ago
- 7 years ago
- 7 years ago
- 7 years ago
- 7 years ago
- 6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago
- 6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago
- 6 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years agolast modified: 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 4 months ago
Related Stories

GARDENING GUIDES7 Ways to Get Your Container Garden Ready for Winter
Learn how to transition your fall pots to colder weather — and which plants to lose, keep or add
Full Story
GARDENING GUIDES9 Plants With Amazing Foliage for Summer
Add some standout foliage plants to take your summer landscape to the next level
Full Story
LANDSCAPE DESIGNRecipe for Tropical Edible Garden Style
Appeal to exotic good taste with fruit trees, palms and tropical look-alikes in your temperate-climate garden
Full Story
GARDENING GUIDESGarden Myths to Debunk as You Dig This Fall and Rest Over Winter
Termites hate wood mulch, don’t amend soil for trees, avoid gravel in planters — and more nuggets of garden wisdom
Full Story
jay