Hi, Rockyn! I'm just a few miles North of you in OKC. There is another member who is in Dallas and I'm sure they will respond also. I have purchased some of my EEs from Plant Delights. CHeck them out at www.plantdelights.com. They have alocasias, colocasias, and xanthosomas, too. They also have the big Mr. Stinkies - amorphophallus that some of us like, too, and a few other aroids. Another good site to check out is www.aroid.org. You can see lots of pictures of different kinds. A&B Tropicals and Asiatica also sell them online. I have been lucky and a few trips to Lowe's and Home Depot have yielded a few like Alocasia plumbea nigra, Colocasia esculenta 'Black Magic', Colocasia esculenta 'Illustris', and Colocasia esculenta 'Fontanesii'. From PD I have purchased Colocasia 'Ruffles', and 'Thai Giant'. I also have Alocasia macrorhiza that I bought as a tuber labeled "upright EE". Black Magic, as name indicates has black foliage. It needs a bit of sun so the leaves will remain black. Otherwise it reverts to green. Illustris is a green/black mottled leaf; fontanesii is a puplish-black-green leaf. As a rule, Alocasia leaves point upwards, and colocasia leaves droop. Xanthosoma I am not too sure what sets it aside in another class; I'm sure someone else will pop in and 'splain it. Thai Giant can eventually get leaves about 5' across; probably not in my garden, but it will be large, very large. There are also some alocasias/colocasias will yellow mottling in the leaves. One that I have recently purchased was Alocasia lutea. The veins and stems are yellow - it is gorgeous. Others like Hilo Beauty and Nancy's Revenge have yellow markings as well. Sometimes you just get lucky at HD or Lowe's or at your local garden center, or making trades with others. But, as I just started, it's difficult to make trades until you have enough stock. Some or most can be wintered over in the ground - that I have anyway. Happy Aroid Growing..... Susan

So I have an idea. Big Lots carries outdoor containers/pots that have no drainage holes. That always bugged me... until today! I'm wondering if they would be perfect? From what I am reading, colocasia like it very wet - in fact you can submerge them in pots in water/pond. I would like to stick these in the ground, but I do not want to deal with runners and an invasive plant. I think I am going to pick up a couple of those very cheap pots at Big Lots and sink those in the ground with my new bulbs. Help me - is there anything bad about this idea? Carol

tropic, Thank you, I will take them upstairs from the basement. Or, perhaps store them? That could save me some space too. Found this on web: In the winter, Alocasias and Colocasias should be dug right after the first light frost. After cleaning off the bulbs with water, I allow them to dry. The Missouri Botanical Garden recommends packing the bulbs in peat moss or wood shavings. They should be stored at temperatures between 40-50 degrees F. for the winter. I have Amorphophallus konjac (number of corms now) that I usually just leave in pot without watering for the winter. They start growing 'whenever they decide' - just found one started sprouting recently. It is also in the basement, same temps I mentioned above (perhaps 'too warm' to overwinter?) and kept without lights. I didn't water it since it came inside, sometimes in early october. I was thinking of doing similar with alocasia & colocasia. Rina

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taro . Note, "Taro is one of the few crops (along with rice and lotus) that can be grown under flooded conditions." I have overwintered (zone 5) potted colocasia gigantea within wet potting media in a cool dark basement for years without problems. I just cut the foliage off, bring the pot inside from outdoors (where it often rains), seal in a plastic garbage bag, and store at approximately 45 deg. F..