you can get more info if you search in aroid forum for alocasia (elephant ears). there are different types. a pic would help. caladiums grow from corms(alocasia grows from tubers). you cannot do a cutting of the leaf to propagate, you need to plant a corm (what you call a bulb). plant about 2-3 cm below surface. the pot should not be too large , just about 2-3cm wider all around planted corms/tubers. yours that went dormant without water might or might not grow. it takes about a month to see sprouts. you might very gently feel thru the soil with your fingers to feel if anything started growing, but be careful you might knock off the shoots! keep the pots only slightly watered, until you see 1-2" shoots coming up, then start giving more water. do not allow them to totally dry out (same goes for alocasia). normally caladiums go dormant after about 6 mo of growth and need to rest for at least 3 mo before they will resprout. you can keep them totally dry in the pot, in soil. in your very dry climate it is probably better then digging them up and storing in dry peat (which is another way). both caladiums and alocasia like humidity and being warm and moist, but not wet/soggy. your alocasia probably has dry edges due to low humidity. alocasia also might go dormant if too dry or cold (below 65F). it can also burn if exposed to strong sun. they both prefer morning filtered light for sev hours only. western dappled or filtered is ok too, if not too hot and strong. they also both need to be fertilized with even number fertilizer like 10-10-10. alocasia can take more fertilizer with high 1st number (nitrogen) .the soil need to drain well, do not let them stand in water on the saucer or get soggy wet. it's good to put 2-3 cm of pebbles on the wide tray and fill it with water just below to pebble top - this will raise humidity. then you put your plant on top of pebbles. just watch how much water you pour in - it will run out into the saucer. the bottom of the pot should not stand in water for more then 10 min, even ten is not good.

The "giant elephant ears" that the box stores sell is usually Alocasia machrohizza. They don't have a "dormant time" unless you A) live in a cooler/ colder climate (zone 1-8B) that gets frosts/freezes that knock them back B) are trying to grow it as a houseplant and not giving it enough light This is the start of the GROWING period, not the start of winter. Box stores also sometimes sell generic green elephant ears, Colocasia escuelenta, and/or Xanthosoma saggitifolia, to which the above also applies. I am not certain where you live, but as soon as you can, (nighttime temps consistently 50 or above) put your plant outside in some better light. It should revive whether its Alocasia M or Colocasia E. or Xantho S. However, if it is a caladium, which has colored leaves (red, pink, white) they should have been dormant all winter and not come up til its really hot (here they don't emerge til May), and they are not sold as "Giant Elephant Ears"

I make large elephant ear castings too, and I have been using drywall tape as reinforcement. I put on a layer of concrete (I use portland and sand 1:2, or vinyl concrete patch mix)about 1" thick, keeping the mixture about 3/4 inch from the side of the leaf, then I let that set for 10 or 15 minutes. Then I lay the drywall tape out running it down the length of the leaf, not touching, but about 1/2 to 3/4" apart. On top of that layer of drywall tape I place another layer running perpendicular to the first. Then I add the second layer of concrete to make the casting about 2" thick. The second layer usually makes the first spread a little more, closer to the edge. My edges are usually thinner than the center. I'm not walking on them, so that's not a problem. I have used this method to make some tables, adding some wrought iron bases and they seem sturdy. I don't have a problem with cracking. You have to be sure that you are making the concrete over the central vein thick enough,sometimes that's hard to judge.

Yes they are slow growers and they need to be started in February or March. That is part of the problem here in Canada, IF you can find a place to order them from they won't ship them until the weather warms up. By then, you only have a few small leaves and it's frost again. So this is a two year endevour, and yes, save the tuber to start early enough the next year. I have read good things about Flora Exotica in Quebec, if he has Alocasia come spring I will give him a try. Thank you for the responses, i appreciate them.