Can Elephant Ear (Taro) Bulbs

be stored like caladium?

X

...well, I don't know if you should, but I do....they come back fine for me.

I would suspect they could, Xeramtheum, but why bother? So many of the Alocasia, Colocasia, and Xanthosoma are winter hardy here that it seems like a lot of work for comparatively little gain (unless it's a personal favorite, of course!). I've been digging A. "Hilo Beauty" for years and lugging it to the greenouse for over wintering. But last year, I missed one in my digging/potting, and that one came back bigger than any I had so carefully husbanded through the winter in the GH. Go figure. My prize 15' A. "porta dora" took a real hit last winter, but we had an uncharacteristic cold spell that really hurt it. My wife wanted to dig it out and throw it in the woods last spring, it looked so dead. But it's 8' tall now, and growing happily... In short, make sure it really can't overwinter here before going to the bother of digging it! In my experience, a lot of these Large-leaved garden beauties will over-winter here in the ground, but they come back slower than if the roots are over-wintered in a GH. So it really becomes a "timing" issue. If you need "Large-Leaved" focal points earlier in the season, by all means, dig the roots, carry them over in a warm environment, and replant in the spring when the ground has warmed up. But if you need some big-leaved focal points late in the season, I'd just leave them in the ground...a lot less work!

These guys are definitely hardy .. I kept them in a pot all season cause I wasn't really sure where I wanted them .. Greenhouse space is very dear at the moment .. I really don't have room to pot them up and I where I want to put them has gingers in it at the moment .. I need to move/divide gingers and canna and don't want to do it until the temps quit fluctuating so wildly. Last year we sort of had the same situation and lots of new growth on bulbs n rhizomes but then burned badly by hard freezes .. I'm thinking that might be part of the cause of the weird flowering times this year. Everything was/is a month to 2 months late!

I decanted them (they've been in a 2 gallon pot .. terribly rootbound) and cleaned them off this afternoon ... Once the hedychiums are moved I can put them in the ground. I just wasn't sure if they minded being dried out a bit. The picture was taken july 10th.

X

I leave mine in the ground and mulch them with pinestraw. They come back every year for me. Caladiums, not so much....I really need to dig some of them up. :-(

if they are not in the ground, I would protect them some how or other, as roots in pots are most susceptible to cold damage, aren't they?

I don't know the specific variety, but they are elephant ears. Where I live they are kept in the ground year round and do well.


Danielle

I know these are hardy ones and yes I can stick them in the ground and they will come back .. what I want to know I guess is how long EE can be kept out of the ground and stored in a dry cool place without damaging them.

X

I would say a long time. They sell EE's around me in boxes, just pulled out of the ground and there they are dried out sitting in a box. I would say the most important thing is not letting them get damp. I don't dig mine up and have never had a problem, they simply start growing and multiplying as soon as it gets warm enough. I have one really big variety but don't know the name of it and it's the only one that seems to notice the cold. Last year we had a few very cold (for us) nights and they never did get very big this year. I think I should have mulched the tops a bit. I pruned them back when it got cold but left some of the stem above ground and that turned to mush on me after a cold night. I chopped the mush of but they did seem to get damaged a bit.

Thanks .. It will probably be another 2 - 3 weeks before these can be planted .. they are about the size of husked coconuts.

X

you know, t here's a thread about dry storing cannas over in the canna forum. they are a tropical with a rhizome - wouldn't it be about the same?

That's what I was thinking, I already dig up my canna and store them .. I just wasn't sure if large EE could tolerate this because of their bulk.

X

X - if you have tubers the size of husked coconuts it's probably the common, green C. esculenta... and those do store well in a cool, dry environment over winter. On several occasions I kept some in my garage over the winter, replanted them in the spring or gave them away, and they did just fine.The green ones are practically indestructible. Rather than plant them in 2-3 weeks I'd just hold them until after the first frost next spring. (FYI - EE's that don't form large tubers, such as 'Black Magic', 'Illustris', etc, don't like being completely dry when dormant and tend to get desiccated and die.)

Thanks for the info .. I actually was wondering about the black magic as I have lots in pots that are taking up a lot of room in the gh .. I'll just dig them up and repot in one pot.

X