I cut back my Elehant ears that I have in a pot and brought them into a cool room of the house. Well it seems that they are trying to come back up. Should I water them and just let them grow, or should I not water and let the bulbs dry out?
elephant ears
I'll tell you what I do when I bring them into the house. If they are still growing, I water them sparingly, keeping them on the dryer side since they are slowing down and going dormant. It's always easier to add a bit of water than take it a way.
It's difficult to let it go dormant when you see new leaves coming out ...isn't it?
rj
What does it mean when there is moisture in the stalk where I cut them back?
Ok, no water for theses guys till spring. If they happen to keep growing well I will go along with what they want, but if not they are dry puppies from now til spring.
When should I start giving them water to get them ready to be put out when the weather is right. I would like for them to be somewhat already growing when the time comes.
Thanks
Water lightly now, give warmth and light.
I'd keep just lighty moist until you see growth. I think warm really helps them get going.
This message was edited Jan 30, 2010 9:38 PM
Here in DC --snowy today, and we've had almost three feet total this year-- I brought my a. portora inside in November. Put one set on top of a boxed-in radiator unit, and have watered every couple days. Even with just indirect North light, I'm having LARGE leaves unfurl, one after another, three so far, along with a number of pups. Put several others near an East window, no "heat on the feet", watering every week or so --a few of the medium sized leaves have faded and bowed out, but the others are maintaining themselves, though with little new growth. This is what I did with all of them last year, and they made the transistion back outside in the Spring without a hitch.
Several more are out in the bubble greenhouse (see my earlier post at __), a cold rainforest environment (daily low is usually 40, high rarely above 60) where the soil stays WET always. These don't leaf out at all, and lose leaves over time, but have done nicely once back out in fresh air in past years.
Well not all of them stoped growing after I cut them back. They wanted to still put out leaves. I am seeing more of them trying to put up leaves, so I was thinking of starting watering them now, keeping them in my large laundry room where it is not as warm next to the window. The pot is too large to bring into the house.
It is sunny today, so I'm going to watch my elephant ears grow today, lol.
Mine's popping a big new leaf today. I think in a cool, low-lighted place, all you need to be careful about is letting them sit too wet. Let the soil go pretty dry --you're safe since these store a good buffer of moisture in their root and trunk. If you have nice-looking leaves, don't let them get to the point of wilting --but do water only sparingly down there.
That is what I am doing now Vieques, just a little at a time.