Thailand Giant Elephant Ear Babies

I'd posted this thread (http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1055413/) back in November when my TGEE produced seeds. When I learned they must be sown immediately, I panicked because I didn't think they'd make it, having been set on a paper towel for a couple hours after tediously harvesting the seeds. I immediately soaked them in water overnight, then spilled them (water and all) into a few make-shift milk jug pots with soil. I covered them in saran wrap, kept them in a sunny window, and here they are today. I actually have three milk jugs like this one. I'd also sent some in moist soil to Leeuwtje in the Netherlands (not sure how they've turned out, if at all).

Any suggestions for how long I should let them go in these containers before trying to transplant them to larger/more individual settings? I have never grown EEs from seeds ... I'm amazed these even made it to be honest. But I am excited. After seeing how big they were last summer, I don't think my husband is too keen on me having all of these in the yard next summer, lol, but I'm digging it! I even thought about taking one into work for some sunny locations we have in my office area. And of course, a few friends have already chimed in that they'd like some for their yards if they do okay through the winter indoors, which (so far) they are.

This message was edited Feb 3, 2010 6:24 AM

WOW, they are doing awesome. From the looks of them I wouldnt wait to long to transplant, the roots will get all tangled. You should be very proud of yourself, Ya Done Good !!!!!
Christine

Thanks! I'm excited about them, and keeping my fingers crossed. I check the bottoms of the pots weekly for signs of root growth. I was thinking that if they reach the bottom, they'd be ready to transplant, but if I should do it now, I can. I've been saving up styrofoam cups, soda bottles and coffee creamer jugs to put these puppies in once they were ready. Gonna be a lot of work .. and tedious, I'm sure!

Any suggestions for when transplanting them? Should I use any fertilizer? I used MG on the parents last year, and they did okay, but my friend's TGEEs were twice the size of mine and we bought them the same time. I think she used MG too.

The only thing and I'm not 100% sure is weather or not to fertilize when you transplant. I'm thinking you should wait a couple months, lets see what other have to suggest.
Christine

cool how neat

When my Alocasia portei seedlings got to about that size I potted them up in an organic mix with a little slow release fertiliser. They never looked back.

Guess I'll be stopping for more soil mix tonight, and have some work cut out for me this weekend!

Happy Transplanting :>)
Christine

I got one of the milk jug planters full of the TGEE babies transplanted this morning. I've been saving up McDonald's and Bojangles styrofoam cups from sweet tea, soda, etc., from my household and work/coworkers, etc. so I'd have something to put them all in. One of the planters made 16 cups with between 2 & 5 babies in each cup (depending on size). I'm putting them in a make-shift greenhouse to give them height room to grow. This makeshift greenhouse is a metro-shelf cart on wheels that I wrapped in bubble wrap (leftover from my GH insulation), and I clipped it around with binder clips to let some air in, but retain heat and a little moisture since it's in the house. I'm totally winging this to try and keep as many babies alive as I can, so please offer up any suggestions/ideas, etc. that you can think of. I have a small (personal) fan I can put in/on to help provide air circulation as well. Figure I'll do that after a few days once they have a chance to adjust to their new home and get semi-established.

I still have two other jugs of babies, plus a seed starter tray to divide up. I suspect I'll have around 80 planted cups when all is said and done. I've been putting out the word to my nearest and dearest at work and family/friends that they will need homes before long, as I can't plant them all in my yard! LOL If there is anyone in the immediate area who'd like to pick up a couple when they're ready to go (assuming they do well and grow okay), please dmail me!

Forgot to mention ... yes, I did poke drainage holes in the bottoms of the cups! :-)

What a great idea using the bubble wrap, they should all do well with the TLC your giving them. I wish I lived closer LOL.. Keep us posted on their progress.
Christine

Thanks. I read another poster who's name escapes me at this moment (he's from SC) who had these same babies, I believe, and he'd said that it was important to keep them covered while they're still young so they don't dry out. I had to come up with something to keep the humidity in for them while giving them room to grow. Since I'm not heating my GH, I didn't want to risk putting them out there and losing them, so I hope they make it with this set-up. On the plus side, I have another one of these carts, so I can use that one the same way for starting seeds as well, I'm guessing. Might be worth a try.

Day 3 of being in their new home in the make shift greenhouse. They seem to be doing well so far.

If you look at the base of this baby, there is new growth that is emerging. That seems to be a good sign! I'm not sure how soon "stress" would be evident, but if they were unhappy, I'd think I would see wilting or dry leaves, but they all seem healthy and "fresh" looking. I hope they continue to do so!

I hope to have the rest of the babies transplanted this weekend. I wanted to wait on them to make sure this set-up would work for them before risking loss of all of them.

I think they are doing great, their so darn cute
Christine

They're not quite as advanced as my 'baby' Tree Philos (P. bipinnatifidum) but look like they're doing well. Mine are a darker green though. Could be just the results of flash washout when taking the photo. But could also need a bit more nitrogen. I soak old poultry manure in water for a week and then water the Philos with a diluted solution of that every week or two. (Do that with a lot of other plants as well.)

The leaves on this particular variety do tend to be on the lighter side than other EEs I have. I recall when I got my Thai Giant's last year, the case was the same, and I saw them in abundance at the nursery. So I'm not overly concerned with the color of them just now, but will continue to monitor them.

I used Miracle Grow potting soil to plant them. I don't have any poultry manure, but I have 3 dogs and 2 cats who produce plenty of their own. Not sure the results would be as good though. :-)

Once they can be outside (when our temps warm up a bit), I might try giving them a few splashes of my pond water, which someone suggested would be good also due to the fish & frog waste.

These are my baby Tree Philos.

Have you considered selling them in the Marketplace? Or is there something you might want to trade for????
Roxanne

Roxxane -- are you talking to me or TropicBreeze?

jlj, I was talking to you!
Roxanne

I don't know that I'd be comfortable selling them so much as maybe trading them for something or giving them away locally. This is my first experience with this ype of seed, and the whole thing was a fluke, really, in terms of how it happened (see below for short version). I'm still new to seed starting and whatnot, and this elephant ear journey was quite an adventure.

I discovered the seed pod, and had been searching for how to store the seeds and couldn't find anything, so I'd sent a couple emails out and started cleaning them -- a very time consuming and tedious process! By the time I heard back (a couple hours later), I learned that the seeds must be sown fresh or stored in their pods in moist sphagnum moss. Not having any of that on hand (or knowledge of how to store them that way), I did the only thing I knew to do -- put the seeds in water to "rehydrate" them, starting filling every make-shift pot and seed starting tray I had with soil I had on hand, and then spilled the water over all those "pots" and let the seeds fall as they may (I tried to make sure they were as evenly distributed as I could, but we're talking about close to a thousand itsy bitsy super tiny seeds!). I covered all the "pots" with saran wrap, and placed them in a sunny, southern-exposure window in my dining room. A few weeks later, I was about to chalk the entire process up to a loss when I happened to notice tiny signs of green popping through the soil. A few weeks after that, I posted this link.

Yesterday, I took the afternoon off from work and ventured down to Plant Delights Nursery for their open house, and noticed that their thailand giant elephant ears were about a foot tall, whereas mine are still fairly small (5" or less). I don't know how long they take to get that size from where they are now. It could be a year of constant heat/sun, I just don't know. So not being too experienced all this, I'd hate to sell them and have missed a critical step, or have something go wrong, and people will have paid their hard earned money for them. I've adopted a "wait and see" attitude, simply letting folks know if all goes well, they will need a home. I'll give them away to my local friends/family (and fellow DGers) once they are established, and would be happy to try for trades (being sure to let the recipient know the background/story). I just wouldn't be comfortable trying to sell them right now. Now, if my others produce seeds again this coming year, it might be worth trying next go around. :)

If the weather ever warms up here I will send you a message to see what you might want to trade. I love experimenting myself and I'm sure that if your plants made it this far your experiment is probably successful but I do understand your cautiousness. It's so fun when something like this works out!
Roxanne

Sounds good, Roxxanne! I'll be sure to update this thread as time goes one.

I did get another 11 cups of babies transplanted yesterday. I'm wondering, though, for those who have grown EEs from seeds/babies ... when would be an appropriate time and what type would you recommend for fertilizer? Is it safe to use a small amount on the ones transplanted a week ago? Appreciate any recommendations/advice.

Updated growth pictures. It's so rewarding watching them grow ... almost like children! Glad I didn't have to birth THESE babies! LOL

Close-up. Almost all of the ones in these taller cups are taller than the cup now (about 5-6"+ plant size).

Looking good, amazing how fast they grow :>)
Christine

With fertiliser, something with a bit more nitrogen, it's good for growth.

The babies continue to grow. I had to move them out to the GH this weekend because it was getting to be too cumbersome blocking my door to the deck with the make-shift greenhouse.

72 pots in total with several babies in a pot. Some of them were growing in "clumps" and I just left them that way so as to disturb the roots as little as possible.

This message was edited Mar 28, 2010 7:49 PM

Outstanding !!!!!!!

How are those babies doin??
Rox

They're growing but not as fast as I expected. By this time last year the one's I got from plant delights were a good 18"±. Mine seemed to have stalled out. Not sure why. I thought being outside with more sun and humidity would have kicked them into high gear.

Any advice would be great. I'd like to get them growing and moving out to new homes sooner vs later.

Just got onto the thread for the first time today. Great job for a first try. Don't worry about them slowing down. Being babies their first objective is to develop the tubers and root system to support the plant's future growth. Once that happens they'll begin to fully develop. The TGEE is one I haven't been able to find here so if you're inclined to make a swap from my trade list... ;)

Thanks for the feedback Steve. Since that posting, the larger ones have started to take off a bit. I'm hoping to try and plant on in the yard for trial this week, but wasn't sure when it would be the right time to do so. Any help/feedback on that is appreciated.

I've never sent a plant via the mail (only seeds) but I'm willing to try it if I can find some guidance on handling/packaging, etc. Since the search feature has been disabled on the forum, I've been at a loss. :(

And here's the entire lot of 'em.

I water them daily since they're in the GH still, and the "pots" are small ... they seem to dry out quickly. Should I move them out of the GH to a safe but sunny spot on my deck? Or leave them in there? I open it up during the day to make sure it doesn't get too hot in the GH, and the roof is tinted bronze to act as a shade cloth.

Any care/planting tips are most welcome with these babies. I've never grown tropicals from seeds before so this is an experiment ... one I hope will continue to be successful.

I dont have any advise for you but I did have to tell you how healthy they are. I still havent been able to get mine in the ground yet, it's probably growing in the box I have it store in LOL
Christine

I just found this, hope it helps
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/502752/
I'd love a baby :>)
Christine

I'll see if I can dig up a couple small boxes to ship them in and let you know. It will still be a couple more weeks, I'm guessing.

I'm going to move them out of the GH for a bit today and tomorrow, since they're receiving uv-filtered sunlight, and I want to acclimate them to the real world. :-)

Great looking seedlings! I would love to trade you for some!!! Just send me wish list and I will get on it!....I can send you names of some Gingers and a Medinilla I have as seedlings....

I would give your seedlings good air movement with warmth, if it is still cold outside....

Aloha,
Carol