These are looking really great jlj072174! Gosh I wish I'd stuck with mine now. I love the use of bubble wrap too, that was a really good idea. I'll have to try that myself.
Thailand Giant Elephant Ear Babies
Alocasias and Colocasias really don't like being in pots...and they really like a loose airy mix (think of the jungle floor). We use almost half and half of BIG R (redwood shavings) with Perlite and all the tropicals like it alot. Nutricote on the top....
I would be happy to trade for some of your babies....I have a few tropicals myself. (grin)
Thanks Keoni. I'm really pleased at how well they are coming along as well. Here's a picture I just took of them to compare with how they started out.
Aloha. Thanks for the tip! When I potted these up, I made sure to mix a good bit of perlite into the soil to keep them happy. So far, so good.
If I can get my hands on a couple of boxes, I'll be sure to post how many I can trade with folks. My challenge right now is time. I'm in my last week of classes (hallelujah!), and have a final this weekend on Saturday at 8 am (ugg!). Once I'm off for the summer from school (and only have that measley thing called a j-o-b to deal with, lol) I'll have more time to scout boxes and work out swaps with what I have ready to go. Right now, I'm sacrificing the little bit of sleep I get to be sure to keep these babies happy and growing.
No rush...they will just keep growing!!!
Carol, I would say you have more than a "few" tropicals, lol. I'm still jealous of what all you can grow in your garden! It's gorgeous though!
When I was growing mine, before I neglected them (real life issues got in the way last year) - I had a lot of them in water and they were as happy as ever. Seemed it didn't matter if they were in soil or not, they were plenty happy to be growing in water (some pots submerged in water did well too). I am really hoping I get another seed pod this year so I can harvest again. Hopefully no major life crises this time to mess up my plans - mine had gotten almost to the size of yours before I started to loose them. I still have a few, but I must have lost several dozen :(
None of my original 3 from last year have shown any signs of coming back yet. They were in ground but I probably didn't mulcvh/protect them enough for the bizarre winter we had. My other Ears (in pots and ground) are coming up though. So I hope/pray these do well; not banking on seeds again but we'll see I guess. I didn't expect the one I got so my fingers are crossed.
Mine haven't come back either. I've had mixed results with leaving these in the ground... the second year they all came back they were really small. I think the two I put in the ground this year I'll dig up at the end of winter and store indoors. This winter was a lot worse than the one before, so I definitely am not expecting either of my old ones to return. Half my 'nanners didn't make it either it appears. Really weird winter.
These are too beautiful to loose each winter. I am just hoping I get another seed pod from one of the two.
This message was edited Apr 26, 2010 11:12 PM
Carol mentioned using Nutricote which is a timed release fertilizer. I believe that is available in smaller sizes at Home Depot where it is sold as Dynamite.
Call me crazy, but this looks like a thailand giant elephant ear coming back from last year! It was hidden behind my hibiscus so I didn't notice it before. Thoughts? It doesn't look like any of my other EEs, but sure does look like the TG in terms of leaf shape. If this a TG, I'm amazed. The other two haven't come back yet though.
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This message was edited May 11, 2010 3:01 PM
I've just sent dmails to four people who spoke up about wanting to trade for the babies. If anyone else would like to trade, please let me know (dmail). I suspect I'll have a total of about 15 available to trade in the next week or so (which include the four people I dmailed today). Family/friends have come by to take many off my hands already.
The others -- the second batch I'd transplanted (roughly 15 more) -- are still small (not sure they're "road worthy" yet, though someone else might know better than I). They're all about 4-5" tall right now. If someone thinks they would be okay to mail at that size, I'm happy to do so.
Happy Gardening!
Jennifer
This message was edited May 11, 2010 3:01 PM
wish i had stuff to trade but really dont. things still arent fully up yet and dont know if living.
i saw a huge one a few years back i could stand in its leaves. it was so cool
What a great thing to watch grow! I have sent you a dmail.
Connie
Jennifer....I don't know that I have anything you would want to trade....but I would love to have one of your babies....
I have the red leaf cannas....striped leaf cannas (americanallis var. variegata Pretoria)....if not perhaps you would consider sending for postage......
Dee
This message was edited May 22, 2010 7:32 PM
It's been a rough couple weeks with some personal family matters to tend to, and with work on top of that. I'm sorry for the delay in posting/replying to a few people's dmails. I have two people I'd connected with on trades, and hope to get those out this coming week. Unfortunately, because of my scheduled and things going on, I haven't been able to tend to the plants as much as I'd been in the past, so they look a little rough, but are on their way back to health.
At this point, however, I'll probably need to close off the offer of the remaining babies, as I don't know I'll have any left after these two that I need to send out. If I do have any remaining, I'll be sure to reach out to those who have inquired).
~~ Jennifer