My front yard is largely shady, and I bought some elephant ear tubers to plant in the garden near the front of the house that usually has just caladiums and collects the water from the roof (no gutters). I mentioned to a friend, and she told me, "Watch out, they'll take over." She said her mom has them in Dallas and is constantly fighting to keep them from taking over her garden. I've read around and can't seem to confirm this.
Elephant ears spread?
It will depend on the type of EE you have. There are Colacasias, Alocasias and Xanthosomas. All three have many different types so there are many to choose from. The ones that are sold in most stores are Colacasia esculenta. It is a large bulb type and does not take over. There is some Colacasias that have runners and yes, some day they will take over the World.
These were bought at a warehouse store and are about the size of a softball to large grapefruit. They don't say anything on the tag except "Elephant ears" and "SKU 60760" along with a upc bar code.
I am sure you are OK with these.
I don't know what type I have here as they were growing here when I bought the house. I've been diligently trying to eradicate them for the past 7 years. I dig them up and think they're all gone and new ones pop up. Some of the tubers/bulbs are now far enough under the edge of the slab that I can't get the whole thing out. They've all got large bulbs, but I don't know about runners. They spread really fast and are absolute hell to get rid of.
Crow
crowellli, The only thing you can do now is roundup. Mix some in a jar and brush it on. I would wait until the Summer, it it rains, sometimes it will splatter on other plants.
Oh dear I sound like a broken record but I didn't realize they were hardy here. New to my list is elephant ear bulbs this spring.
C
Cheryl,
I'll be at the Arlington RU and can give you a couple of different kinds. JLMK
Steph
I also bring a few EEs to the round ups each year.