My two Black Magic EE's first leaves are now 32" and 36" high. They are currently indoors under shoplights and I'm not sure when would be a good time to transplant them into the ground outdoors. The pots they are in are too small now and I can see white roots trying to surface on the soil. How do I harden them off w/o damaging them?
They are now larger than in this pic.
Toni, I grow my ee's indoors over the winter as well. I do not worry about hardening them off when it is time for them to go out. I just move the plants (pots) outside and water well. I do wait for the night-time lows to get to 50's before taking them out. By this time of the year, I'm usually down to just a leaf or two on my plants. That leaf wears out anyway in a few weeks, so if I lose it putting the plants out, I'm not concerned. I do not plant mine in the ground, so cannot help much there except to suggest that you make sure the ground temps are warm enough. Once you see them growing, be sure to fertilize well. It makes a big difference in our zone.
Hi krowten, thank you so much for the info. My EE's are getting very tall and I have decided to pot them up in large outdoor pots rather than putting them directly into the ground. I never thought they would get so tall! I'm hoping they don't split or break outside during windy days. Would a full sun location be too much for a Black Magic EE? If so, I do have room in part shade areas.
Also, how big of a pot should I use? Would a 24" pot be sufficient?
Thanks,
Toni
This message was edited May 21, 2011 11:43 PM
Colocasia esculenta 'Black Magic' will do just fine in either full sun or part shade. If you place the plant in full sun you will need to water more often vs. part shade. This plant will grow and pup quickly when growing in good conditions and judging from your statement about the pots they are in now, they definitely need to be placed in larger pots.
One thing worth mentioning is that I have my potted ee's sitting in a larger container of water that I never allow to dry out. This is even more important in full sun. Heavy feeding, lots of water. Regarding pot size, that's relatively easy to figure out. The plants will tell you by sending roots out of the existing pots when they need larger.
Thank you RachelLF and krowten for all these tips. As far as them being heavy feeders, would Osmocote slow-release fertilizer be okay? If not, I have some Perfectly Natural organic granular fertilizer in both 5-5-5 and 8-5-5 /or/ liquid Miracle Grow.
