EE's in zone 6b?
EE's in zone 6b?
HELP!!!!
This is my first year for growing EE's but don't have a clue on how to winter them over. Thought I could treat them like a canna, but I am reading different thoughts on this. Any one in a zone 6 with EE's that they winter over. Really do like them, and would love to save them for next year.
I potted up starts of mine that will go into the basement for the winter. It is cool down there and I do have shop lights, but the ears will go around and under the table so they won't get much light. Not much water either, just enough to keep them alive. I didn't lose any last year doing this, so cross your fingers that I have another good winter in the basement.
Brugie,
Thanks, Wonder if I could do this, and just put them in the house somewhere? We dont have a basement :(
Another question: If I store them like canna, is it true that they take to long to come back?
I dig up my elephant ears, dry them thoroughly and put them in the crawl space under the house. It is well insulated and they stay cool but don't freeze. In the spring I take them out and put them back in the ground. Cannas work well with this method also but I am too lazy to dig all my cannas so I just put a very thick pile of straw on them and hope that it won't get too cold for them. I am also in zone 6b and one of these days they will get too cold and turn to mush. It is my understanding that the vining kind of elephant ears aren't to be treated like that however.
Elena,
Not sure what the vining kind are ?
I have black magic and ruffles.
thanks, think i will try this, since my space is limited with all the tropicals. do you use peat moss to store them in ?
I don't but you can after you are sure they are completely dry. I just lay mine out on the very dry ground in the total darkness. I put them away from the under house door a bit just in case it gets colder there. I got a vining one in the EE coop but think that all of my others will be ok dried off. My little ones are going to stay in their pots and stay under lights all winter.
Elena,
thanks. :)
miss: The black magic ee, I believe is one of the vining type. I keep mine growing as a houseplant in a sunny window thru winter. Ruffles might be a tuber grower, but they have to have some size to them before you can dig and let the tubers go dry. The common ee's I just dig up and store in sacks until about Feb. or March then pot up and let grow. Set outside after danger of frost for the summer.
Debby, that is why one of the black magic's sent out a little plant off of it, kind of like a spider plant.....is that what they call a vining EE plant?
I have always referred to ears as the tuber type and the running type. LOL Hey it's simplistic but it works. I think ALL my ears sent out runners this year. It was a whacky year for ears.
ok runners refer to the type that run underground and multiply? And tubers well look like a canna tuber somewhat?
>^..^<
Badseed, how do you store yours?
Last year I just dried and stored the tuber type in the garage. I just kept the running ones growing. Small problem. This year I have a bunch of them! I grew a lot of them in the pond and in the ground too. Big difference between one foot tall ones and four foot tall ones. LOL Hmmmm, not sure what I am doing this year yet!
Ha, Badseed! Those decisions just get forced upon us eventually though, don't they?
Badseed, that is how i store my canna, just dry and store them in peat moss, and put them in a box in the garage, was really hopeing to do that with the EE's
only have the 2 types, and dont know what they are,tuber or vining??? , guess i'll see when i dig the roots up. didnt know that there was 2 types till today.
the black magic was in a large tub of water with other water plants and boy were the leaves huge :) and so pretty! the ruffles was in the ground and didnt seem to do as well.
wonder if your large EE can be cut back before you bring it in?Maybe leave a few of the smaller leaves on it?
I'm going to have to set up a ton of lights in the basement for the brugs that are still green. The woody ones can go to sleep for a few months. I guess I can just put up a few *more* lights. LOL Elena, you have me giggling! I may have to see if Dave can permanently remove the Co-op forum from my view. snicker
aaahhhh the co op forum :) LOL
did you know that we are having bulbs for dinner this week...hehe
***** Thank you every one for all your help.*****
Hey, I could always slice up my melanga and fry it, but I would NEVER do that! LOL
LOL
Badseed, funny you should say that, we added a new set of lights yesterday! If all else fails, add more lights. Never would we ever dream of the solution being to get rid of any beloved plants. Why, it would be like parting with one's children, huh?
Parting with plants?? Surely you jest! I think it would be easier to kick the kids out of their bedrooms! ROTF I do send my nice annual/tropicals to warmer climates, but it is TOO hard to part with some. :)