I could not resist... Wal-Mart had a bin of elephant ears marked down to 2.50 each so i picked up a few. All it says on the sticker is plant 1 to 3 in. deep, 6 to 12 in. apart. height to 5 feet. My question is which end is up? I'm not sure how to plant these...should i lay them on their side?
Elephant Ear- Which end is up?
One end probably has some small holes in it and is a bit pointed while the other end will be more rounded or even have a raised spot in the center. The holes would be from old roots and go down. If you have an end with a raised spot, small pink bumbs or such, that would be the top. It's easy to look at them and know once you have looked at enough of them but so hard to describe it. LOL You most probably have Colocasia esculenta. They had them at my store for $2.92. I noticed they also have black magic roots in a bag this year. Funny how things change.
Thanks Badseed for the info...I am eager to plant them. I've never seen these before and they are the strangest looking bulbs! I didn't see the Black Magic...wish I had . I would have snatched that one up too!
-Tia
Just keep them a bit on the warm side for now. If they are too cool and wet, they can rot. I am not sure what your temps are like right now. Maybe someone can tell you if it is safe to go ahead and plant them in the ground. I usually sprout them inside because I am impatient! LOL
The black magic ones were with the bagged bulbs. I didn't buy any but I saw them. The store by me has moved all of the bulbs outside now. I guess clearance is not far off.
Hey Badseed, I went back to the store today and found the Black Magic ears!! Turns out they had them kinda shoved in a corner by the BBQ grills. I picked up a few. yay! According to weather bug the highs for the next few days is supposed to be in the mid 80's and lows in the 60's. I potted up 2 today and was planning on planting the Black Magic tomorrow in a fairly sheltered area of the garden. Gets morning sun and afternoon shade. I will cross my fingers and hope for the best!
Thnaks for all your help!
-Tia
Cool! Glad I could help. I'm thrilled to start seeing these things in stores! Last year I about jumped out of my skin when I saw two types of bananas and black magic ears in a little nursery. Now they need to get MORE uncommon stuff. LOL