Elephant Ears - Their Purpose?

Hello Gardeners!

I'm new to gardening, to Dave's Garden and home ownership! I hope you don't mind a few questions from such a newbie!

We purchased our first house in January (near Eugene OR). The previous owner planted a large patch of elephant ears. They are growing rapidly and are about waist high or higher right now. They aren't the most beautiful things to look at so I assume there was a reason for planting them. I notice the neighbors have a smaller patch going also. Does anyone know the benefits to keeping this patch around? I assume they either attract good plants/animals/insects or discourage unwanted of the same...?

Also, does anyone know what zone I might be in? I did attempt to figure it out with the zone map but there wasn't a close up of Eugene so I wasn't sure. Is it zone 7?

Thanks in advance. I'm so glad I found this forum!

Nadine

Nadine, welcome to DG - although I am an outsider on PNW, we share a lot of the same growing conditions, and this is a marvellous group. Very active and very interested, and very warm. (Also very funny). I hope you enjoy it.

About the elephant ears, I think what it comes down to is if you don't like them get rid of them - its your garden, definately grow what YOU like - not necessarily what you inherit. But it is also worth bearing in mind, what the plants have told you is that where they are growing is a moist spot in full sun with good drainage, probably high in humus, and it is not a frost pocket. That is well worth knowing - and as you chuck them out, you can tell them 'thanks for the info.'

One of the advantages of letting a garden go through a one year cycle when you take it over - you get to know what the nature of the garden is, just by considering what is growing well/poorly you can get a good idea of what the growing conditions are. You might want to make a sketch map of what plants are around the garden, (particularly perrenials and bulbs that you want to keep which will disappear once the frosts come again in the autumn and when you want to lift/divide/move them). You can also note what goes well, what might go better, and what needs to go out!

You might also want to consider potting a few elephant ears up in old containers, and leave them on the curb outside marked with the plant name: Caladium/Elephant Ears and Free. Some else could be thrilled to bits to get some spares, and you might meet some gardeners in the area who can give you more details on local growing conditions and zones. Worth a try.

enjoy your new garden, and come give us lots of questions, photos, and thoughts -

Hi Nadine .
I have a very large EE .
I have found a good use for my big ears . What do you think ?

Thank you Laurie and Ginger! The advice about the garden cycle is great. Cute photo, Ginger. Our dog would be completely covered by that EE... LOL

Perhaps ours are not EEs (or a different version), they are not the same as Ginger's. Our EE leaves are round and green. I will have to take a photo. Good idea about potting up the plant also. If they had a purpose, I don't mind keeping them but they aren't as pretty as Ginger's. If the deer would eat them, that would be great to keep them off other plants but I think only insects are paying attention right now. LOL

I do have photos of unknown plants (because I'm such a newbie) but was afraid to post - because there are so many. Should I post them in the Plant identification forum separately or can I post here all in one post?

Thanks for the warm welcome. Sometimes the gardening aspect is overwhelming, there's so much to learn, so little time. I really appreciate all the experiences shared on the board. It's been quite helpful.

Nadine

Welcome Nadine and congratulations on home ownership. It will be an adventure to plot and plan your yard as time goes on.

I bet people would love to help you ID your plants here, but the plant ID forum would work as well. Only one photo per post at DG, unless you insert links to an online photo storage site.

Ginger, when I glanced at the thumbnail photo I thought it would be a cute little daschund napping under a leaf..... wrong. That is the biggest leaf I've ever seen and a very contently napping large dog! It's apparent why they call them Elephant Ears now.

Sorry Nadine , I should have welcomed you to The Web Site also .
This is one of the most friendly WS I have been on for a long time .
Once you have a good look around , You will really love it .
The EE do need a lot of water .
If I miss watering one day they start to droop .
Mine have grown from nothing to 7 ft tall in 6 months .
This is a Pic. when they were 6 ft tall .

Wow...those are some nice EEs, Ginger!

These are the EEs I was wondering about but now I'm beginning to think they are not true EEs... ?

I must confess I don't know what it is .
They look like a type of rhubarb to me .
I hope some one comes to your rescue and ID's them .
I will be keeping an eye / ear on this post .

Thanks, Ginger. They are not quite as tall as yours but they are 4 feet+ and still growing! The previous owner said they were elephant ears. Your photo looks more like the EEs we had in Ohio when I was little. These rounder ones I have never seen before.

Welcome Nadine,
That looks like Petasites Japonicus, and it can be very invasive, left to its' own devices. I have the variegated petasites, and it's pretty sometimes, but the slugs just devour the leaves and I've been thinking of ripping it out too.

Best of luck to you, and happy digging!

Thanks galega. I think you are right on the money about this. I looked it up in the plant files and there it was. I had said they were 4+ high but some are actually about 5'. They look like they'll be eaten by the insects before they invade anything (hopefully!).

Thanks again galega and to all for helping me out on this!

Welcome, Nadine!!! Have fun with your new home and keep sending us photos!

Nadine, Welcome to the wonderful world of gardening and home ownership. I purchased my home in Nov 2005, I just let everything grow all year so I could see what I had, What i liked, and what i needed to banish. It seemed to work out well. I have replanted everything. One thing I didnt plan for, shade. I have a side of my house that is largely shaded by a HUGE PINE tree in the neighbors yard. I have sadly dwindling alliums on that side now too. They are thriving not 15 ft away in the bright and sunny side. So much for having continuity on both sides of the walkway! That is my word of advice and first hard learned lesson. Good Luck on your new garden!

Thanks Murmur and fragglicious! Thanks for the welcome and well wishes. We have trees on 3 sides our house so much of the area is in shade. I'll have to study up on shade plants! Too bad weeds don't require full sun...LOL!

Definitely Petasites! Better start digging. And understand that they grow very quickly with runners. Look for little petasites leaves coming up several feet from the largest clump. If they are popping up in other places, just use a paintbrush to paint roundup on the leaves as they emerge. It's easier than trying to dig them all because any pieces with growing eyes that are left in the soil will continue to sprout. If they are growing that large, you definitely have a moist spot in which many other more interesting plants could be growing. Welcome to the forum and to the world of gardening!

Elephant ears are actually calocasias, I believe, related to taro. Yuska

Nadine

Welcome:) you will love this group of people.

First one suggestion is dig one or two up! EE have a big bulb...if these do not then you will know for sure they are not EE.

I too think they might be Petasites Japonicus and I would get rid of it quickly...even with the bugs help they can not get the roots...

Happy digging and enjoying your new home and new life.

D

Thanks Yuska, you are absolutely right.

Thanks Pixydish and Irisloverdee. The previous owner said they require a lot of water. I really don't think they are EEs either. They ARE getting huge. Probably over 5' now. I can't for the life of me think of a reason they should be around but if they require a lot of water and I do not water that area (it has been extra rainy here) maybe they will disappear on their own during the summer months. If not, as you say, I've found a nice moist area for some other plants in the future.

On another note, I have some very pretty miniature roses appearing on the other side of the house. There are other things coming up but those I know for sure what roses look like!

What are the pesky little white flower type weeds that grow in the lawn and if you don't mow soon enough, it looks like you have a field of flowers? I don't mind little flowers but would rather not have them overtake the entire lawn so that makes me think they are weeds.

Thanks again for the warm welcomes everyone!

Nadine