Help me ID this plant before disaster strikes!

I took a new office job & there are a few plants around my area that no one pays much mind. Not being one to let any thing just die, I became the "office gardener." Every thing seemed to be going just fine for the first 4 months, until this guy's pride leaf studdenly started going yellow (the one in the "back". He was a lone leaf when we met (albeit a big leaf: 27 inches long & 17 inches @ its widest point). Since I've been giving him TLC, 3 new leaves have sprouted from the main stalk, each one bigger then the last (I'm eagerly awaiting the fourth addition to the family). I'm an avid waterer - usually a good watering on Tuesday & a light watering on Friday for the weekend with every third week just one watering for the week. I had noticed that this plant was unusually dry when the yellow appeared and 3 days later was mostly dry again. I've been moving him around to get different levels of sun as well. I have no idea what this guy is & I'd like to read up on him. Can anyone help me?

It's one of the Alocasias/Colocasias....the most common one, though it's name escapes me at the moment.

You can go ahead and put it's pot directly in a saucer of water as long as there's adequate light, as this one is a water lover.

It's normal for them to lose a leaf once in a while, but I'd say that in this case the yellowing is from *under-watering*.

You might try gently pulling the plant up out of the pot to check for root mass. It could have too much mass for that size pot and need a bigger pot. If it's root-bound, there will be insufficient soil to hold moisture when you water it.

I agree with Naturelover, report into a larger pot with some nice new potting compost, as the plant leaves increase, so the roots will increase to sustain the plants growing pattern, after you re pot, give a water and continue as before, after a couple of weeks, add a liquid plant feed to your watering say once every 2 weeks this will help it to grow healthy, it is not a good idea to keep moving plants around as the different lighting, drafts from doors or windows or heaters/coolers will confuse the plant and it will struggle to keep up with what it is meant to be doing, also, a lot of people dont realise that plants have a front and back side, front is normally where it gets the better light, back is the more shaded area, so your plant wont really know what way it is growing and will be twisting and turning to try get the most light onto the leaves and growing tips at the top of the stem, by all means move your plants, but not daily or weekly, it may help to mist the leaves say every few days IF the office is warm or the atmosphere is dry, sit the plant in good light but, not at a window where the sun will act like a magnifying glass and dry/scorch the leaves, also dry out the soil too quickly. if you have a few plants, maybe try grouping them 3/4 together and that may help them as companion plants do sometimes help each other as far as light and shade goes. hope this helps you out a bit and your plants will be good for many years brightening up the office. WeeNel.

This is a type of elephant ear plant. It is grown from a large bulb. You can continue to keep it going in the pot it's in year round, but it will begin to decline in time. As with all bulbs, it needs a period of rest. The bulb contains the food to keep this plant going, and without a dormancy period to replenish itself it can't continue to grow. The best bet if you want to see it continue on is to stop watering it until the leaves turn yellow and fall off. Remove the bulb from the pot. Clean off as much soil as you can and store it in a paper bag with a small amount of peat moss. Check the bag a couple times over the winter to make sure the bulb doesn't completely dry out. Misting lightly will be sufficient. In late March, pot it up again and begin watering. I've always grown them outside. I'm not sure how they do inside. Outside they get big and full by the beginning of May. These can be grown in water only, but I've never tried it. They need a lot of water throughout the growing season. Because of their huge shiny green leaves, they look beautiful among all the flowering plants of spring and summer. Very tropical looking! Good luck.

I had forgotten about this thread.
I think it's Colocasia esculenta.

I take mine down to my basement each fall, and give it very little water (just enough to keep the bulb from drying up).
Mine seems to retain a leaf or even two, but has been known to completely die back, as growgirl59 mentioned above, but it begins growing again it just a short period of time - even in the limited light of my furnace room.

Actually, I think these are perennial in warm zones, (I'm not completely positive about that - some colocasias are and some aren't if I recall correctly? - you may want to research that aspect) so if the area you're growing it in is warm and sunny, you should be able to keep it growing all year 'round, but it needs a lot of water to keep it looking healthy.

It looks like a common Elephant Ear that is grown in the ground down here in Florida. Yep, a perennial! I have a couple in pots out by my shed and my neighbor has some in the ground that keep spreading through the fence. I find them growing up in the grass and dig them up.

They die completely back here in the winter, but resprout in the spring.

Here in UK, these are popular house plants therefore grow all year round, in an office I would class that as an indoor plant, when grown outdoors in the warmer climates, then they are seasonal and require a rest period same as all other plants growing outside, if kept indoors, treat as a house plant. WeeNel.