I planted 2 or 3 "extra large" elephant ear bulbs from home depot. All are up and looking happy. The package says they will get > 60 inches. The bulbs were very big, probably 4 inches tall and wide. Has anyone planted these? I am just trying to get an idea of what I can really expect with proper growing conditions (part sun, moist) in the first summer season. Right now they are about 1 foot...
Thanks and sorry if this is stupid question. Hey, I pay for a dg subscription, why not use it? ;-)
Home Depot "Extra Large" Elephant ear bulbs
I saw the box for these at our Home Depot, but all were gone. I planted 12 bulbs (?) last year that I bought in a box at Sam's. They are planted on the east side of my little waterfall pond where they get some afternoon sun and they still grew to about 3 ft tall and did wonderfully. I left a leaf mulch on them over the winter and they are back up and growing strong. Like yours, they are only about a foot tall now, but they will grow! Good luck with yours!
i got some a little smaller than that a couple of years ago. the first year they grew well and reached about 4 ft tall. last year was amazing! they were huge! many were over 6 ft tall and the "ears" were very large. i dont know if that will continue this year because we are not having as wet of a spring, but i hope so!
tracie
Lots of experience with EEs over in the tropicals forum. I would bet you will find an answer there...
Man, I hope you love them, because once they are planted, you'll never get rid of them. They multiply like crazy. There was a foundation planting of them across the back of the house when we bought it. I've been digging them up for 5 years now and they are still sprouting. I must have thrown away two truckloads already. The ones that are left have grown under the edge of the foundation and I can't get the roots out because of gas and water lines. I'll pull and dig all I can, and inevitably a few weeks later, it sprouts back out. They spread quickly, so unless you want a bunch of them, put them somewhere you can control the spread.
Crow
Crow, because of just that issue, I was thinking of putting some in a large pot. Do you think they will do as well that way?
I was originally going to put them in the ground in a shady garden I have, but I heard from others that once they're there, it's near impossible to get rid of them so I don't want to commit.
I think they'll be fine in a pot as long as you water often. I've done the same thing with cannas. They tend to run rampant too, so I've got them in a large pot and they're doing fine. The EE's might not get as big in a pot is the only thing. Have you seen the new black ones? I may have to break down and try some of those in a pot. They're really unusual looking.
Crow
The 'black magic' taro is great but it needs more water than standard colocasia. I have 'black magic' and 'violet-stem' taro in my bog. Neither are terribly invasive, yet anyway. Another that is very interesting is 'imperial' taro.
I planted EE bulbs in the ditch in front of my house. Most folks on my street fill their ditches with iris. I think EE's will take over and fill the ditch in nicely. It's a ditch, so if they are too much, I dig the whole mess up and start over. ;-)
Be careful what you plant...I have been trying for two years to eradicate these from our front yard. I let the ones in the back stay because the full shade keeps them at bay. I made the mistake of putting some dead stumps in the compost heap only to find plants taller than me there the next time I visited, which unfortunatly isn't too often in the fall and winter.
Tabitha
There are lots of EE. There are Colocasias, Alocasias and xanthosomas. They are in the family of Aroids. What you have Tabitha, is an Alocasia. These do not multiply quickly so should not be that hard to get rid of. The Colocasias that produce runners are the most invasive but even those can be eliminated with Roundup and a sticker. I have some that taste very good. Sweeter that a potato. These I got at an Arisen market.
kenboy
kenboy, those are massive, are they colocasia? There is a bulb I have seen for 'Borneo Giant' that is that big or bigger. Amazing!
Mine have been out of the grown 4 weeks and they are already 2 feet tall with the biggest leaves about 7"
An interesting EE story in Neil Sperry's e-letter -
http://www.neilsperry.com/articles/2008/04/22/plant-of-the-month.html
Yuska
This message was edited Apr 26, 2008 1:01 PM
Bohnnco, these are Alocasa and we have had them for four years. The first two years we left them in the ground through Winter but the last two we have dug them up and stored them in a cool dry place then plant them back in the Spring. This way they pick up where they left off.
Here is a Xanthosoma we got last year, and the picture was taken last Fall. It's leaves were about two feet long last year, it should be much bigger this year.
Extra large can mean anything so just watch and wait. Mine all multiply but I have no trouble just taking a sawall and cutting off extra bulbs and giving them away.
BTW Madrid I have that exact EE. That gets big for me in a fairly shady spot. Momma plant gets about about 8 ft tall each year with huge leaves. You know the name?
CoreHHI Madrid's plant is an Alocasia. Which one I do not know. There is a sticker on the Aroid forum to help tell Alocasias, Colocasias and Xanthosomas from each other. If you post your pictures on the Aroid forum someone will help you with the corect name of your EE.
Here is a picture of some "babies" I pulled up so you could see the roots. They really aren't that bad to control. I just inherited a yard full of them so it seems like they might be invasive. There are very few left in the bed where I have been digging them out. It would be nice to know what type I have so I would know if it is a good gift to share with others, and how far away I need to keep my 14 month old in case it is poisonus.
Tabitha
Even if you do not know the type, it will be something that is easy to trade. Very few people have Alocasias, look around as you are driving down the road and see how many you see in other peoples yards. As far as poisonus, very few plants in the garden are not.
This message was edited Apr 28, 2008 9:56 PM
I'd say there is a 99% chance you Colocasia esculenta. Those are all over the big box stores this time of year for about $5 each. Even in Ohio, with part sun and ample water, the leaves get about 3' wide and 4' long and easily 5' tall. I've tried buying from different stores and from boxes with different pictures and always end up with Colocasia esculenta. The exception is a nursery I go to that sells Macorhiza, California and Odora but they are marked and priced as so. Last year I bought one of the "Extra Large" at Walmart hoping for something different since there were pictures of Xanthosoma and Colocasia on the box. No luck. Still Colocasia esculenta. They are about 50% hardy here in zone 6, almost guaranteed if they are close to a foundation and mulched. You all should be able to leave them in the ground.
They are fun, big plants. Enjoy them.