Elephant Ear & sun light needs?

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japlanter Grand Haven, MI Feb 26, 2009

I am considering planting Colocasia esculenta (Elephant Ears) into a raised circle spot that I have below an oak tree. The tree is 3 feet diameter and the circle extends 2 feet out all the way around the tree. i would like to start these indoors as I live in Michigan. There is only direct sunlight for an hour or two per day, is this going to be enough???

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NatureLover1950 Vicksburg, MS(Zone 8a) Feb 27, 2009

I had some elephant ears growing in sun that got huge and multiplied so fast I was constantly sharing them (the area was also moist). They were taking over the flowerbed so I moved them to a shady area where they don't get as large but at least they are more controllable. They seem to grow well in either situation so I think your EEs should be fine where you want to put them.

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ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) Feb 27, 2009

Are you planting the EE's in the ground or putting them in pots? If they're in the ground I'm not sure that's going to work. EE's like consistently moist soil and I don't know that your oak would be happy being too wet. Plus planting really thirsty plants in the root zone of a tree doesn't always work well because the tree will take up a lot of the moisture that's there. If they're in pots then that won't be an issue.

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japlanter Grand Haven, MI Feb 27, 2009

Thanks folks, after hearing the need for that much moisture, I have begun to consider pots. Since the bulbs are about the size of rutabagas, I suppose that the pots will need to be rather large, but this is starting to make sense. I know that the oak will have acidic or basic run off that can be stressful on other plants and if they were in pots, I can set them with some protection from that. Besides, my wife suggested pots to me earlier today and that can make for buy in on my flakey ideas...

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