Hello everyone!
What is the largest of the elephant ears that is commercially available? I live in an apartment, and I have grown the regular colocasia esculanta in the past... and by feeding the heck our of it, gotten it pretty big... but I want just one that is a real knock-out for my blacony this year, either colocasia or alocasia. I live on the third floor, with full southern exposure, but I do have a shade canopy (maybe 30%?).
Thanks for your time...
Karen
What's the biggest???
The biggest one you can get (Alocasia) is going to be the Alocasia macrorrhizos 'Borneo Giant', which is going to get much bigger than you can handle on that balcony. To get an idea, check this link:
http://www.aroidiaresearch.org/aborng.htm
Even a 30 gallon pot won't be big enough for it.
The next largest, but still extremely huge for a balcony, is Colocasia gigantea. The leaves are thinner, almost papery, however, so if you get wind, they might get torn easily.
Of course, I'm working on hybrids that will dwarf even those mentioned!
LariAnn
Aroidia Research
Lari Ann, Does this look like straight macrorrhizos to you or Borneo Giant?
Regards, Ann
Ann,
That looks like either Borneo Giant or the one I call 'Big Mac', which may just be a seedling variant of the Borneo Giant. I'm fairly certain that it is not straight macrorrhizos.
LariAnn
Just a question on A macrorrhizos. I've been growing them for quite a few years without paying special attention to them. In a previous place I was in the water (town water supply) was high in lime (Ca ions) but they grew reasonably well and reasonably tall (not to the Borneo Giant size). There was heavy lime buildup in the kettle, in the bathroom, where ever sprinklers reached.
In my place now I also have a high lime content in the water but the A macrorrhizos can't seem to cope with it. Dry season when the only water is from irrigation (my water bore) the plants waste away. During the wet season when the irrigation is from rain, they start to come back. So they never completely die off (although the above ground parts disappear).
I've asked around but no one seems to be able to provide an answer. Just wondering whether anyone here might have any ideas.
If the alkalinity of the water is too high, it can raise the pH of the soil and make a number of nutrients either unavailable or too available. Both conditions can result in an environment toxic to the plants. To confirm this, you would have to pH-test your soil and well water, but based on what you've shared, I am confident that what I have described is what your situation is.
I have well water that comes from coral rock substrate, making it of high pH, but it does not have too much of a negative effect on the plants. I notice, however, that they do grow better with rain water.
LariAnn
Aroidia Research
Lari Ann, thanks for that. The plants were rescued from a landscaping job my hubby was doing and recycled to our garden beds. It's gotten larger than any of the others I've seen and wondered if it could be different.
Ann
This is part of the results of the water analysis I had done:
pH = 7.2
Ca = 60.5 milligrams per litre
Mg = 30.4 milligrams per litre
Fe = 40 micrograms per litre
Al = 140 micrograms per litre
The Ca:Mg I know is good, but I don't know about the quantity. The Fe is there but I do notice signs in some plants of what I suspect is Fe chlorosis. The Al seemed fairly high, but I'd always thought that was only a problem if pH was very low.
Now they gave "Alkalinity" as 274 milligrams per litre, and I'm totally lost as to what they mean by that. Would that be the sum total of all the cations?
Generally, aroids seem to be most affected by whatever the problem is, except for those growing in water. I've Typhonodorum, Colocasia and Alocasia growing in that same water and they show no significant effects.
Your PH looks to be a little high. Lime would bring that down. It is best at 6 to 6.5.
The other consideration is not just the elements that are essential for the plants, but other elements that might be in the soil. Elements like selenium, zinc, molybdenum and others can become toxic under the right (wrong) conditions. Regular soil testing might not reveal these.
LariAnn
I posted additional information the other day but my post seems to have disappeared, or else (mosy likely) I pushed the wrong button. Anyway, this is in essence what I'd written.
Here's some of the other elements tested for (over 26 altogether):
Se =
I posted additional information but my post seems to have disappeared, or else (mosy likely) I pushed the wrong button. Anyway, this is in essence what I'd written.
Here's some of the other elements tested for (over 26 altogether):
Se = less than 1 micrograms per litre
Zn = less than 10 micrograms per litre
Mo = less than 5 micrograms per litre
B = less than 20 micrograms per litre
Soil testing is a bit of a mixed bag. Different parts of the garden have been cultivated differently and would show different results. When I did get a soil test done a few years back the sample was taken from four sites and mixed. The recommendation was to add zinc and boron, plus calcium (the sulphate).
I'm determined to turn the problem around, just that I'm still totally in the dark and have no idea of where to from here.
From the numbers you've provided, you don't seem to have toxic levels of any of the elements you've listed. As I've thought about your situation, and noted that you have the problem in the dry season, perhaps you can tell me more about the dry season. Does the humidity get really low and are the temps still warm? If the humidity is too low, wet-climate growing aroids in the ground will suffer, especially if the temperatures stay warm. I've heard reports that growing aroids outdoors in California, USA is not as easy as growing them here in Florida due to the higher humidity we have here.
Conversely, dry-growing Eucalyptus trees that do great your way suffer here in south Florida due to the high summer humidity. An example is Eucalyptus (Corymbia) ficifolia, a beautiful tree that doesn't like high humidity. Nonetheless, I have two growing here in containers and they are looking pretty fine in spite of the fact that they tend to languish a bit in the summer here, but do very well in the winter when humidity is much lower.
LariAnn, thanks for all your comments. I always thought Florida would have the same water problems as I have, knowing that a lot of it lies over old coral reef. However, one thing which throws the issue to the wind is that I was growing these aroids in a place 200 kms east of my place which also had high lime content in the water. They grew quite well there and I transplanted a lot when I bought my new (current) place. After about a year the large plants died away and I had numerous 'pups' which finally started to die away during the dry season.
We have a hot humid wet season. The dry season has day temps in the low to mid 30's (celcius), and night minimums in the 15 to 20 celcius range. What we call a "freeze" is when the minimum drops to about 10 celcius (50 Fahrenheit). That can happen say once in every few years. But the dry season humidity can get down to 30 RH during the day, although it climbs a lot higher into the night.
Some friends of mine have large aroids growing without any problems, and they're about 15 kms from my place. That's what makes me feel it's a water/soil issue. Although my Epipremnum pinnatum does well.
About the Corymbia ficifolia, it's from the extreme south west of Western Australia, a very mediterranean climate. You should try to get some Corymbia ptychocarpa (Swamp Bloodwood). Flowers are similar (colour and appearance) to C. ficifolia, but it has a weeping habit and very large (long) leaves. It's a local here and loves high humidity and wet soil. Used a lot in gardens and parks.