EE's From big box store

I bought a couple of EE from a big box store. They had a rubber band around them and the only planting directions on the little tag was plant 3 to 6 inches. I thought I had read that EE needed to have part of the bulb out of the soil like an Amaryllis, so I planted them in two big pots and just barely covered them with potting soil. I moistened the soil then and have given them no more water for about two weeks. They are in a heated garage. Should I cover the bulbs with soil or not. I have seen no change in them at all and was wondering if I did something wrong.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.
taj

All EEs I know of need to be fully buried in the soil medium. In fact, when some of my Alocasias develop "trunks", one of the best ways to rejuvenate them is to unpot them, trim the roots, then repot with as much of the bare trunk buried as possible. The reason for this is that new roots start from that "trunk".

LariAnn
Aroidia Research

Thanks LariAnn, I could not find the answer searching, so I asked.
taj

I would have to guess that your plant is actually a Colocasia that you purchased considering your area and yes, I have to agree with LariAnne as well.

Are you sure your plant tag stated " vs. '? I have to add a bit of humor here. When I purchased a big E.E. bulb from a local walmart ......the sale's lady asked me if it was a croquet ball;-)

Rachel

This message was edited Apr 3, 2009 10:03 PM

OK, I've been told that there are elephant experts here. Any idea of what I have here?

Fred

PS I did not plant these suckers. They are growing wild in the wetlands area of my property.

Hi Fred, I think you have a Xanthosoma there. Larriann or Brian Williams could give you a more definate answer though.

Rachel

Fred,

That is definitely Xanthosoma, and probably is Xanthosoma sagittifolium. They do come up wild in south Florida.

LariAnn
Aroidia Research

LariAnne, I have read some report's that this particular Xanthos. is pretty cold hardy as well. I plan on trying one here this year in my zone and letting it over winter as well in my zone of 6B/7A. Do you know if my chance's are good for it to return the following year?

Thanks. Now all I have to do is find a place for a tag. :-) I would say these things are 10 feet tall and presently in bloom. The January freeze had browned them out only to see them come back doubly strong. I am simply amazed at the super growth in such a short time.

fred

Rachel,

I don't have any experience with overwintering this plant in your zone, but if you can keep the ground from freezing and by extension, the corm, you might be able to overwinter it. If the corm freezes, though, you are done.

I would guess you'd need to mulch it very heavily and, preferably, have it planted close to your house in a microclimate area, south side of your house.

LariAnn

Thank's. I know it would definately have to be mulched heavily and protected as much as I can. I have seen it listed on some website's as hardy to zone 7.

I am going to give it a try;-)

Thank's much

Rachel

I live in Ches. Beach, MD Zone 7(a) and none of my xanthosoma's survived the winter. I did not mulch them though.

Rachel,

I am in zone 7b-ish and my X. sagittifolium survived this past winter. I did mulch well, but they are planted in the middle of the yard versus near the house, so were still pretty exposed. They were the last of my elephant ears to emerge though, only in the last month or so.

Good luck!

Robert

Robert and brseaton, thank you both for adding the information! I do appreciate it.

Rachel