Alocasia, Upright Elephant Ear 'Portora'

I'm in zone 8a (central SC), and my alocasia varieties become smaller each year until they die out. I planted my bulbs in containers t...Read Morehis spring, and I plan to overwinter them on my heated back porch. Because they eventually die, alocasia isn't really cold hardy in my zone 8a.

I planted this in a pot which I placed on my patio in Southern California. In 5 months it went from 2 ft. tall to at least 7 ft. It is on...Read More the south side of my house where it gets an hour or two of sun in the morning but is shaded the rest of the day. Through the heat of August (95 to 100 degrees) it needs water a couple times a day. Every week or so I give it a dose of liquid fertilizer. People always notice it and comment. It's quite the specimen!

If I had to pick my 10 favorite tropicals, Alocasia 'Portora' would be among the top 5. I was first introduced to this wonderful plant wh...Read Moreen it was a new selection from Plant Delights Nursery around 2000-2001, perhaps 2002. I received a very healthy specimen, small, but nice. It was actually my first introduction to the world of elephant ears. I planted it in a large 15 gallon container and that first season it grew to around 4-5 feet in height. It produced several daughter bulbs close to the mother plant and they all grew very large. It was an amazingly beautiful plant. Leaves are large and thick, and seemed to hold up well in the wind. If you want a tropical feel to a patio, try this one. It is very easy to grow in my experience and has a great tall architectural form. I successfully overwintered it in my basement next to a south facing walkout patio door. It grew all winter with only a short period of rest when I let it get too dry. At that time it held what leaves it had but for about a month and a half it didn't grow new leaves at all. The only problem I have ever had with 'Portora' has been spider mites. They are relentless in the winter months.

During the second growing season this plant grew even higher, to approximately 6ft. It produces a trunk unlike the common elephant ear and it was around 6 inches or so in diameter. The stems and trunk are attractive as well...they are a light grayish green color mottled with a faint streaking of purple and gray.

During the 3rd growing season, I divided the plant to share with a friend and planted what I had left in the ground. BIG MISTAKE on my part! Voles destroyed my plants by burrowing around the thick trunk and chewing on the bulbous base and roots. The friend that received my extra plants still has them growing to this day. She stores hers like regular elephant ear bulbs and begins growing them in February/March. She has reported that 'Portora' is the first to sprout and is generally much larger than other varietes of Alocasia and Colocasia before she plants them outdoors in May.

Something to note concerning toxicity with this plant. I have never had an allergic reaction to any elephant ear sap. However, everytime I would remove stems and older leaves from A. 'Portodora', I would break out in a burning rash on my arms when the sap would spray from the cut stems. After about 20 minutes or so the rash was gone. Still didn't stop me from loving this plant.

Fortunately, I acquired a plant on Ebay this spring and it is already growing to enormous proportions. LariAnn Garner, I thank you for introducing such a wonderful specimen! Your work is amazing.

The superb alocasia hybrid was selected by Ron Weeks, from seedlings of a cross made by LariAnn Garner of Aroidia Research. This hybrid o...Read Moref A. odora x A. portei makes a stunning upright clump that is essentially an improved A. macrorrhizos. Each giant, green, heavily scalloped leaf is held sturdily upright atop the thick, muscular purple stalks. This is truly an architectural specimen plant for any garden. As with all elephant ears, a moist rich organic soil is best. A good thick winter mulch helps prevent rot in cold wet soils.