How to get rid of elephant ears?
Gumbo
20 years ago
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jagladyla
20 years agolouisianacricket
20 years agoRelated Discussions
How tall will this elephant ear get?
Comments (1)If this was Costa Rica, 6' with an equal spread. However, it gets cold here and not enough rain. Mine is around 2' tall and very slow to spread if at all....See Moregetting rid of invasive elephant ear
Comments (1)are you looking for tubers in trade or trying to erradicate them? i have not heard of them being that aggressive, especially in zone 7. mine have stayed in the same spot for several years now, showing no tendencies to colonize a large area. they sell the plain green type of ee at the box stores for a couple of bucks each spring....See MoreElephant ear - first 'ear' size
Comments (13)To achieve full growth potential the Colocasia needs to be planted in the ground, not in a pot. These are aquatic plants and needs lots of water. Last summer I experimented by taking a large pot, and lining it with a black garbage back before filling it up with soil. I wanted zero drainage to simulate muck. The few Colocasia plants were thriving in this scenario, the problem was that the pot still needed to be watered daily even with no drainage and complete saturation. The transpiration rate is enormous due to the high surface area of the leaves. The bottom-line is these are very thirsty plants and it is difficult to keep them adequately watered for optimum growth. But luckily they tolerate less than ideal conditions, they just won't get as big or grow as quickly. x...See Morehow to winter over my elephant ear
Comments (27)There is a lot of conflicting information online about how to overwinter Colocasia/Alocasia/Xanthosomas. (As far as the bulb drying part goes) Some sites say wait until the first frost to pull up so that the plant knows to go dormant and send the nutritients down to the bulb and some places say to pull it up before the first frost or it will kill the plant. Which is it? Or maybe it doesn't really matter since both ways seems to work for people. I have Colocasia Esculenta Black Magic and it's outside in high 40's low 50's right now and it's still sending up new leaves so maybe I should wait until first frost? Also the drying part I'm a bit perplexed about. Do you let them dry OUTSIDE until they are dry or bring them inside to dry? It's in the 40's here in central Ohio now so not sure if I should leave outside with the bulb fully exposed. How long does it take to dry? Do I cut everything off except for the actual bulb itself? (roots, leaves etc) Does anyone know if there is some sort of online visual tutorial or video somewhere? Sorry for all the questions but I want to make sure I get it right so I can enjoy this plant for years to come. p.s. I already saw aphids on it outside multiple times after using an organic insecticide so there is no way I'm bringing it into the house still in dirt! :)...See Moreswamprat
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