I am growing it and I would assume since it is a Colocasia that it would grow a tuber. It is a very unique plant that I love.

Jake

I received a C.e. Mojito as a gift earlier this summer. How do I overwinter this in Zone 5. I'm going to try to get it dormant. Should I be withholding water now?

I'm going to bring it inside before frost, and put it in my basement in an unheated room. Should I remove some or all of the leaves or let them fade on their own? I'm planning to bottom water once a month once inside. Is there anything else I should know or do?

My understanding is the Colocasia esculenta do not produce a large tuber that can be lifted and stored dry. Thus they must be kept potted when overwintered indoors. Thanks for your help.

Steve

Hi Steve, First year for Mojito here too. Mine's potted up now and I'll wait for colder temps to force dormancy then store dry in the basement. C. esculenta species produce big tubers with lots of offsets. Important crop plant - Taro. I've noticed some hybrids take a few years to produce sizeable tubers.

I you like EEars like I do try picking up some malanga and yautia at a Spanish market (Coco Yam is another name). For me these are Xanthosoma. Don't know the species but 3 different (looking) tubers with 5 different names from the same market yielded 3 distinctly different Ears.

A lot of these very decorative Colocasia do not produce the really hard, easily stored tubers like the common Elephant Ears. This is my first year with Mojito, but I've grown many other similar-type Colocasia. Here's how I overwinter them:

I keep them all in south facing windows, but in an unheated part of my house. As long as the temps stay in the 50's or above, I water a little just to keep them growing a bit. Once temps start falling below 50 F., I keep them as dry as possible. They rot very easily.

Come Jan or Feb when the temps in this room can fall to 38 F or so, I really start checking for rot. If it appears that is happening, I dump them out of their pots and salvage any viable small plants, runners or even pieces of root. These are potted up and brought into a much warmer part of my house where they usually start growing again. In general, older and larger plants are much easier to get through a winter because the tubers seem less susceptible to the rot problem.

Kevin