I have never tried elephant ears, but I have never heard of a seed that takes 7-8 weeks to germinate. I think puppies don't even take that long:). I could be wrong on both of course.

My elephant ears don't usually come up until June. They like the warm heat of the summer.

Tried 3 of them this year in a very large pot. Had them in there since mid April...nothing...so I dug down and they are rooting...I believe since they are tropicals they need heat on the pot to complete their growth stage. Just keep doing what your doing they will show soon.

Put the pots of Elephant Ears into a zip lock bag in a sunny window. I had mine in an eastern facing window for a month in their pot, nothing! Once they were in the heat and humidity of the zip lock, they came up in a week versus what they did before-zip!

I put my one elephant ear in a large 16 inch pot on 30 April 2006, with the shiny end up in potting mix. It took about the full month before bulges started to appear from the top. It was planted in full sun outside on 27 May 2006. I did not disturb the root structure when transplanting. The top shoots about seven are now about 7 inches high and one sprout is starting to open indicating a leaf (11 June 2006). I take pictures of it daily and intend to post them on my dedicated web-site when something interesting happen showing the growth rate. While transplanting, I noticed that there were numerous ground shoots about three inches long coming from the various eyes of the root ball, but very little indication at that time of the top shoots, except for a slight bulge around the eyes.

This is my first effort growing this plant, so I prepared a special place for it in full sun and a rich deep mixture of what I consider good soil, well drained. I am looking towards the results with some deep interest. This is Zone 5 Brantford, ON.
Durgan.

Mine are just starting to come up this week. I look forward to seeing them gently swaying in the breeze outside my home office window.

Elephant Ear growth. Planted on 2 May 2006 indoors and put in the ground on 22 May 2006. It appears to be doing well. I am not totally happy with the light green colour, so I am easing off on the water.
Durgan

Here is a link that might be useful: Elephant Ear planted 2 May 2006

Try giving them some epsom salts. I do this with my brugmansia when they are looking a little less green than I want, and they always come around after a treatment or two. I use a handful of epsom salts to 2 gallons of water. It seems to "clean them out" just like it would do with you or I. LOL

black magic leaves come up green and turn black in a couple days. I bought my three online for $3.99 a piece for 3" plants. Planted them outside around the middle of June and they are around 18" now. They need lots of water and nitrogen to grow fast. I bury coffee grounds and alfalfa pellets around them and my bananas and it makes a big difference.

Lee

Brugs, for next season I suggest putting the container on the heat register in early March. They like really warm soil and this seems to do the trick for me.

I need information on how to winterize my black magic elephant ears. this is my first year with them and I would like to keep them for years to come. Can anyone help.

I've never heard of that before - zipping up. I wonder if that would work with other plants. I might try to do it with a cutting of something next spring.

Thanks for the info.

(I'd love to have elephant ears - maybe I'll try them sometime)

I dig my tubers up in the fall and let them dry on newspapers for a few days. I then put them in a bag of the medium they sell bulbs in, Help here anyone?

I put them in the basement for the winter. In early March I plant them up in a pot and place the pot on a heat register. They really like warm soil. They take a little time to sprout so be patient. Just make sure your soil is warm before planting out.

I usually put them outside in the pot during the day as it warms up, but bring them inside for the cooler nights.

I'm on my third year with the same bulbs. This is what works for me. Hope it helps.

Brenda