Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
duajones

elephant ears

duajones
18 years ago

Planted some bulbs 5 days ago, how long should it take before they come up?

Comments (13)

  • suze9
    18 years ago

    Planted some bulbs 5 days ago, how long should it take before they come up?

    They will just sit there until the temperature is right, and really don't like cool early spring weather. Kind of like caladiums, if you've ever grown those.

    Here in the metroplex, my ee's (mostly colocasia varieties, some alocasia) don't start sprouting in earnest until the middle of next month *. And even then, it takes a while for them to really get going.

    * In other words, when daytime temps are consistently at least in the 70's and nighttime temps are at least high 50's-low 60's (whenever that is for you in your area).

  • duajones
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    temps here are ideal from what you said, and one is peeking as of this morning.

  • Rachel_Lexington
    18 years ago

    Mine from last year barely went dormant. The few freezes we had turned the big leaves mushy, but the "stems" just above the ground stayed firm. Every warm spell a new leaf would poke its head out of the middle of the "stem" and grow till another frost trimmed it back. I've got 8-9" leaves above each bulb now, and as soon as it warms up again, I'm looking for the 4-foot leaves to return. I planted them at the end of a pipe leading from my A/C drain on the sunny south side of my house. They dried up the bog that used to form there, and seem to have developed quite a taste for coffee grounds. My kids were amazed at how big they got in just one season, and they even bloomed! That was really cool!

  • bcb77
    18 years ago

    Elephant ears BLOOM??? I never knew that. Learn something new everyday... especially on this board! :)

    Anyone have pics?

  • Rachel_Lexington
    18 years ago

    I wish I had a digital camera, so I could have taken pictures last year. The blooms weren't really what you would call pretty. They were only about a foot tall (way down between the leaves, which reached up about 5') and were sort of like a long, skinny peace lily bloom with a single "petal" and a spike with the pollen on it. I had read about the blooms on a thread here a couple of years ago, that they only happened under "perfect" growing conditions. I'm guessing that the constant water from the A/C pipe and the sun made the plants very happy. When I bought the bulbs from W*Mart they were about the size of my fist. By mid-summer, I think they rivalled basketballs.

  • ashli
    17 years ago

    I potted a Black Elephant Ear bulb about 3 weeks ago...and nothing has appeared yet.Bought at Walmart...maybe I should check on it and repot it...

  • scotland1
    17 years ago

    It took my newly planted elephant ears weeks to emerge last year. I had given up. This year, oneÂs up and the other isnÂt. Give the ground time to get good and warm, and theyÂll come up.

    Yes, they bloom. The flowers look like peace lilies.

  • rivers1202
    17 years ago

    [QUOTE: rachel lexington
    I wish I had a digital camera, so I could have taken pictures last year. The blooms weren't really what you would call pretty. They were only about a foot tall (way down between the leaves, which reached up about 5') and were sort of like a long, skinny peace lily bloom with a single "petal" and a spike with the pollen on it. I had read about the blooms on a thread here a couple of years ago, that they only happened under "perfect" growing conditions. I'm guessing that the constant water from the A/C pipe and the sun made the plants very happy. When I bought the bulbs from W*Mart they were about the size of my fist. By mid-summer, I think they rivalled basketballs.
    END QUOTE]

    Mine bloomed last year, too, Rachel. It was my first year with that particular EE (can't remember the name at the moment) and I couldn't believe it. I thought the blooms were rather ugly. I've been around EE's all my life (somebody always had them growing in their garden) and I've never seen a bloom on one. So it kinda freaked me out when mine started blooming last summer - I called my mother over and asked her if she'd ever seen something like that on an EE, and she said she hadn't. You're right - it does look a bit like a peace lily - but not as nice, I don't think.

    And to answer the OP - my EE's are just now starting to poke their heads out of the ground. I've got 3 leaves so far. The ground in your area should be sufficiently warm at this point, I'd think. However, you did say that they were recently planted, so it may take them a bit longer.

    Renee

  • greenelbows1
    17 years ago

    Different EEs have different flowers. Some aren't very pretty for sure, but they do mean the plant is happy (I think, and so I've been told.) My Alo. mac is blooming, and I wish it would quit and put its energy into growing. I have one I haven't managed to identify for sure yet, which is quite a pretty blossom when it decided to bloom, and it is even pleasantly fragrant until you take it inside to show it off--or maybe it's just when it's been cut awhile, inside or out. I've never had blooms on the dozen or so others I grow, but I haven't had them many years. Helps if they're hardy enough not to go dormant.

  • JuliannaMKH
    17 years ago

    The regular old green ones are peaking up at my place but I haven't seen hide nor hair of my "Illustris" or "Black Magic." Last year it took forever for "illustris" to poke it's head up and this is the first year for the Black Magic.

  • wasatisee_yahoo_com
    17 years ago

    Here is a photo of mine last year blooming. I am shooting photos this year since it has a bloom coming up but has not opened yet. The photos from last year shows the bloom after it has wilted over a bit.

    http://s111.photobucket.com/albums/n142/DCINSC/plants/?action=view&current=Untitled-3.jpg

  • knightbloomer
    16 years ago

    I thought I had gone crazy. I bought two ee bulbs three years ago and planted one at my WV home and one at my NC home. BOTH bloomed, under very similar conditions but different states. We sold our WV home last year; the WV ee survived winter in the ground under heavy mulch, but ee in NC died. I have yet to find someone that even knew an ee could bloom. I bought another this year for NC home and am hoping for the best! I didn't take a picture cuz, I didn't realize how special it was. Can they bloom every year if they like where they are?

  • wasatisee_yahoo_com
    16 years ago

    This year my big elephant ear bloomed 6 times. A second one bloomed late Sept. I also planted the black and I noticed a bloom coming up last week.

Sponsored
Grow Landscapes
Average rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars8 Reviews
Planning Your Outdoor Space in Loundon County?