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Elephant Ear Plant Winter Hardness??
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Posted by treeguy123 7a AL (My Page) on Wed, May 9, 07 at 20:10
| I bought two Elephant Ear bulbs that were labeled 'Elephant Ear Mammoth' from Wal-Mart. The bulbs are round and about 3 to 4 inches wide. Does anybody know the exact scientific name of this? I think it might be Colocasia esculenta but I'm not sure. I'm in zone 7a but many winters here are only 7b temperatures.
Can I leave the bulbs in the ground all year here??? I would prefer it to stay in the ground if the bulb will be OK each winter. What is the best way to plant this Elephant Ear Plant having a heavy silty clay soil at my location? Thanks. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Elephant Ear Plant Winter Hardness??
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| let me know if you can kill 'em... i have a bunch i can't get rid of,you think they're dead,and they come back and multiply |
RE: Elephant Ear Plant Winter Hardness??
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probably is the species c. esculenta.
it should not be hardy for you outdoors in zone 7a but may persist for some years until temps go low enought to kill it. they like moisture and shade but will take sun if the soil is not allowed to become dry for extended periods.
plant the top of the tuber at or just below soil level.
i am growing a cultivar with smaller blackish foliage in a large plastic planter. i did not knock out the pre-punched drainage hole in the bottom so i can keep the soil saturated and they seem happy there in a half-day of sun.
in your zone, container-grown plants would need to be overwintered in a protected area or dig the tubers and hold them over the winter in a cool, dry area. |
RE: Elephant Ear Plant Winter Hardness??
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| We had a rather cold winter this year and our elephant ear are coming back up again. They've been in the ground for 10 years. I know they like a lot of water since they are quite tropical...then you'll see the huge leaves. G'luck! |
RE: Elephant Ear Plant Winter Hardness??
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| Mine comes back every year. It is planted in a bed near the house, facing south, so it is in a warm spot. |
RE: Elephant Ear Plant Winter Hardness??
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| Mine comes back very year. It is planted on the west side of the house. I live in Atlanta. |
RE: Elephant Ear Plant Winter Hardness??
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| It is October here now in Moscow Tennessee and my mammonth elephant ear is doing great however i want to move it can i don it now and then I can divide it? Or should I wait? |
RE: Elephant Ear Plant Winter Hardness??
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| If you want to have it next year, you should go ahead and dig it up and pot it and bring it inside for the winter. If you have a good zone 7 winter, you will definitely lose it outside. Pot it up in a good potting soil. I would think they'd make a nice houseplant since they like shade. Put it near a window, if possible. |
RE: Elephant Ear Plant Winter Hardness??
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| But in the posts above they claim they will come back if left outside in zone 7. I have been told both, they will survive and they won't not sure what to do...I am originally from Michigan have only lived in Tn a little over a year so not sure about these plants...Thanks |
RE: Elephant Ear Plant Winter Hardness??
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| I have some that r huge and I leave in ground all winter and they come back fine |
RE: Elephant Ear Plant Winter Hardness??
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| They love moisture. I think if they don't come back it's because they don't like where they are, not necessarily from cold. Mine are planted against the side of my house, probably the moistest spot in my yard and they reassert themselves every year to varying degrees depending on the amount of rain we (don't) get. They've been coming back for 20 years from a bulb my Dad in Charleston dug out of his drainage ditch after Hurricaine Hugo planted it there in 1989. |
RE: Elephant Ear Plant Winter Hardness??
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| Colocasia are officially considered hardy in zone 8 and higher. Now, that does not mean they won't EVER survive in zone 7. It does mean that it depends: where in zone 7 do you live? I live in Mississippi, halfway down the state to the coast. We are considered 7b, so the odds are in our favor, especially if we give the plants a four to six inch mulch. However, IF we have a true zone 7 winter, meaning it gets down to zero or below, we could still lose them. Tennessee is approximately two hundred miles north of here. This means the odds are less in your favor than in mine. So....how much risk do you want to take? If you want to be SURE that you will have your plants next year, dig up some small plantlets, pot them up and take them inside. If the ones you leave outside make it through, then you have extras for pots or to give as friends. It just all depends on how hard your winter is. None of us has a crystal ball. Making considered choices is the best we can do. |
RE: Elephant Ear Plant Winter Hardness??
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| If you are in zone 7A, I would not count on it coming back reliably every year without protection. I lost mine last year. |
RE: Elephant Ear Plant Winter Hardness??
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| Hello, I also bought a walmart elephant ear last year. I dug it up last winter and found in the soring most of the bulb was rotted. I cleaned off the rotted parts and planted that rest of the bulb around May. It grew twice a bug as last year and is still outside and is still growing. I am going to dup alot of leaves and mulch ontop of it once it dies back and hope for the best. btw it has survied atleast on frost and only lost one bottom leaf! Good Luck,
T.J. |
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