I have some black elephant ears, i bought last year. I don't know what specific name they have. Any way, you will get more plants from the runners. I got at least 14 or more off one plant. Mine do not stay in shade constantly i have the next to the house and there is eve over the top at the roof but it does'nt cover it that much. I have seen them in water gardens too, far as the house goes im not really sure. Hope this helps.

Thanks, Carolinalady At this point mine next to the house.
Getting what shade it can in the afternoon. My question now
is show long do I wait to progate the runners? An yes you,ve been most helful.do wait until the plant develop leaves, is it ok for the runners to spill out of the pot?
I,m at a complete lost on what to do. harriel

Harriel, as long as they get plenty of water they will be okay in full sun. You might sit pot in deep saucer, water from top until saucer is filled (probably necessary daily). They do get blacker in sun, but will also grow in filtered or part shade with more purple coloring.

As to runners, you might try pinning them to soil in another pot kept moist. They will probably form roots then leaves (just my best guess...never tried this myself with this plant). As I understand it, there are two black elephant ears, one forms bulb and one forms runners. Both are hardy outside in your zone.

I do bring mine inside in winter just to enjoy, even though hardy outside. The older leaves gradually die of but new smaller leaves appear. I cut back on watering, keeping moist, not saturated. Does well in west window. Canna Pretoria does well here too, along with many tropicals so humidity is probably good. Temps are about 60 F at night, up to 68 F daytime.

As to pot size, they mustn't be overpotted...(too large a pot) but leave 2-3 inches around them to grow. They will need dividing or putting into larger pot next spring. They grow fast with sun & water...I dont use fertilier but some folks do.
Good luck...josh

"Said the more sun the richer, the dark color becomes. My problem is that theirs no shade on my lot at all."

I have mine growing facing east, so they get full sun in the morning but the rest of the day they just get bright shade. That's enough sun to give them a dark color, but not too much sun.

My favorite way to propagate them is just to divide them.

Josh & LauraLily, Thanks so much for your response.Laura as your doing I have mine facing East. I,ll try pinning the runners to nearby pot on one plan.And on the other divide it this fall or maybe this spring. My Dilema now. Is that when I took them up to pot I add Bone Meal to them potting soil. Now the stems are black but the leaves are green. This is pretaining to the new growth. Planning to repot in some fresh soil.Am I on the right track you think? Oh, Josh
is it possible to growth them inside year round?

Harriel, I just sent you email which must have confused you further! I had answered a post about the leaves of Eucomis 'Sparkling Burgundy' turning green after bloom on another Forum and when I got your email re "green leaves" just went right into Eucomis mode..just ignore! LOL

Anyway, the leaves on Black Magic often come up greenish then darken within a day or so. As to growing inside yearround, leaves won't be as dark (more of a smoky purple) nor will the leaves be as large or tall, and you'd need a very bright window. Perhaps if you divide yours you could try one inside/one outside just to see. The main reason I bring mine in is to get an earlier start in the spring (and to enjoy them all year), but they really prefer outside in summer and more than double in size.

I don't think the bone meal will hurt them if thats the reason you mentioned repotting again. I don't use it but I believe it's a fairly mild growth-enhancer for bulb plants in particular. Just wait a day or so and see if your new leaves turn darker. Good luck....josh

Harriel, there are some Colocasia with various amounts of black on the leaves (not solid oolored). Do a search for "Colocasia" and see if you can identify your plants for sure...just click on each listing for photo/description..josh

Here is a link that might be useful: Colocasia

My Black Magic get full West Sun in Houston for at least 2 hours in the afternoon which means that is a lot of heat and I'm amazed how they have held up, much better than my other elephant ears that don't get as much sun but burn out in the middle of the summer.

The Black Magic I have are a deep purple, quite lovely. So my point is that they seem to grow better in the Sun down here near the coast.

But... they aren't near as big as the other regular elephant ears I have. I'm hoping this is because last year was their first season in the ground. I bought from Plant Delights which is further North than here so they may be stunted because of the heat. In any event, they didn't burn. I keep them well watered since they are near the back porch. Easy to pour left over water from various kitchen tasks on them. I definitely plan to buy more.

I don't know yet about the runners. Mine did freeze on top during our freeze (only one) this year but it is growning back again now this Spring. Hope it will be bigger and better.

I am seeking runners or blubs for black elephant ears, Plase share with Me thanks

You need to know that Black Magic will detest cold soil. Resist the temptation to take it outside until the soil has thoroughly warmed. You can easily test it by laying your bare hand on the soil surface for a minute or so. If it's cold, wait. If it's warm, plant. Elephant Ears will do dramatically better if you will work a bag of composted manure into their hole at planting time. They also like Lots of water. I have had them in Southern Exposures and they were real show stoppers. They would probably be winter hardy for you if you give them 4 to 6 inches of pinestraw mulch each fall. By the way, if you leave them in pots, know that the bigger the pot you plant them in, the bigger the plants will be. (up to their full maturity)

Thanks for all the advice, but I lost my Black Magic about a year ago. does anyone have any runners their willing to share? I will pay for postage.

I recently purchased 4 black magic plants (no tubers) off the internet. It occurred to me that since all my other elephant ear plants came from tubers which I planted, will these return next year.

I purchased some black ears last year and because of my zone brought them in and stored them for the winter as I do my other bulbs but every one of them came back green. They been up for a while now. Why is this?