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dave_in_nova

Show us your Colocasia 'Thailand Giant'! (pic)

Here's mine. I think it's just getting started! LOL!

Comments (21)

  • Loveplants2 8b Virginia Beach, Virginia
    13 years ago

    Dave,

    Great Pictures...love the pic of little K---- What a cutie!!!

    I have been looking for a Thai Giant myself and noone here in VB knows what I'm talking about...could you point me in the right direction from which nursery that you purchased yours from?

    I guess that I could try ebay...but it would be easier it I could find a local nursery!!!

    Thanks...

    Laura in VB

  • alabamatreehugger 8b SW Alabama
    13 years ago

    Dave, how much sun does it get everyday?

  • Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Laura, I did notice one at McDonald Nursery one year -- or was it Anderson's in Hampton? In any case they wanted about $80 for it! I got mine at a Meadows Farms nearby for $19 for a 3-gallon plant.

    treehugger, it needs some shade. I would say in 8B, morning sun, definitely mid-afternoon shade, lots of humidity, moisture and a very rich soil. I threw a half bag of cow manure on it in early July + a handful of Milorganite.

  • jimhardy
    13 years ago

    That thing is a monster Dave!
    Nice job!Love the Siam Ruby too.
    I think your right about morning sun for max leaf size,
    I believe an east wall,etc would be great-
    just allow for a lot of size!
    What do you do with your giant in the winter?

  • Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Jim, I'll try to update with pics in mid-August. This is the first year for this thing, so not quite sure what I'll do with it in winter. I may dig, remove leaves and dirt and store it in a bucket of water. This works well with most all of my Colocasias -- 'Black Magic', Black Stem, etc.

    It is amazing though. It has picked up the pace and is now producing a new leaf about every 10 days -- each larger than the previous one.

  • rusty_blackhaw
    13 years ago

    More details on how you store Colocasias (immersed in water??) over the winter, please.

    Nice little specimen of Thailand Giant you got there...

  • Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    eric,

    In October or early November, I dig the plants, cut off all leaves, forcefully spray the rootball with a hose to remove as much soil as I can. Plop them in about 6" of water in a large bucket (approx 4 gallon). Store them in garage where it's above freezing, but cool, and I give them a bit of light (flourescent).

    Water needs to be changed initially, maybe every week or so for about a month, and any rotted plant tissue discarded. Eventually water remains fresh and plant tissues don't die. More roots form.

    Here's what the plants look like in the Spring (these are 'Black Magic'). You can see the robust root system. Plants take off quickly in Spring:

  • NoVaPlantGuy_Z7b_8a
    13 years ago

    Hey Dave,

    I have a "Blue Hawiian EE that I want to overwinter and my question is, do you need to wet store them? Can they be dry stored?

    Thanks!

  • Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Sorry, I'm not familiar with Blue Hawaiian. If Blue Hawaiian is a colocasia, it could be stored in water or a pot. Doesn't much matter. I've done both. If it forms a large bulb, it might be OK to store similar to dahlia, but again, I've never grown it.

    If it's an Alocasia, best in a pot on the dry side or as a dormant bulb.

  • NoVaPlantGuy_Z7b_8a
    13 years ago

    Dave,

    It is a Colocasia. I got the name slightly wrong though, its Blue Hawaii. See the link at the bottom of the page. They are FANTASTIC! Although mine has gotten considerably larger than what PDN says they do. Mine is about 45 to 50" tall with leaves that are about 15" long and 12" wide on the largest leaves so far.

    So you can store colocasia in a pot? is that in soil or without? I may just bring it in and keep it in and try keeping it in the sunroom for the winter but I have not decided yet.

  • NoVaPlantGuy_Z7b_8a
    13 years ago

    Sorry, forgot the link.... here it is:

    Here is a link that might be useful: Colocasia Blue Hawaii

  • Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    I've stored Colocasia dry, in pots (with soil kept somewhat on the dry side) and in water. By far the best results have been in buckets of water in a cool garage -- similar to storing a lotus. By Spring new leaves have formed and the buckets are full of new roots. They take off very quickly when planted out.

  • Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Here's the last picture of the summer of my Thai Giant.

    {{gwi:544875}}>

  • stgawne
    13 years ago

    That thing is huge!!! I have a few differnt elephant ears. I have borneo giant not sure if it gets as big or maybe bigger. This year it was in bad dirt. Next year I will use tons of compost. You should check out my tropical page on flickr. I live in zone 5-6 and tried tons of tropicals this year and will be trying to overwinter them different ways this year. http://www.flickr.com/groups/northerntropicalplants/ join the group and post pictures and messages

    Here is a link that might be useful: Flicker northerntropicalplants

  • glaswegian
    13 years ago

    Holy smokes that thing is a beast.....

    Dave, would you be willing to send me a seedling to Canada? I'll pay the postage. Does anybody know where I can purchase one on the net apart from plants delight? They charge too much for intl shipping

  • martenfisher
    13 years ago

    We have an elephant ear that gets that big but the leaves look a bit different. I have never seen this form of giant elephant ear before.

  • ctnchpr
    12 years ago

    Question for dave in nova

    In a post on the Palms & Cycads Forum last year, you said that you were going to overwinter your Thai Giant plant in a bucket of water as you do your other EE's. How did that work for you? I have to dig mine soon, and need some direction.

    I bought a tiny plant last Fall, overwintered it as a house plant, and it got HUGE this year!! This is one of the leaves, I had one a little larger, but the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee shredded it before my "scale model" could arrive.

    {{gwi:312066}}

  • Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
    12 years ago

    Those are incredible! Dave, how did such big leaves come from such little bulbs? The bulb I planted a few years ago was a little bigger and has never made leaves anywhere near that size. Do the really big leaves only come from certain kinds of bulbs? It's an herbaceous perennial here. I'm also curious what the bulb looked like when you dug it up, and what happened in regard to overwintering. Thanks for sharing these cool pics! And you, too, ctnchpr! That's your wife on the leaf, right? LOL! J/k - cute kid!

  • Kat Ford
    12 years ago

    OH OH OH does anyone have one to trade?!!?! I HAVE TONS OF STUFF to trade!!! My list isn't updated but I have tons of gingers, colocasia, alocasia, bananas... LOL I want one of these!

  • Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
    12 years ago

    I hope Dave's plant didn't eat him! He seems to be MIA...

  • ctnchpr
    12 years ago

    purple, This is what my tuber looks like. I don't know if the actual tuber will be large enough to survive when all the leaf stubs fall off, so I'm going to overwinter it again as a house plant. One Gal OJ jug for scale...