Colocasia esculenta
(co-lo-CA-see-a)
Elephant Ear or Taro
ARACEAE
Emily: Elephant Ears in California
I live in Riverside County California, 2 Years ago my roommate brought home a 5 gallon bucket full of Elephant Ear Plants. We discovered they liked it best at the north end of our Mobile Home, so we separated the bulbs and planted them. The area has some sun protection and I have added Vines and potted trees for additional shade from the hot summer sun. I put bark over the ground for winter protection as our temperatures don’t go below freezing. This year they did not even loose all of their leaves and are growing rapidly. Several of the plants have produced several babies and now are flowering like crazy. But only half the plants have flowers. Do Elephant Ears have genders?
Emily: Elephant Ears in North Carolina
This is a real survivor. He's growing in full sun, in NC clay, and was in front of a house that was empty for 6 months. Other than rain, he got no care until August this year. We're going to lift the tuber after first frost and keep it in the garage. Next spring we can amend his soil and maybe get him a little shade!