I thought this was a humble beginning for this Colocasia bulb, but it had other plans! Suzanne bought this bulb, and it had a tag stapled into it. All it said was Elephant Ear. Picture taken 5-1-09.
Colocasias are more of a winter hardy Elephant Ear than the Alocasias. They are hardy in Zones 7b-10.
The following pictures were taken of the Colocasia in the front yard in the corner by the front porch and the west sun room. This location only received 2 hours of full sun in the afternoon from about 1:30-3:30 P.M.
The bulb in the first picture turned into this in just 1 month and 13 days! Picture taken 6-14-09.
They come in a wide range of sizes, shapes, leaf types, etc… Some get quite HUGE, and I will no doubt getting some larger specimens for the yard.
Getting much larger by 8-7-09.
Being from Missouri, we had to bring the bulbs inside for the winter after the frost. So, being in zone 8 where they are supposed to be winter hardy is a change. II am still leery about leaving them in the ground! I may go ahead and dig them up just to be safe.
Picture taken 8-7-09.
The picture to the right is a picture of the HUGE leaf of the Elephant Ear in the front yard. You can see the color variation of light green and dark green along with the mid-ribs.
MUCH BIGGER BY 9-22-09!
I was amazed to see the Elephant Ear blooming. I have never saw one in bloom before and it was almost a shock.
9-22-09
9-22-09
Once she started there was no stopping her! Picture taken 9-28-09.
Picture taken of the base of the plant. The base of the plant is at least 3 times the size the bulb was in the beginning! There are 12 shoots around the bottom! Taken 9-28-09.
This amazing plant had many blooms and there were 12 shoots coming up around the base of the HUGE bulb! It was truly amazing to watch this plant in action all summer long!
Last picture taken on 10-23-09. You can barely see C. 'Tea Cups' behind this magnificent plant and C. 'Black Magic' is to the left. A. 'Borneo Giant' is to the left of 'Black Magic' but you can't see it in the picture.
The next two pictures are of the Elephant Ear in the backyard. This bulb was bought at a different store, and it was slightly smaller. It grew very well, but didn’t get as tall as the one in the front yard nor did it bloom. It was a very beautiful specimen plant!
Colocasia in back yard, taken 6-14-09.
Picture taken 8-7-09.
REMEMBER all members of the Araceae family are poison is digested and can cause skin irritation and allergic reaction.
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