Colocasia: OK in pots in shady patio?

Hi everyone,

I've seen some Colocasia "Elephant Ears" bulbs for sale at Costco. Does anyone know if they will grow from bulbs and survive in pots, on an open spot on a shady patio, that receives only about an hour of sunlight late in the day?

If shade is not their thing, could I could start them in a sunny spot (in a friend's garden) until they are large enough, then move them back to my patio?

Maybe I'm grasping here, but boy, are they beautiful plants! ;-)

 

They should do beautifully in the type of part shade you're describing, and they'll absolutely come from bulbs and grow in pots. However, before you buy them at Costco, check out your local Oriental grocery store. You're looking for Taro roots there; they may be significantly cheaper.

 

Thanks Lorax! Say, when is the best time to start the bulbs in pots - now, or in a few weeks?

 

ASAP. This way they have more time to sprout and whatnot. Taro bulbs have a definite direction for planting, which is pretty easy to determine - one side of the bulb will have pronounced rings on it. When you plant them, plant the ringed side up.

 

Thanks so much for the very detailed advice, Lorax. I now have a weekend project! :-)

 

I've grown them in containers for years, amazonica. My garden buddy who gave me the original starts shared his years of wisdom for me at that time and it seems correct.

He said give them lots of water, and fertilize the **** out of em. As he said, it seems impossible to overfertilize these plants. So I put in the highest amount of control release recommended on the bag, plus liquid fish whenever I can remember. And sure enough, I've never seen evidence of fertilizer burn on mine...kinda weird to a fairly experienced gardener who has scorched and stunted his share of plants over the years with overzealous fertilizing!

Get them growing now with as much light and heat as you can manage, the bigger the plant gets the more "wow" factor, which is why we like em...bring on that jungle look...

 

Great advice, Growest! I started them off in a pot with 2/3 soil and 1/3 mushroom manure, which I think is pretty rich stuff, and gave them a thorough drenching... sounds like that could be the right thing to do. I'll keep at them with fertilizer and hopefully the jungle will be mine! :-)