I have had several Elephant ear plants in several beds. They are well drained, they are located in close proximity to large Royal palm trees. I have fertilized them with bone meal and dried blood and miracle grow over the last three years and they are still the same size or smaller than when they were planted by a land scape company. The leaves are only about 4 inches wide at the most and there is some yellowing of most leaves and all leaves are pale green. I am suspecting saline soil but can not come up with anything else at this point. Any ideas out there?
The only problem with the thirsty part is that in the summer in south Florida there is an abundance of rain and they seem not to do any better then either. I will go with more watering for now and this should help with any salty soil problem as well from what I am reading. Thanks for your suggestion.
There are several possibilities. Since the term elephant ear doesn't specify a species it is somewhat difficult to offer factual advice. I'm going to give you several links so you can check if either of these are the species you believe you are growing. There are up to several thousand plants that have managed to land the name elephant ear. The most popular are Colocasia esculenta and one of several Xanthosoma or Alocasia species. But it could also be a Caladium, a Monstera, or a Philodendron . Lots of Alocasia species are called "elephant ears" but some are very large and others very small. Alocasia robusta can grow leaves 12 feet (4 meters) long. The large corms (bulbs) often sold this time of year are normally either Colocasia esculenta or a Xanthosoma species. Colocasia esculenta is extremely variable and the plant may produce leaves from only a few inches wide to well over a meter (close to 4 feet). The variability is a natural occurrence and there are possibly as many as several hundred known leaf sizes, shapes and colors but all are the same species. If we can isolate what you are growing, then we'll have a better shot at telling you how to make it grow. But it may well be that you have one of the smaller variations. And if that is the case, you can't make it grow any larger. Water is important and in the Everglades Colocasia esculenta is now an invasive species. It loves to grow along the edge of the water and can actually grow in water. Check these links and we'll see what we can figure out. http://www.exoticrainforest.com/Colocasia esculenta large pc.html http://www.exoticrainforest.com/Xanthasoma sagittifolium pc.html http://www.exoticrainforest.com/Alocasia odora pc.html http://www.exoticrainforest.com/Alocasia gageana pc.html
