I know I know...I called it elephant ears :-) Let's not get into that again, just pretend that I didn't. LOL Anyhoo....So I got these 2 kinds today, 1 said extra large elephant ears on it, and the other said "upright elephant ears" Can anyone identify what I have and give the proper name? Also please post a pic of a grown one with the proper name if you find them upright EE Extra large EE Cheers
From those corms/tubers, the best I can do is to narrow it down to genus. The one on the left (wide leaf scars) is Alocasia, but until I see the leaves, and preferably the inflorescences, I cannot be specific. My guess is either A. macrorrhizos or A. odora. The one on the right (narrow leaf scars) is Colocasia, most probably Colocasia esculenta, judging by the size. LariAnn Aroidia Research
Thx LariAnn, Really appreciate it! Now what is the best way to start these indoors to get a sprout, and once they go outside, what is the best practice for getting them to the max height? Found this page too http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgu...mages?q=upright+elephant+ears&um=1&hl=en&sa=N Cheers
Well, going by the size of those corms, you'll need decent sized nursery pots to start with. The corms should be buried upright so that the whole corm is under soil. You should select a well-draining soil mix that will stay moist but not wet, and you need to keep them warm (soil temp at least 70 degrees F). Roots will form quickly if you've done everything right and you'll see them peeking out the holes at the base of the pots. Shortly after that, the shoot will start poking out of the soil. Once that happens, hope that danger of frost will soon be past as you'll need to plan where you are going to plant them. Wherever you put them, they should get partial shade or dappled sun, and the planting hole should be prepared with plenty of organic matter and well drained. The Colocasia can take more moisture than the Alocasia. Once they really get under way (two leaves), you can begin feeding with 1/2 the recommended strength of Miracle Gro fertilizer solution once per week. If your weather is particularly warm for a period, you can move up to 3/4 strength., making sure it soaks in well and reaches the root zone. LariAnn Aroidia Research
Thanks LariAnn, I am happy to report back to you on the progress so far with these tubers. I looked around the potted tubers yesterday, and noticed that they have both rooted from the sides, and a couple of "eyes" have started showing. Looking at what you had to say above, I guess am well on my way eh? Some people are saying to plant the tubers on their side when I transplant into the ground, your thoughts on this as suppose to upright? Cheers
