Elephant Ear houseplants are a type of steamy plant that can be grown from either tubers or by-rooting. These plants have large, heart-shaped leaves that are borne on leaf stalks measuring from 2 to 3 feet.
The color of the plants can be purple-black, green, white, or some combination of all three. Elephant ears make great ornamental plants to have outdoors in a shady spot, especially for USDA zones 8-11.
They’re from a type of marsh plant that likes to grow well below the surface of the water, making them great for landscaping around water features. If you live in the colder northern parts, you can keep them as an annual plant by taking out the bulbs and tubers during the winter and planting them back up in spring.
Elephant ear houseplant can get pretty tall, usually around 3 to 5 feet, so you can usually grow them outside, though you can also grow them indoors if you’re lucky.
raise elephant ear houseplant
When you’re starting to grow Colocasia Confidential, pick a big ampule to put it in. It can get pretty big, so you want to be prepared. Place it in a spot where it won’t get too much sun. Direct sun can burn it, but it’ll get used to it after a while.
Indirect sun is much better. You’ll need high humidity to grow it inside, so use a humidifier wherever you plan to put it. Keep reading to learn how to take care of your elephant ear plant inside! The elephant ear plant inside should be elevated a bit, with rocks or stones between the pot and bowl.
This way, the humidity level will be higher and the roots won’t come into contact with the water which can cause root rot. The soil you’re planting Colocasia in should be a good, deep, peaty medium. You should aim for a temperature between 65 to 75 degrees F (18 to 24 degrees C).
Elephant Ear Houseplant
When it comes to houseplant care, Colocasia needs to be fertilized every couple of weeks with a 50% thinned food. During the winter, you can stop the fertilization to give the Colocasia a break.
Also, you should reduce the lacrimation and let the dirt dry out a bit. You can store the corms in the basement or garage with temperatures between 45-55 degrees F (7-13 degrees C) until spring, when the weather starts to warm up. Then, the elephant plant can be broadcast via the tuber root division.
It doesn’t bloom all the time, but when it grows up outside, it may have a small yellow-green cone with florae. Of course, room temperature is great for elephant ear plants indoors.
Elephant Ear Plant Indoor
The Colocasia Varieties “Black Magic”, “Black Stem” and “Illustris” are all excellent options for growing elephant ears indoors. Black Magic is a 3-5 foot example with dark, burgundy-black foliage, while Black Stem has black stems and green foliage in burgundy-black tones.
Chicago Harlequin cultivars are 2-5 feet (61-91 cm) tall and feature light/dark green foliage. Cranberry Taro cultivars have dark stems and food-like foliage, reaching up to 1.5-2 meters (3-4 feet). Nancy’s Revenge cultivars are intermediate in height, with dark green foliage with soft centers.
Care Elephant Ear Houseplant
Elephant ears need a bit of care. Make sure to feed them with a high-nitrogen fertilizer and make sure they’re well-drained in dry conditions. If browning leaves appear, it’s a good idea to get rid of them so your plant can grow new leaves. Separating old plants can help them revive.
If you live in warm growing zones, you can leave elephant ears in the ground year-round. If you’re in a cooler zone, you can bring them in for the winter and plant them outside the next spring. Pruning is the best way to keep your elephant ears alive in the winter, especially if you’re in Zone 8 and you’re expecting frosty conditions.
Make a clean, straight cut about 2 inches off the bottom of the plant when the leaves start to turn brown.
The majority of elephant ears will be able to survive in direct sunlight for a minimum of six hours per day, or in partial sunlight for two to six hours per day. If the climate in which the plant is grown is extremely hot or dry, it may be beneficial to plant the plant in light shade for a minimum of two hours per day.
When it comes to elephant ears, the best thing to do is keep the soil moist. Usually, the more water and nutrients you give them, the bigger they’ll get. But they’re not water plants, so their roots shouldn’t be totally submerged. Alocasia likes moist soil, but they need better drainage to thrive. Elephant ears like dry soil in the winter, so cut back on the water when they’re not active. They might not be as hardy in wet soil.
Elephant ears like soil that’s wet, rich, and fertile. Add lots of organic matter like chopped leaves or peat or composted manure to the soil. They like loamy soil, but they can grow in other types too. Colocasia thrive in wet soil during the growing season, and they can grow on the edges of ponds.
Elephant ears love to soak up moisture, so even though their leaves die back after a frost, they’ll still come back each summer in the lower, coastal, and tropical south. Some of them are also long-lasting in the lower Middle South, but if you’re looking to grow further north, you’ll want to get rid of the tubers before winter and store them somewhere cool and dry.
You can then plant them again in the spring when the weather warms up to around 65°F.
Elephant ear houseplant has big, bold leaves that make it a real showstopper. You don’t need a lot of them, but even one will make a statement in a bright room. It is a great houseplant to keep indoors all year round or on your patio for a summer getaway.
In this article, we tried to provide you with some information on elephant ear plants concentrating what they are, what they need, and how to grow them. Did you find this article informative? If you have furthur question, contact us via email.
Hi, I’m Elaheh. My Academic major is plant protection, and houseplants are my expertise. As a houseplant lover, my house is full of indoor plants and it is my passion to take care of them. Hence, I’m here to share my knowledge and experience about growing healthy houseplants. I am also a plant protection advisor, so feel free to ask me any questions you may have.