I was given some plants that rise from bulbs. They look like elephant ears, but I garden in zone 6B, southern Kentucky. They have come up after 3 winters in my garden and had lived several years in my friend's garden. I can find no info on the internet about elephant ears that grow outside year round in zone 6. They have large leaves, standing less than 3 feet tall. In the photo, you can see garden phlox and gladiolas in the background. What are they? Thanks.

Those look exactly like my alocasia odoras, but I am still learning the world of elephant ears.




I'm in zone 6, but I've never tried them outside. Most of the ones I see here are in planters and not in the ground, and they usually get dumped and replaced with fall planters once it starts to get cool. I'm curious to hear what others say.

I think your plant is Colocasia escuelenta. The plain green form, sometimes marketed in the past as 'Green Goddess'. Colocasia and alocasia have pretty big differences in hardiness. Colocasia are much more likely to return in a cooler climate than ALocasia.
You can tell it is a colocasia because the petiolar attachment to the leaf is positioned in such a way that the leaves 'hang' point downward.

In most ALocasia the attachment makes the leaves point UP.

I have this plant all over my yard, its nice to see it somewhere else where it can be kept contained. Here in FL it is considered a noxious weed (the green form is) and they ask homeowners not to plant it. It gets into natural waterways and causes a lot of trouble. They don't sell this plant here to my knowledge, but they do sell the more decorative Colocasia escuelentas like Mojito, Elepaio, Midori, Lemon Lime etc.

You can also grow this in the warm months as a pond plant.

Thank both of you for responding. My plants' leaves do point downward. Missouri Botanical has an entry for Colocasia escuelenta, as hardy to zone 8. It is puzzling to me. I look forward to see if there are any other ideas to my plants' identity.

It might be a cultivar of it. I think the one I have is cold hardy to zone 7, but it's an esculenta too.