I know this is probably the wrong time of the year to be wanting these.................we winter in Donna, Texas. I'd like to plant some alocasia bulbs. None of the "fancy" ones, just the common variety. I brought a clump with me when we came here 3 weeks ago and planted it, but I'd like to plant some along our back fence. Is there any place I can find nice sized alo bulbs now, or must I wait till spring?

Anna, our ACE Hardware always seems to have nice EE's. You might want to be careful about what kinds you plant, some can be unreasonably invasive.

I"m not too worried about that aspect. Roundup or some diesel fuel would probably take care of an invasion. LOL

This is what I have at home in Wisconsin and what I'd like to plant here at our winter home in Texas. We are 40 miles from Brownsville, TX.

Alocasia Macrorrhizos

The ones I fought had waxy leaves and RoundUp had no effect. A. macorrhiza is probably OK. I had a Colocasia esculenta that sent runners UNDER my house and they came up on the other side.

They should do fine there, and the occasional frost may only harm the new leaves which will be replaced .

They prefer drier conditions than colocasias and do not like to be in areas that are too moist/wet .

Small suckers can be removed and potted up separately ..

I don't think I will be able to find bulbs now tho. There are a couple of garden centers I should check out.

I kept my alocasia pretty wet, I was always watering them; both the ones in pots and the ones planted in the ground. They grew like gangbusters.

For fun, you might plant a bulb from the grocery store- I found them labeled Yautia and edo/eddo. Dirt cheap. Somewhere I have notes about what each botanically probably are. One a Colocasia, the other a xanthosoma? Neither made runners their first year at least.
I had a dark EE given to me as Black Magic but mine was certainly a Runner.. those rhizomes! One survived winter in Maryland zone about a 7.

Yeah, I seem to remember that you can get some varieties of those kinds of plants at the Hispanic grocery stores, but you need to somehow get the waxy coating off of them. I guess I could find some Hispanic groceries where I am here in Texas. 40 miles north of Brownsville. LOL

I thought too that there's be some tropical edibles in the store there, haha. I don't think I saw wax on those two things when I see them here. JIcama is waxed, I'm pretty sure. The asian grocery also sells a lot of unusual vegetables.

Ah, found my notes! Info from, I think, PlantDelights site and a few notes from when I grew them:

Yautía / Malanga (Xanthosoma Sagittifolium)
This genus goes by many names in the Caribbean, including yautía, malanga, tannia, tannier, tanier, and cocoyam.
This corm has an elongated shape and the skin is bumpy, patchy, brown and shaggy. The flesh inside is slippery but crisp. It can be white, yellow, pink or purplish. The flavor is nutty and earthy with a waxy, starchy consistency when it's prepared.
This particular species is native to the lowland tropical areas of South America where it was first domesticated as a crop. It spread into the Antilles, then the Caribbean. It's .especially favored in Cuba and Puerto Rico in dishes such as sancocho, mondongo, pasteles, and alcapurrias. The young tender leaves are used in callaloo in Trinidad, Tobago, Guyanan, and Jamaica.
Growing- Second year, in a pot, the leaves were huge, as big as the giant EE, with stems about three feet. Very nice!

Eddoes (Colocasia Antiquorum)
Also called eddo, this species is native to China and Japan. It can grow in cooler and drier climates, so it's a suitable crop in parts of North America. These corms are generally smaller and rounder. They resemble striped, hairy potatoes. The flavor of the leaves and corms are a little acrider and the flesh is a bit slippery.
Growing- Second year, leaves not as big as Yautia, and stems about 2 feet, not a huge grower.

PlantDelights says- The traditional variety of edible Colocasia grown for taro is Colocasia esculenta variety aquatilis. This form produces very long stolons (above ground runners), forming a large mass of plants in a short time.

Taro (Colocasia Esculenta)
Another common name for the taro species is dasheen. This variety is a tropical perennial and it likes a moist and warm climate. The plant originates in Southeast Asia and Southern India. Certain parts of the Caribbean provide the ideal growing conditions.
Taro or dasheen should have a sweet nutty flavor. It shares the same brown, hairy appearance as an eddo or yautia. The taro's flesh takes on a bluish appearance when it's cooked. It's quite popular in Hawaii, and it's the key ingredient in poi.

I just want to grow them for the visual. Not eat them.

Thanks for the information. Very interesting.

The Publix stores sell all sorts of tropical bulbs and I bet any grocery store in South TX sells them also, it does not have to be a Hispanic store.