eclayne said:Yes, Elephant Ear (Colocasia esculenta 'Nancy's Revenge')

Long over due update


C. Fallax


2 leaves of black runner, and some runners jumping out of its pot, lookin for greener pastures...


C. Diamondhead


C. Noble giant the very black leaf is C. Black beauty



C. Coffee cups, I held the camera over my head fom that last shot, they are approaching 6' tall now!
More later!
😏

Those are super Sway!

Sweeet! C. fallax is a real beaut. I think this may be the first time I've seen a pic of 'Coffee Cups' from the top. I had no idea the leaves were so glossy. Thanks for the contortions. Nobel and BB make nice bedfellows, will have to remember that combo for next year.

Yea they become as glossy as can be, but sometime the babies are very matte, the promptly grow out of it!
I really like them, I'm considering a mass planting of them were we can watch them dump in the rain, watch the taller leaves dump into the shorter ones an on down.
Mine have done better than ever before!

I measured, they are actually 6' even! This was a big bulb, but the tiny ones I planted at the same time are just barely trailing behind, the largest, and first planted in ground is 5'6" but is one one plant, this bulb made 3 big plants!

Looking down the stems...

Speaking of black beauty, several of them have reached their max size, they really don't mind cool temps and outgrew every body in the greenhouse, by the time I get em out they were 18" tall in may, now they are 4' and running everywhere, these ones are likely going to be left there and expected to be hardy...



That last ones from over head (literally)again

There was a time that they stood tall tall shading the Thai giant there, oh how the tables have turned!



Here's another little grove of the beauties

I really like the combo of them and alocasia lutea, it's a slow poke and finicky at times too
😅More to come!

Wow! Those are all huge and healthy looking. I may have to go back and re-read what you do to get them so beeg! Love the combo too.

Bubbles said:Wow! Those are all huge and healthy looking. I may have to go back and re-read what you do to get them so beeg! Love the combo too.

I agree and how. I bet those dark petioles look super against the white rock mulch. Tell us more about 'Black Beauty' being hardy in z6a.

eclayne said:
I agree and how. I bet those dark petioles look super against the white rock mulch. Tell us more about 'Black Beauty' being hardy in z6a.

I'm trying to tell u more about lots of stuff! I'm just such a slow poster in this phone...
😡
I actually have violet stems bursting forth from where I had my biggest monster last year...they are hardy to z9...
I dug the big bulbs, highly disturbing the whole area ( bad for them) and left the holes exposed( even worse) but laid big lawn and garden bags of leaves on top of them, it is a very protected spot between my Florida room and green house, south east exposure... So it may have been near z9 conditions there, but I was blown away!

Illistris is basically black beauty, illistris is reliable outside for me here, if a bit a slow to show, last year was my first year with it and didn't test hardiness... There's no way ill get all these in this year, far too many stolens, I didn't let a one slip away from me, all these I have now...started as a single 1 g pot with a few plants in it...14 months ago!

I admit to being skeptical of these hardiness claims. I've seen lots of Colocasia on Brian's Botanicals noted as z6 hardy. I'm sure they are...but perhaps best suited to a more southerly z6 with an earlier last frost date and spring warm-up. I've had cannonballs survive near M. basjoo, which I heavily mulch and tarp, but they don't reach their normal 6-7' heights or leaf size. I should have paid more attention to the tubers after digging to see what grew and from where.

Yeah, Evan survival is one thing, thriving and growing to potential entirely another.

When a plant says 'hardy to zone 6 that means it will survive, not necessarily thrive. If I see "zone 5 to 10" on a label, I always say to myself, this plant will do best in at least zone 8.

Here are my Coffee Cups growing in my fish pond. I finally gave them a couple of fert tabs and they are taking off.

No arguement!
Surviving and thriving are not the same!
But it's a double (quadruple?) edged sword
Any plant that can be left in ground is going to reduce your workload, no diggin up or replanting!
One thing that always amazes me about plant left in ground and undisturbed is the speed that they grow, atleast most if them.
They do wake up late! No doubt about that! And it can be a serious drawback, especially if they pop up under established plants, they likely won't be able to compete, and simply languish the rest of year and die that winter, having not stored sufficient energy to make the winter, and it's not going to help the plant it pops under either...
But the right species in the right spots can make a wonderful perinneal, the biggest key to getting them thru winter is a dry location for winter and heavy mulch, but once warm weather gets here, a spot that can be kept clear and the dirt in full hot sun, will wake them up much quicker, maybe months ahead of ones in shady north facing exposures.
Illistris being one if the very best candidates for this!

Brains claims are substantiated! His place is a regular jungle by now, but we don't all have the available resources he does, or the experience either, but many MANY tropicals survive and thrive at his place, which is technically almost 100 miles closer to zone 5 than I am

Still skeptical. 250+ miles south and a last frost date 3-4 weeks earlier can make all the difference in the world. I've got a group of Bikini-Tini in full sun. This fall I'll pull all but the largest and mulch it up. With luck they should be pretty large by then.

eclayne said:Still skeptical. 250+ miles south and a last frost date 3-4 weeks earlier can make all the difference in the world. I've got a group of Bikini-Tini in full sun. This fall I'll pull all but the largest and mulch it up. With luck they should be pretty large by then.

all the difference in the world is right!

I'm pushing their limits now...
But I just noticed that's there's a C. Fontenesii that popped up with the violets stems, they are even less cold hardy/more tropical than violet stem...

Even Brian says they don't stand a chance outside here in winter, so clearly I've created a very warm micro climate!

Here's a few pics of coffee cup that I forgot to post...



Sooo glossy, but a bit startling to navigate, they catch there drips, so they always fill up by morning, it's a cool wake up when u push one aside and they tump cool water on your ribs and chest!

Sounds refreshing! I have a month or so to wait before mine are tall enough to douse me.

It was 57 this morning here, that was just plain cold!
I don't wanna see my breath in July! I could do that til 11AM!

I didn't forget to dump them first this mornin

Swayback said:

all the difference in the world is right!

I'm pushing their limits now...
But I just noticed that's there's a C. Fontenesii that popped up with the violets stems, they are even less cold hardy/more tropical than violet stem...

Even Brian says they don't stand a chance outside here in winter, so clearly I've created a very warm micro climate!

Here's a few pics of coffee cup that I forgot to post...



Sooo glossy, but a bit startling to navigate, they catch there drips, so they always fill up by morning, it's a cool wake up when u push one aside and they tump cool water on your ribs and chest!

dyzzypyxxy said:Sounds refreshing! I have a month or so to wait before mine are tall enough to douse me.

You must have had a late start with them Elaine?

Swayback said:Speaking of black beauty, several of them have reached their max size, they really don't mind cool temps and outgrew every body in the greenhouse, by the time I get em out they were 18" tall in may, now they are 4' and running everywhere, these ones are likely going to be left there and expected to be hardy...

• Imperial Taro (Colocasia esculenta 'Black Beauty')
• Uploaded by Swayback

That last ones from over head (literally)again

There was a time that they stood tall tall shading the Thai giant there, oh how the tables have turned!



Here's another little grove of the beauties

I really like the combo of them and alocasia lutea, it's a slow poke and finicky at times too
😅More to come!

Umm, you could say that. Alice sent me a gallon pot with about 6 starts in it, in May. I neglected to do anything with them until about a month ago, when I divvied them up, put half of them in the pond and left the others in the gallon pot. Last week I potted up the others, so they are finally on their way. They got rained on or I probably would have lost them.