I don't like to un-pot them for winter as it takes forever to get them going and big again.

Hey Anna!
Lot more room (and time) for EE's now that the Cows are gone I'll bet?

Anna has a GH that's about as big as our yard! lol!

Just got done watering the Porch and Sewing Room plants.
Off to the Roof GH.... so far the EE's (and everything) look good.
I'll be bringing the dormant ones out pretty soon.

Susan DG get some food grade 55 gallon drums and half them.
They make GREAT Summer pots and they are about as big as the root system will get anyway.
I mix 1/3 old soil, 1/3 compost and 1/3 new top soil.

Taylor I'm wintering your plants.
We had a death in the Family and some out issues that stopped me from doing any serious gardening or shipping last Fall.

I will be making a trip down to Brian's Botanical's in the Spring.
I've known Brian for years but never had a chance to make it down there.
If things go as planned we'll actually be doing a group day trip.

Oh, man. I'd love to be a stowaway with you, Ric.

My g'house is 1800 square feet.

I have not had my C.gigantea for long, mine is also from Brian.
He is a great person.

Taylor I am also in zone 5 and EEs grow outdoors in my area from June through October or November. If you are planting your C. gigntea in the ground, I would love a report back at the end of the growing season how large it gets in growing areas where it is not hardy.

gardenersdetective said:Taylor I am also in zone 5 and EEs grow outdoors in my area from June through October or November. If you are planting your C. gigntea in the ground, I would love a report back at the end of the growing season how large it gets in growing areas where it is not hardy.

Brian Williams has overwintered them in Z6 so if mine offsetts I will be trying to over winter one.

I also have Brians Tropicool series, it should be hardy here.

Anna luv your maneaters..... I definitely need to get one. What is the actual name so that I can find one.

I think they're just the "common" varities..............Colocasia esculenta and Alocasia macorriza (sp)????

Thanks, Anna!

Taylor696 said:

I also have Brians Tropicool series, it should be hardy here.

I don't know Tropicool? Series. Do tell!!!

Colocasia Sangrina, Colocasia Madeira, and Colocasia Bikini-tini are new hybrids that were made by Brian's Botanicals. These zone 6 Colocasia's will make any neighbor jealous with features ranging from Red Hot steams to extreme cupped leaves. Grow yours today!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Colocasia-...
http://cgi.ebay.com/Colocasia-...
http://cgi.ebay.com/Colocasia-...

gardenersdetective said: I'm into the tropicals, hosta's and ferns but I have very few ferns.For my 2011 garden just gotta have lady fern 'dre's dagger'. I would definately buy another teacup next year if mine doesn't winter over and I'm also going to add mohito.

Update...my teacup came back although it looked like a big pot of dirt all winter it appears to have gone dormant. I found the most beautiful 'dre's dagger' lady ferns and snatched up 5. Didn't get mohito but might just have to shop the clearance sales to see if I can get one.

One overlooked EE which is just as much an EE as the others, Typhonodorum lindleyanum




It's flowers are huge compared to the others, length of spathe 60 cms.

Early Sept 2009. I'm sold. All C. esculenta.
Late August 2010. Added a few new types.
Rabbit Food. Late June 2011.

Love it Zig!
Call them Water Bananas I'm pretty sure.
Hard to find up here though.

Evan I've never had a Rabbit touch one of mine. Deer though......

Zigs Aroids are so cool.

No deer here Ric. Could have been a woodchuck, but they usually stay out back. With the young ones of both you can never tell. Saw a baby cottontail eating an onion shoot, did you know rabbits scream? Do you know if the running Colocasia eventually form large enough tubers to overwinter out of pot? The purple stem I bought last year both failed to overwinter. One was decent size, about 4' tall. The other, in the photo, was a peanut. Both tubers were fairly small.

Zone 5B obviously you can't winter them outdoors.
Storing tubers/bulbs/rhizomes is a pain for me and can go south very quickly.
I overwinter my potted ones in the pot. In the dirt.
Make sure the pot isn't watered fro the last two weeks or so before bringing it in.
Then just find a dark cool place and let it dry out. Clip off the leaves after they dry out.
A 4' one should easily get thru that way.
Come Spring find a warm spot and water it once. Light really doesn't matter it's heat.
Then when you start seeing growth, probably a leaf bud or dime sized leaflet, water lightly. Keep warm and bring to light.
Once you see a True Leaf.... not the little dime sized one... water regularly.
I do all my Colocasia e's that way.
Big Alocasias (Macro's etc) I just uproot and throw on the GH floor till Spring

The smaller ones I'd keep going all winter.
Treat it as a house plant. Lots of light very little water.

Thanks Ric. The C. esculenta does fine in boxes with the callas. I'll try potting up some of the others in the fall and see how that goes. They're all in ground right now. I'll have to see how the Spanish market varieties work out. Two types are putting up larger leaves now.

Is your GH heated? I've been wanting to try some Alocasia and have plenty of room to toss them on the floor.

The Spanish Market ones are probably Xanths... or at least up here they are.

We ground very few of our EE's... and they stay in all year w/ heavy mulch as do our Canna.
Some of the potted ones like, 'Big Dipper', 'Black Magic', 'Illustris', 'Lime Zinger' etc we grow in water gardens or our pond.
They get pulled and dried out.
The 'Jack's Giant', 'Mojito' 'Diamond Head' and regular Colocasia e. we pot grow and store dry.
The Alocasia odora, portadora, blue and macro's we toss on the floor.

Our GH's are small. One is warm. Two are cool but stay above freezing.
The warm one is where we keep our 'specialty' EE's. 'Stingray', 'New Guinea', 'Sarian', etc.
They either can't survive cold or go dormant and are a bear to get going again.

If I can recommend one EE of the hot type it would be Alocasia 'Sarian'.
We overwinter it in the Living Room which has very little light.
Come Summer it needs almost full shade.... but is 6' tall and tough as nails.