Bring the plants indoors before the temperatures reach the 30s Fahrenheit. Put the tubers in a grocery bag, plastic pot or bulb rate and cover with a mix of peat moss and soil. I have a large variety of Colocasia on the edge of my patio in a pot, and it tolerates full sun from about 12 PM on. In areas of that experience frosts, elephant ears must be transplanted after the final local average frost date. If you plant them too early, they could freeze out, or at the very least, they'll languish and spend extra energy "catching up" when the temperatures eventually get around to warming. Choose a site that is away from strong winds which can topple the pot if the plant grows tall and top-heavy. Everything you need to know about. When Can You Split an Elephant Ear Plant? That said, potted elephant ears can generally live happy lives indoors as houseplants. Keep away from kids and pets since they require a much smaller dose to feel the effects—just chewing on the leaves can be bad. 'The best time to repot your plant is in spring, as this marks the beginning of the growing season (April to Sep) when your plant will be thriving and flourishing. We use affiliate links to run our site. This is where propagating them comes in. Indoors, any soil labeled "houseplant" or "indoor plant" will work great. They thrive in warm, dry conditions.
How to propagate or divide an elephant ear plant. The more soil you leave on, the more difficult it'll be to identify the tubers. Elephant ear plant care: top tips for these houseplants | Gardeningetc. Especially on outdoor plants, some leaves can just die off. Why Do Elephant Ear Plant Cry? These runners will then come to the surface and start growing as pup/offshoots of the parent plant. Elephant ear plants can grow just fine in both pots and in the ground. Pod production is observed in a few plants, and these pods contain multiple seeds and pulp.
They will kill the plant if left untreated. Lance-leaf Caladiums have smaller, usually ruffled-edge leaves on shorter stems—and they tend to be smaller plants in general. Do Elephant Ears Come Back Every Year? Can you leave your elephant ear plants in the ground? Continue to regularly water the soil throughout the growing season.
Are elephant ears the same as taro plants? As long as you are using well-draining soil, overwatering your new elephant ears shouldn't be a concern. Why do elephant ears turn yellow?
Elephant ears can easily get infected with mealybugs, root maggots, and aphids. The more room they have, the healthier they will be. When doing so, there are a few things you should keep in mind. If you planted elephant ears in your garden, dividing and propagating your elephant ears is a great way to prevent overcrowding. This usually involves digging up and dividing the plant's tubers.
How often do elephant ears get new leaves? Their leaves tend to be more arrowhead shaped, and they often have striking veining in white, pink, green, and red. After the last frost, gardeners practice elephant ear plant propagation in water by sinking the pots to the rim in a decorative pond. The temperature should hover between 35° and 50°F for most of the winter. Instead, carefully untangle them and thread them through the drainage holes. In the spring, your plants will sprout like our banana plants do and regrow as perennials each year. How To Propagate Elephant Ear Plants: A Quick Guide. Harvest the tubers from the plants after six to eight months. Elephant ears in the ground can largely be handled by mother nature. Bring the potted elephant ear plants indoors and grow them as houseplants through the winter. Many varieties grow in swamps and marshes so can propagate in water. Make sure that both sections have strong roots attached as this will significantly increase your chances of successful propagation.
The only time I would avoid it is if the weather is colder than 7°C (45°F) and there is the risk of frost. Potting is a perfectly fine choice. Tuber propagation is used mostly instead of seed propagation as it gives better results. Is it possible to propagate an Elephant Ear Plant from a single leaf cutting? Can you propagate elephant ears from cuttings. The down end has a round basal root disc where the roots will emerge from. Pot the Elephant Ear Plant Pup. It's an easy process: After your first frost, cut the stems to about 6 inches tall. Propagating elephant ears is an easy way to make sure they don't die off during the winter season, so you can enjoy them all year round. Darker varieties can be grown in partial shade, but the lighter cultivars grow best in full light.