Colocasia

Hi picked up this Colocasia 'elephant ear' tuber from Focus!!!!! any tips????/////

 

Only what you probably already know. Keep it very wet in summer, dry in winter and under glass. They are easy as long as you remember they are only half hardy.

 

You need to keep it warm to get the roots going (22/25c). I bought one from Wilko's last march (it was dried so they couldn't kill it!!!)
Plant into a 5/6in pot and leave the top exposed, keep moist not wet, when it has roots round the inside of the pot and a couple of leaves repot it in a large 10in pot and then keep it well watered. I put mine outside early May. This may not be everyone's method but it worked for me.

 

I'm gonna have to get some of these and have a go, but space is the problem.
Tuber looks good Steve

 

Whilst we're on the subject, does anyone have any idea which colocasia varieties are edible?

I know in many parts of the world the tuber is eaten, and also the leaves and stem of certain varieties.

I am assuming all with the name 'esculenta' are edible, but there seems to be lots of conflicting information out there.....

 

Stickman your not going to eat it are you? there are cheaper veg on the market :D

 

Boy that's complicated Strongy. I just shoved mine is a large pot of wet ericaceous and left it in the garden in summer. About 3 weeks later - bingo. I did have a picture but my filing system is chaotic. If I can find it I will post.

 

I plant mine out every summer and dig up in autumn and put in plant pot in greenhouse, It's still doing fine and got its leaves. I only put the parafin heater on when it's going to be very frosty just to keep above freezing. My black magic one I bring in the house and put in a red pot looks lovely and got 11 leaves!

 

Walnut, these are one of the oldest known cultivated vegetables.

They're expensive in my local carribean supermarket, but I figure if I can grow them, they're free!

Think it's probably best just to buy some from the supermarket and stick them in the ground with fingers crossed....

How easily do they multiply???

Nick

 

I decided to get a few of these from Focus a couple of weeks ago. I already have a clump that has been growing in the garden for about 10 years, but the leaves never seem to get very large regardless of whether it is heavily fertilised or not. Since Colocasia esculenta seems to have many variants, I have surmised that mine is simply a smaller growing form. The clump is from a single, pigeon's egg sized tuber sent to me and in recent years it has remained virtually evergreen. It appears to be moderately hardy here and I suspect it is the relatively tough, N. Vietnamese form.

It will be interesting to see what these 'cannon balls' from Focus will do. The problem with buying dried tubers like these is that all too often they are bruised or damaged, which can easily lead to them rotting away, if not totally at least in part. Small, live remaining portions are still capable of developing into new plants, but need a few years growing-on to get back to a decent size.

I've left mine in a warm dry place for the time being - I didn't like the way that the labels were stapled on. Hopefully, the puncture wounds have dried sufficiently by now and I can pot mine up this weekend giving them some bottom heat to push the growth. I'm going to play safe and use sphagnum moss to get them started. It is a pathogen deterrent and unlikely to introduce or promote any bacterial rot.

Edit: Stickman, These are tropical plants and can rot if simply pushed into cold soil. They are best started off with heat in order to promote early growth and attain maximum leaf size. Grown well, it is perfectly possible to have plants with leaves nearly 3ft. long on 4 - 5ft stems, but they need a decent start first. Once in active growth, they inevitably send up new shoots from dormant buds on the tuber. When they have reached a decent size, they can be carefully cut away and potted up. They must have their own roots and if you feel unsure about cutting them away, leave them until the end of the year. By then they will have formed their own tubers which can be easily removed.

 

Good on that man....south Devon....you lucky ******!!. not far from that tropical island known as Cornwall!!!

 

In this little corner, we get it much warmer than most of Cornwall and with significantly less rain too The last time it dropped below 0C here was during winter 2006 so you get the idea. After my last post, I wrapped those 'colly cannonballs' in damp sphagnum moss, put them in plastic bags and kept them warm (about 28-30C).

They are now producing lots of roots and several shoots are starting to grow from the 'eyes' at the top of the tubers. The main, central shoots are starting to grow as well and it is these that will produce the fattest growths with the biggest leaves.

Mine will go into 5L pots filled with an open mixture of JI, multi-purpose and perlite fairly soon. Once they have filled out, they will be moved on to 12 or 15L pots and kept very, very moist. When growing strongly they do best if stood in deep saucers or trays filled with water.

Just so that others can see what we're talking about, here's a pic I've had for some time (not my plant) of a typical Colocasia esculenta. Imagine those leaves to about 30 inches long and 18 inches wide on 4 - 5 foot stalks and you can see why some get a bit excited about it.



[ 09. March 2008, 08:24 PM: Message edited by: DaveP ]

 

I refuse to discuss Colocasia/Alocasia with anybody who lives in an area where the last sub-zero temperature was 2 years ago. :D Ours was 2 weeks ago. But I will get them going again, even if I have to use a flame-thrower.

 

I left mine to dry in the pot until a couple of weeks ago, then pulled off some of the dead roots and repotted into 10in pot for starters, it should produce a larger plant than the previous year.

 

just took my tuber out the drawer and its starting to grow. Need help!! there is a flat end and a pointed end. All the sprouting is coming from the flat end. Are these the roots or the stems? Is it flat end down it the pot or up????/....feel a bit thick now!!!!