ELEPHANT EARS

IS THERE IS SEED OR SOMETHING TO DIG UP FOR ELEPHANT EARS AND WHEN SHOULD I DO IT? HOW DO I KEEP THEM OVER THE WINTER?

There are different variations of what folks call elephant ears... at least around here. We have the viney ones that spread and such then there are the ones that are "milk" inside... they grow huge here and bloom.... those come from a bulb.

Hope this helps.

Donna

KRETTELE:

I also have EE's (the 'upright' kind) and have to overwinter them in the house. My EE bulbs/tubers are planted in containers and next month I'll be transporting them into the basement for their winter rest. I do not dig them up, just water once a month and then, in Spring, I transport the plants/containers back outside and add some fresh soil. My Hubby bought me a handtruck for my heavy containers (I requested it as a present!)---sure saves the back!

HTH-

Jan

This message was edited Sep 14, 2006 3:21 PM

my EE's in container....Jan

Got a question, dh and I were at a green house today and I bought a elephant ear for under 2 bucks, There are 3 big leaves and some babies on this one I got, The guy there told me that it is considered an annual here and he didn't know if it would survive in the house. The plant is just beautiful, will I be able to keep it in my house for the winter???
The picture is not of my plant, but the leaves are just like this one.
Connie

Under $2?! I'm realllly envious! I have so many wild-growing EEs/ philodendrons, but they all have to be that monotonous green, don't they?
Unless you don't have walls or a roof, they won't die off. :) They're considered houseplants up North.

Gina_Rose,

Yeah, there all over the place here. Can't get rid of the darn things. My husband is allergic to them... so they have to go. But they keep popping up all over.

Folks that want these plants should just plan their vacation to come down here and take all you want back with you!!

Some folks here like to have a few... but not many. They are a pain.

Here's a picture of a giant ones bloom btw...

Donna

Gina they are considered an annua here so the guy said it was going to die. The one I have (pic below) already lost one ear I guess you would call it or leaf. All the other ones he had left, were in worse condition. Thats why he marked them down sooo cheap. I couldn't get a pic of mine last night cause it was to dark out. got one this morning,There are 3 leafs and around the base are 3 babies :o), there is dew all over it. we had really heavy dew this morning, I will be bringing all my plants in the house this evening after I treat them.

Should I also treat this one???

Connie

In our neck of the woods, EE's constantly drop leaves and grow new ones. That doesn't indicate here (they are outside) that they are dying off until it's winter. I just wait until the old one is almost severed at the stem and then pull it off.

Those are really pretty Connie - I like the color. We have the plain light green ones (I'm not terribly fond of those but DH is) and then the dark green upright ones (which I do like!).

I've never tried raising them in the house, so I can't help you there. Ours are in the ground and die back in winter, then re-appear quite heartily again in the spring.

Good luck with them!
~Sunny

Connie,
I think you could definitely try keeping it inside your home (is that called "overwintering"?) if you are able and inclined to have a big houseplant. I would be realllly sad if you didn't try :(

Just kidding. :) But it is very beautiful, and I've seen posts on this site that really went into alot of the exotic EEs, unfortunately I can't find the place where I saw them discussed before. However, I did find this recent posting. Maybe they can help you spruce up your plant, too:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/650875/

Thanks Gina, I do plan on keeping it in the house with all my other house plants, I was just concerned b/c the guy said he wasn"t sure if it would servive in the house, but it deffinately wouldn't servive our cold winters. I thought it was beautiful and for only 1.98 I couldn't go wrong.
CG

I am planning on digging up my ee's along with my caladiums and dahlias to store the bulbs in the house in the dark over the winter . If I store them outside in an unheated building they will freeze and go to mush. If I put them in a paper sack in the dark in a back room that is cooler (we heat with wood ) I think they will be viable come spring.

Julie

cegoins: your EE's WILL live thru the winter as HOUSEPLANTS!!! I have been doing this for 3 years now. Don't listen to the pessimistic...be optomistic! I have a banana plant (end of season plant) that I got at a GH for $2.00 and repotted and overwintered in the house this past winter. It was approx. a foot tall and is now at least 4 ft tall and also had two pups. You CAN do it!!!

Good luck!

Jan


This message was edited Sep 17, 2006 9:10 PM

I have an elephant plant growing against my house that I cut back last year that overwintered outside.

$2 for a banana plant?!?!
My banana SEEEDS were more expensive. Darn it!!!
At least my banana seeds have started germinating- I found bloodleaf to be quickest.

I found at Lowe's today tubers for the black EE, and for the slightly black EE, but for $7 each. (I still purchased one of each)

Thanks Jan & Gina, Got it sitting in my bay window where it gets the morning sun.
cg

You're welcome- I hope it's the best & longest-lasting 2 bucks you'll ever spend!

cegoins: congratulations! That EE truly will be spectacular when it's bigger.

later,

Jan

I had a couple of bulbs survive the winter that I must have missed when I dug them up. Otherwise, I dig them up and store them in shredded paper in a cardboard box in my basement. I start them under lights in the early spring and then plant them out when the soil warms. Since they won't start growing until the soil warms, I figured starting them in the house would give them a head start. Not sure if there is any difference between this and just planting the bulbs out in the spring.

Gina: I was very lucky to find that banana so cheap. I had also bought seeds but wasn't successful with germinating them. That was before I started soaking my hard-shelled seeds in hydrogen peroxide so perhaps I'll give nanner seeds another try!

(By the way I've got the bi-color butterfly bush cuttings rooting in the foam...a couple more weeks probably!)

Just "ME", Jan

I have something that I think I may try hydrogen peroxide on- the seeds just won't germinate!

I'm so excited about that butterfly bush!!! :)

Wow Donna, that's neat! The next time I'm in Jax, I'm gonna snag me some of them. They look like a peace lily bloom to me. Do they have big leaves too? I have relatives there that are plant nuts but I don't think they have a plant like that.

Susan

THANKS FOR ALL THE INFO ON THE EES. I THINK I'LL TRY THE SHREDDED PAPER WAY. AS FOR THE $2 EE, WHAT A BARGIN!

Got a question, My EE is dying. the leaves are turning brown, I have it on a table facing the north east, so it is getting the morning light. What am I doing wrong???

Connie

It might be getting ready to retire for the winter. Once the leaves die, clean off the dirt and store the tubers in an unheated basement or garage in shreaded newspaper and a cardboard box.

Thanks Anita, dumb question, do you mean for me to remove the roots from the dirt, not to leave it in the pot???? I have never done this before :o) appreciate your patients with me lol

Connie

I can't speak for others - I have heard of them bringing them in and treating them as houseplants until the spring. I have never done that. I treat them like my dahlias and cannas. Yes, I clean off the dirt as best I can and then store it as I stated above. Here are a few sites I found that might be helpful.

http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/news/news.cfm?NewsID=4098
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/tropicalpunch/overwintering.html
http://www.landofozdolls.com/overwintering%20tropicals.htm

I hope that helps.

I saved each to my desktop, will read them when I get up.

This EE has been in my house since I brought it home. I hope I don't lose it.

Thanks Anita

Connie

sure thing.

ok Anita,
I am putting a picture of what I did, I sure hope I did this right, I washed them really good, now letting them dry, The picture may not be very good, my camera is old and I really need to get me a really good one.

One of the sites you sent, told me to wash and let the roots/tubers dry completely and then wrap in news paper and store in garage. The other site said to place in peat moss... So I guess the question is which to do...

Connie

hmmm - mine always have bulbs, not just roots? I put my in shredded newspaper/paper from my shreading machine. They always do fine in a cardboard box in my basement.

okay thanks, shreded paper it is, but i don't have a basement, the garage will have to do :o)
We'll find out how they servive the winter here, come spring. Thanks for all your help.

Connie

sure thing