I just put mine in a pot and let it go dormant. Water just ever so often Once a month or so. Put in the basement, laundry room or somewhere it doesn't freeze. No lights required.
They produce the fleshy roots instead of a bulb

Kevin,
If you started with one of those little tissue culture plants it's hard for me to know what to expect in Mpls.

At the end of the season here in Dallas I end up with a baseball size tuber with 6-8 walnut sized offsets. They are hardy here, but get so big they need to be divided and the soil replenished every year. I dig them up, trim, dry and cure them like taro, garlic, or any other summer bulb and then store completely dry in paper bags for 5-6 months. Replant when the soil reaches 70oF.

Keiko

Now I have to go dig one up and check the roots.

Thank you much. This gives me hope for the winter. I actually got this one in a trade last fall as a small plant. As I said, it was small enough then so that I just kept in under lights last winter. This is what it looks like now.

{{gwi:390543}}

The plant in your photo isn't Xanthosoma violacea if it has green stems. X. violacea has stems so dark as to be almost black, and also has a dark "cast" to the leaves. The leaves appear to have an almost grey/purple tinge, also with darkish veining hence the name "violacea" or "Blue tannia". The large leaf in your photo is the regular Xanthosoma sagitifolia. Ican post a photo of violacea in the gallery to show the difference.

Here is a photo of a small "starter" plant of X. violacea. I am growing this one as an aquatic (The cache pot is sealed and full of water) and it stays in the water like this all winter. I will plant it out probably next spring once I get the space ready. I have pther specimens growing in the yard that are huge, 5-6 ft tall with leaves that measure 3+ ft in length and are about as wide. If the plant doesn;t have these black stems, its not X. violacea

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:390541}}

Yes, the stems are black. The leaves do have the grey/green tinge.

My Xanthosoma violaceum is more of a corm or thick root. It is not rounded like a bulb.
I read on Agristarts site that it can be variable.
I have some labeled giant blue which is supposed to be the same plant but it does not have the black edge and they are rounded bulbs.
Maybe this is what they mean by variable.
Below is a picture of Xanthosoma violaceum that shows the edging more.

Here is a link that might be useful: Xanthosoma violaceum

Thank you. I just got done watering my Xan. and noticed that the veins on the underside of the leaf are also very dark just like the stems.

SInce we can't see your stems in your picture, its hard to tell yours is X violaceum

Like I have already said, the stems are purple/black, the leaves are grey green, the veining is also purple/black. I also grow sagittifolium. The two are very different plants.

Yes dear I am aware of that

Cactusfreak - I followed another link on ebay from your link, and a guy/girl is advertising giant EE TREE seeds! Is there such a thing?

SUsan

Kevin, That's a very nice bed of mixed tropical foliage up near the Arctic Circle :) Is that Canna "Stuttgarten" in the upper corner? Very nice, mine are always scorched beyond recognition by July in Dallas. More water doesn't help it just makes the rhizomes rot.

Cactusfreak, violaceum is one of the Xanthosomas that is often raised as a potato-like crop in the tropics where rainfall is too high for yams. Maybe you aren't giving them enough phosphorus or potassium to get a normal size tuber? I'm not sure it's the best formula, but I just feed mine with ordinary cheap 12-12-12 vegetable garden fertilizer and get large tubers. I don't eat mine, but large tubers make for larger plants earlier in the year and are easier to handle.

I think technically they are corms, but since this is a food crop in much of the world they are more often called tubers.

Keiko

Keiko

Thanks much and yes, that is Stuttgart. I did get a few scorched leaves this summer during our heat spell, but I think it was because of not enough water. This year I decided to try my little tropical group all in one bed. It sure made taking care of them a lot easier. I'm pleased with how they are doing.

That's some great info about the phosphorus and potassium. I never would have even thought of that as something that would influence tuber formation.

Kevin