I love to eat them, I call it the Chinese potato,....a tropical grown in water, sorry not much help, let us know how you make out.

I have tried growing taro root a few times. Last year I just bought the biggest tubers I could find at the superstore produce section and planted them direct in the ground. With all the rain they approached 3 feet high (leaf size maybe 10 inches long) and tolerated part sun. I even had them in clay soil. They definitely would get a jump if started indoors early though they get rootbound fairly quick so you need a decent size pot.

The nice thing is, even if they don't do well you haven't spent alot of money and if you plant them direct in the ground you don't have to dig a huge hole. I have an area by the pond where I don't really dig up as there's alot of lamium and ferns so I just stick a few taro root bulbs in there where I can.

I was late in planting them (mid June?) but I don't think they really start growing decent until warmer weather anyways. The leaves seem thicker than caladium and not as fragile to tearing in the wind.

Thanks for the replies!

I have 3 in pots in the house, one for a month now. I have roots but nothing on the top yet. I know from a Colocasia I bought last year that they take forever so I wanted to get a head start. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! lol
Will keep you posted.
Joanne

My experience with Caladiums (v. closely related) is that they sit there doing next to nothing until it's really hot. You can start them in the house but the regular Canadian winter room temperature will not make them grow in leaps & bounds. Even the average Prairie summer isn't hot enough at night for them to really get going, although I'm sure some years would be different.