theo
Would have to agree with you Not sure about the "dancing" but they sure know how to get around lol
I remember calling the extention office for growing tips
and their reply was "ON purpose"lol
The usual ones called "elephant ears " will get the biggest,hold the leaves longer in shade with lots of water
and some enriched soil.
Most amazing are those that pop up in the parrot cage where they are chewed to the ground at least twice a week
Do they die no they wait for rain and pop up again.lol
I'm still a big fan of EE and yes I grow them "on purpose!! lol gary

Agree that they will grow in any exposure, but if you want the really big leaves, mostly shade is best, IME (a few miles north of AL/FL border.) I moved this bulb this spring from a much more sunny location where it had been for a few years and it's making leaves about 10x bigger than before. (The babies bulbs that were with it were also put in more shady locations and are all much bigger than the mama ever was in too much sun.) I also have a mini-compost pile at the base of it, and put mostly greens there, like watermelon rinds and other kitchen scraps that "melt" quickly in the heat. Next to it is a 5-gallon bucket with a slit in the bottom. I fill up the bucket and it takes a couple hours to drip out, which I try to do just before the sun hits it, so it has ample moisture during that time, about 90 minutes of direct sun. Otherwise, the leaves fall over. After they do that, they might or might not stand back up so I put a tomato cage around it. The newest leaf on this plant is about 6 ft. tall and about 3 ft. long, which is about 8" longer than the last leaf. Constantly losing a leaf is common but happens more slowly if there is ample moisture and plenty of organic matter in the soil. I usually leave the dying leaf connected but bend it back to rot near the bulb.

Unfortunately, I don't usually have rain water for it, but start by dumping the water from the bucket our dog uses for his water bowl (which came from the hose the day before,) then fill the rest with the hose. With splashing and the dripping that happens before the bucket is full, I estimate it, and the other plants sharing the root space, are using about 6 gallons of water per day, some of which is probably taken by a large oak tree nearby.

Just an ordinary Colocasia esculenta I got from Lowe's about 10 years ago. The leaf that is leaning out didn't seem like it would bend into the tomato cage without breaking and since it was the oldest (going to yellow and die soon,) I didn't make any effort to cage that one:

Okay, great. Thank you for that answer. So the yellowing and dying is just part of the natural growth cycle, though accelerated by the sun exposure.

Unfortunately, I don't have any truly shady areas in my yard. There's a large Live Oak in my southern neighbor's yard, but the small amount of shade it provides in the summer is taken up by my lanai and a footpath. The vast majority of my Elephant Ears are planted on the NW corner of my house, which sounds like they should get 'some' shade, but here in Florida, the north side of the house means nothing during the summer months. However, next spring I plan on moving my EE's a bit south of their current location so that they should get shade from the house until 11:00-11:30. They'll get the brunt of the afternoon sun until about 17:30-18:00 when the Live Oaks to the west of me start blocking the sun again. Maybe not ideal for huge leaves, but better than getting nailed all day from sun-up to sun-down as they currently are.

Thanks for the answers and tips.

You may wish you exercised caution putting Elephant Ear plants in your garden as mature plants put out numerous pups - even after removal of the parent. Years ago I was drawn to the Colocasia for its tropical appearance, we enjoyed its large leaves and interesting blooms; it was a feature specimen in our entry garden (photo) where dappled shade of a Live Oak provided protection from harsh sun and strong winds. However, keeping up the garden meant removing multiple volunteers. At first, this was a bonus, since I had plants to share or exchange with friends and neighbors. Eventually tiring of the chore of keeping our tropical garden looking neat or tidy, I redesigned that part of our yard and removed nice looking ones to nursery pots and threw away more than I could count. Within a week or two of resting the bed, countless pups sprouted to the surface... Years later, I still find them - like weeds - popping up in other potted plants and distant areas of our yard. My advice would be to keep them in a confined area, keep a dish underneath them if growing in a container, and don't even reuse or move the dirt they're growing in!

Unfortunately, I planted black elephant ears next to my pond years ago. They were attractive but very soon became invasive. It took me years to get rid of them.

Love the pictured plant, tropicalgardenerwpb, seriously HUGE leaves! Also like the vignette as a whole, very attractive! I don't think they flower here, so no seeds to "infect" the dirt, at least not this one I've been growing in a pot for years, then in the ground for the past 4 years - which is now about a dozen separated plants. An excellent cautionary tale for the warmer zones!

In addition to nurturing one special plant for the "wow factor" of the big leaves, I'm hoping to get enough going to be a food source for our family. The Wiki article seems quite lean, compared to other edible plants, until you go to taro instead. If that many cultures are eating it, I'm sure I can find something delicious to do with this "free food" too.

{{gwi:929629}}

Well, it seems I was fretting over nothing. I must be doing something that at least one of the plants likes. Over the past two weeks it has been sending up one flower after the other. Which is a real treat for me because despite reading that they do indeed flower, I had never seen one in bloom. But this brings up a new question:

I never see anything at the flower, gathering pollen or anything else. The EE is also well known for it's ability to spread via tubers (as some on this thread have said). So my question would be, does the flower serve any kind of reproductive purpose?

I see no 'useful' purpose to the Elephant Ear, other than they like my yard and take up space. They're going to use my yard whether I like it or not. If I pull them up, they come right back anyway. Birds, butterflies, snakes, etc. don't seem to mind them, Elephant Ears just fit in and call it home.
theo

I bought a package of the 3 gain elephant ears from Wall Mart in 2016. I have one that has 2 blooms. Would I send pic but, can't seem to

I keep mine in pots elevated off the ground under an oak. I have been kinda thinking maybe it is too shady tho as the black elephant ears i bought are more green looking than when i bought them now. Wondering if more sun would mean blacker leaves.