I have been planting Colocasias in pots for a few years. They never achieved much height, but it was still nice to have something tropical looking in a planter. I gave up on Colocasia Black Magic this year, after lackluster results almost every year. So this year I bought a bag of 3 of the common green ones.

I started them in small pots indoors in late April, as usual, alongside my dahlias, caladiums, and tuberous begonias. They don’t sprout this way, but they do start making roots. I put them all out on the deck to harden off in late May. All 3 started sprouting. But then squirrels ate the growing tips on 2, actually gnawing down into the bulb. I figured they were goners. I went ahead and planted the intact one into a planter: where it has not grown more than a few inches all summer.

The bitten ones I went ahead and placed in a partly shady section of the garden. Even without a growing tip, they quickly took off! They are not very full with lots of leaves, but each stalk grew to be at least 4 feet tall, and I can see 3 separate sprouts coming out of the ground for each. So I think they must somehow have made side shoots off the bulb after the main one was bitten off.

I think these bulbs must have grown a lot, so I would like to save them over the winter. Or there might be multiple small bulbs. I don’t know enough about these. Do I wait for frost to kill the foliage (like dahlias) or decline and turning brown (like my caladiums and tuberous begonias are doing now)?

Once dug, how do I prepare them for storage? Thanks.

In the last few weeks I have been having trouble posting comments. I can originate a post, but not answer, even on my own thread. I have been in touch with Houzz and none of their suggestions worked. I think its a browser incompatibility issue. But even though I can’t answer, I appreciate your suggestions. Thanks!