I realized seeing my EEs side by side that one of them is taller..they're different varieties but were purchased the same day and seemed identical..maybe as they mature I'll see differences..one is supposed to have crinkled leaves..right now I don't know which is which..oh well..I like both of them..

jay..thanks for sharing that photo!!..gorgeous!!..I wonder if they save them?..try to find out and if they don't ask if you can have them and send one to me haha..how are your caladiums?..most of mine are really ugly..EEs not quite as pretty and fresh but still decent..

I have a spathe (correct term?)..more leaves on the way..still growing..

P.S. came back today to say I have a second bloom!

what do you call you elephant ear nicholsonworth? i think I have the same thing. mine always has yellow edges and grows like a giraffe (very necky) lol

Mike..the pots had stickers that said colocasia Hawaiian Eye and colocasia Hilo Beauty..I didn't realize they weren't the same until after I was at home and read the stickers with my glasses lol..one has more wrinkles in the leaves..mine are leggy too..

Hilo Beauty should have variegated leaves even when young. Awhile back, Hilo Beauty was discovered to be more of a caladium than a colocasia.

There's a variety called Royal Hilo which has deep red stems when more mature that has solid green leaves with somy tiny wrinkles.

it wouldn't shock me if those names are incorrect..I wouldn't call either one variegated..basically a dull green with dark burgundy stems..but I love them..can't wait until spring when they're growing well again..they're still up and have leaves but they don't look great..

The story of "Alocasia Hilo Beauty" is interesting/funny. It was discovered by a commercial plant hunter in South America. Because he didn't want other plant hunters to find it and swamp the market with the plants he named it Alocasia Hilo Beauty and said it was from Hawaii. Of course no one could find it there. Later some people worked out it couldn't be Alocasia because they don't come from Hawaii whereas Colocasia does occur there. So they started calling it "Colocasia Hilo Beauty". When the taxonomists finally got to it they revealed it was a Caladium and its correct name is Caladium praetermissum.

tropicbreezent..thanks for the story..mine appear to be colocasias don't they?..I have caladiums too..all of my caladiums are much smaller than my mystery black EEs..I came back to say I googled caladium praetermissum...my EE does NOT look like a Hilo Beauty..

Colocasias can be tricky to ID. About 20 years ago I came across a study that had identified about 2000 varieties of Colocasia esculenta. The plants have been selectively cultivated some 4000 years in isolated communities in the tropics and that's produced the varieties. More recently they've been bred as ornamentals so who knows how many varieties there are now. Plus it's common practice for some nurseries to 'invent' names to give their products exclusivity and consequently a marketing edge. That adds to confusion.

Those last photos of yours are Colocasia, I have some similar ones. The leaf stems are a deep burgundy and the leaf blades are green. Changes a bit depending on the light/sun they get.

thanks..plant ID is challenging..my EEs did turn sort of a dark purple as the summer went on..my wooded lot doesn't allow them to have outstanding color but I still love growing them..

Thanks for the history of Hilo Beauty. I had never heard the whole story just that it had been ID as a caladium. It does look like caladium- leaf texture and coloring.

My Hilo Beauty practically will grow in water. I have the pot sitting in a tub of water (like a shallow water bog) much of the year and it loves it! Thats why I've always kinda thought it might perhaps be a colocasia or some kind of cross.

I have never tried growing other Caladiums in water so who knows maybe they will but I have lots of colocasias that love water.

ok I got curious to see if people do grow regular caladiums in water and apparently they do okay! Oh boy Im gonna have a pretty pond this summer :)

http://www.koiphen.com/forums/showthread.php?124207-Caladiums-in-Pond

sultry_jasmine..this is news to me..plants amaze me..

my colocasia never keeps on drooping and the leaves are touching the ground already. I dont know what’s wrong. the leaves look to be growing toward the sun and bends down. the leaves also have yellow edges. am i giving it too much sun? or is it because of underwatering? I left for almost 3 weeks and it is summer here. but I actually left the pot with drip system i got from daiso but the plant only used up half liter of water in 3 weeks. not sure if it is the drip syatem is ineffective or the plant actually only needed half liter

I would untie those stems..the stems are forced to bend in one direction..maybe use several stakes and loosely tie up the droopiest stems..I've used strips of old tshirts..I can't tell from the pic..is it outside in the sun and rain?..that's what they love..I don't think it looks bad..I hope sultry can give you some advice..I live in a cold climate and need to bring mine inside where they limp along until next summer..

hey thanks for the reply! it is inside the house when i left for vacation. i placed it outside now since it is summer here in australia. i dont know what’s causing the edges to turn brown or yellow. is it too much sun? or lack of water? it was near the window when it was inside. the sun does not touch the leaves though. and I have a drip watering thingy to keep it watered. the watering tool releases water very slowly though. every new leaf seems to have yellow edges since I got it.

might need fertilizer..they love water..I bet it will do much better outside..you could call a garden center in your area for suggestions..

It seems like its reaching for light. Is the soil wet or dry? As long as you have well draining soil and good drainage holes, most colocasia like a lot of water. I wouldn't fertilize until it starts putting out new healthy leaves.

If its going outside after being indoors, I would start it out in shade then every few days edge it into the sun so it can get used to sun again and doesn't get burned.

I agree, most Colocasia do like a lot of water. Many of mine are in shallow standing water. Those that venture out into deeper water will roll over when the leaves get top heavy.

I went to a nearby nursery and saw their colocasia sitting in water but it wasn’t the case in bunnings where I bought it so I was just watering it like my other plant and let it dry then water again. Since getting back from my vacation, I have moved it to the balcony. It doesn’t get sun on its leaves but it is in the bright condition. I have placed a saucer underneath the pot with water standing on it whenever I water and I never throw it away. I water again when the water in the saucer evaporates. I am waiting for new growths and hopefully I get one with no yellow edges this time. I also have placed stakes and tie up the stems individually to the stakes. Please correct anything if some of these sounds wrong. Happy to hear your suggestions so my plant could recover. Thank you

from last summer..this pot has no saucer so no standing water..I kept it moist and it would get rain..looked good all year..I've seen people on Gardenweb who kept theirs in standing water and theirs looked good too..I think the changes you made are what I would do too..once those huge leaves droop it takes time to recover but some of mine did stand up again..and some didn't..