yes definitely save them!..you should look on the Aroids forum for advice..I started growing in pots..now I just bring in the pot..I keep my black elephant ears growing during the winter but cut the green ones back and store them..

nicholsworth thanks!! I'll keep a couple in my home office but I can't keep too many because it's very small. I would keep them in other places around the house but unfortunately it seems they're toxic to cats, and my cats have a bad habit of getting into things they shouldn't, so at least with my office I'll just keep it closed. I didn't realize they had black ones that's amazing!

we had our house painted and got a new roof so the plants were moved out into the backyard to get them out of the way..pic1 - an alocasia..pic2 - Jack's Giants..pic3 - black elephant ear..

I store the plain green C. esculenta and the heavy leaved Alocasias potted in a cool, dark spot in my basement. They go semi dormant. Once a month I give them just a tiny bit of water. For some reason I have had no luck wintering over any of the dark leaved varieties this way though.

when I started I grew elephant ears in the ground..I hated digging them up when the soil was cold and fall is busy for me..our lot is wooded with a lot of raking and we chip our leaves for compost..it's a LOT of work but worth it..so now all of my elephant ears are in pots..I'd read that black ones don't overwinter well as tubers so I put the black ones in my kitchen - has a French door, a window, 2 skylights, southfacing so has decent light..they limp along during the winter but they take off when they go outside..I'm planning on storing the potted green ones in my entryway (like Sue does in her basement)..they'll die down I'll cut off the stems and I'm basically storing potted tubers..the entry is a 2 story cold dark space with a ceramic tile floor..we park in our attached garage and don't use the front door..it's not pretty in the winter but I love tropical plants so that's what I do Lol..

Sue..so eventually do yours die back completely?..maybe not since yours are getting water and light mine aren't..

brdrl..I did just what you're doing the first few years..but now I'm leaving them in pots..I have to store the pots inside anyway (too cold here) so this method saves soil and planting time..I stored just a few pots last year and it worked..

I think growing in pots makes watering easier..and the plants are "taller" which I love..and you can move them if you want..

Nicholsworth, I wouldn't say they die back completely. The space I use in the basement stays dark most of the time. I store bananas in the same spot but I cut all but the central leaves off before bringing them in.

Sue..good to know..if only I had a sunroom I would let them grow..but they're so large that keeping them in the house is inconvenient..

I've had mine a few years. I let the frost kill the tops and then cut off the all the stems and leaves. I dig them and put them in a black trash bag and put them in the basement. I forget about them until spring. Same with my yellow callas. They grow like weeds by summer and right now are still growing, but with the cooler weather now not very much.

I have way too many of the regular elephant ears. I should post a picture after I dig them, you can all laugh at me! I'd consider leaving them out but I'm curious to see how many bulbs I end up with and how big they grew and two people did kind of mention how they wanted a bulb of two next year. Come springtime I'll be offering them to everyone and probably leaving them on doorsteps once people start avoiding me!

I don't have anywhere to keep them growing over winter so for the trickier ones I've found that keeping them warmer and completely dry is helpful, they absolutely don't hold up well to cooler storage.

since I made a comment on this post..2 different people have given me elephant ears!..I took them because they were special..alocasias and crinkly black ones..my house is a jungle!!..the weather is cold now and everything is in..six long months before my house is "normal" again..but I LOVE them and the storage hassles are worth it to me..

The original post was for storing over winter, so that's why I answered about how I stored them. I know they wouldn't survive in the ground in zone 6 here (unless maybe massive protection of some sort), although there is one variety that is supposed to be hardy in zone 6. I think it's called " Pink China". Most suppliers mention zone 6 with protection, but some don't say that.

nicholsworth - love the photos! Those look great. I totally get what you mean about the pain of digging them up. I have only done it this once and it was exhausting lol. I ended up putting them in pots and NOT cutting them back because they actually seemed to be doing really well in the pots. So now I have crammed them all into my tiny home office, I should take a picture once I'm home, it's a bit ridiculous looking lol.

Sue, Bill & Brdrl - thanks for the advice! It;s nice to know that they aren't too fussy (at least the green ones). I had no idea that they came in dark colors. I might have to get one or two of the dark ones now haha. I'm giving a couple of my green ones to a friend and to my mother, might bring one or two to my work, frankly 7 is too many for me to deal with.

katob - that's so funny because I just accidentally seemed to find out about keeping the soil drier. It rains like crazy in Massachusetts so they were always damp, they looked fine, but they seem to be doing great indoors now because I let the soil dry out between waterings. Yes We would love to see your collection!