I'm not really sure what to do with one of those in your area, JoJo! But I did a bit of reading, and this is what I came with from one source:

"If you live a warm climate, you can cover your elephant ear bulbs with mulch and they will probably come back in the spring, unless you have a very cold winter. Bring container grown elephant ears indoors during the winter and treat them like house plants."

I pasted the link below, and there's lots of great information on Elephant Ear bulbs. Hope it's helpful for you! :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: How to Winterize Elephant Ear Bulbs

TWO OF MY FAVORITE GALS TOGETHER AGAIN! I am smiling from one ear to another!

By tyhe way, thanks for the great info Jodik. Just in time for mine to be dealt with:-)

Have a great day and I will be baaaccckkk..lol

Mike

It depends on how much room you have. I'd prolly wait until it falls off the elephant.

Al

Good to see you posting, JJ!

I keep mine out until the frost knocks them back, then bring them in and let them go dry or store the bulb or root mass in a bag/box of peat. However, I had one this past winter I just brought into the garage & left it sitting on the floor in its pot, completely dry. It started up & did just fine around mid-May. This year, I had a Thai Giant that didn't do so well. It got huge 4'+ leaves, but they wouldn't hold up to hardly any wind, & tattered. I'm going to leave that one in the garage too, because I don't care if it makes it or not; but I AM curious to see IF it makes it.

Al

Hey! Good to see two of my favorite guys in the same thread with us JoJo's, so to speak! :-)

I'm such a forgetful person that I completely spaced my giant Elephant Ear corm... it was late this past spring... and it got destroyed by some large pups (not mine) that had a field day in the basement where the bulb was being stored! So much for that...

But speaking of corms and such things, I have had wonderful luck with some red Gladiolus I got a couple of years ago out of a sale bin. They were labeled as "hardy", but you know how those things go... surprisingly, they've not only survived, coming back each year, they've thrived, blooming in gorgeous red flowers with a tough of yellow in the throat, and the hummingbirds seem to love them!

In your climate, JoJo, I'd probably just lug the pot indoors, place it in a cool room or area, and treat them like a houseplant that requires less water and fertilizer so it can rest.

However, maybe someone else has a better idea... anyone? These aren't really my area of expertise! And I'm not at all familiar with growing in JoJo's climate! :-)

Hey, JoJo, Jodi, Mike, and Al!

Now, is this Colocasia or Alocasia? With the Alocasia Amazonica that one of my friends grows,
the plant is put in a south-western window for the Winter.

Josh

There you are Josh! Now that makes 3 of Jodik's favorite guys! :-)))

Al, I did the same thing as you. I just dug mine up and threw it into a pot and stuck it into the cellar and let it dry out. I barely watered when they went completely dry and both made it.

By the way, they sell these styrofoam things that are suppose to cover plants and protect up to 15 below! I think I will cover one up and see what happens. If I lived in Arizona, that is what I would do. Leave them in the ground and cover them as Jodik says. I don't think your ground ever freezes, does it Jojo?

Oh, have a great night my awesome friends. It's so good to see you all again!

Mike:-))))

OMG! All My favorites, and my gal pal twin! I love it and you all made my day!

Mike! Us having the same name is sure to make things easier to remember us! LOL! I'm picturing your smile and smiling too! Double Trouble we are! LOL!

Us JoJo's as it was put by Jodik. I like that! :-)

Al!
I about spit my coffee! ROFL!!!! Not enough room for sure and I think the poor thing would look kinda funny missing an ear! LOL!

4'! Oh My! I hope to use this one for crafts come spring.

Jodi,
Thanks for the link. I will read it soon!

I want to try and keep it alive over the winter. It's the only plant that really grew this season. It was an empty/plantless summer. :-(

I love Glads Jodi! Cool your having a good run with them! Well our climate can be rough and flip flop! Right now we have cold front on the way and will drop 20* and possible frost this weekend! But was almost 90 today!

So lug it in now I guess! LOL! Just heard the news today!

Josh! so good to see you!
I don't know the exact kind. label is gone, it was a bulb from wal mart.

Like Al's it's had it's share of tattered leaves from winds and monsoon storms this summer.

Mike, we do freeze once in a while. Not often, but it does happen. This is in a container at the moment.

thinking I will gather a few bricks to set it high so I can flush it good and put bucket under it. :-)

Now the fun part, getting it in! Any volunteer's? ;-)

JoJo

Hi JoJo,

Just wanted to stop by and say hi!!

Nice to see you again!!

I also have a large Alocasia in my back yard. I have it in the ground and it has done very well there in Zone 8. You could probably plant yours in the ground next year if you dont want to keep bringing it in every year. I also have freezes, but it doesn't faze my EE. It will die back once the cold arrives, but then spring hits and it is up and ready to grow.. Thought it would do well for you in the ground since you are a zone 9?

Just a thought for next year.. I am so glad i did this. Now i dont have to break my back on thi monster ... ;-)

Take care..

Hi Josh!! Jodi!! AL!!! Mike!!! SIssy!!!

Nice to see everyone!! ;-)

Laura

Hi Laura!
Thank you!
So Good to see you too!
Ground? Are we allowed to say that word in a container forum? lol..

I really don't have a lot of options for in ground here. I have a gravel yard, small yard, and our monsoons will tear this plant up, so it was hard to find the right spot for it so it could get sun and be sheltered.
Full sun and 110*, and winds killed the EE I had last year.

I wanted to make a fountain, and bird feeder using the leaves as molds for my mom's b-day in may. So that's why I wanted to bring it in and try and keep it growing over the winter. It's a small Elephant at the moment.. only 5 small leaves about 2'.

they grow nice then the sun burns them or the wind tears them. It's a tough plant to grow outside here.

Our monsoons in the summer can be gusts of 60mph or more, topped with the 100*+ temps is hard on this plant. :-(

Oh my back will be fine.. but my 15 yr old son will wonder what on earth I was thinking after lugging it in! ROFL! Good practice for spring, I plan on many containers and not letting anything get in the way of my garden and plants again. ;-) so there will be tons of moving them to find the right spots. lol..

Well..
I need to get dressed and head to the office where I volunteer today. See you all soon!
JoJo

Yay! It's a regular reunion in here! :-)

How the heck is everybody?! Great, I hope... aside from the inconveniences of weather and whatnot.

Mike, I despise those styrofoam rose cones and plant protectors! As far as I'm concerned, they're a total waste.

I use wood mulch and leaves, and whatever debris blows in and sticks around. Then, I hope for a good blanket of insulating snow. If anything requires more babying than that, I don't want to deal with it.

I made an exception for the Elephant Ear because it looked so cool, and it was only one bulb to care for... just don't store it where someone's dogs can get at it and chew it to bits! ;-)

I grew it in a very large clay pot the first season I had it... which was also the last season I had it.

The reason I've never found those styrofoam cones to be useful is... I'm not trying to protect the top of the plant for winter... that part is dormant, void of leaves, sap and whatnot... I'm trying to protect the root system and zone. A cone doesn't provide that kind of protection. A thick layer of mulch does.

Happy Growing, Everyone!

Jodik..You just saved me 8 dollars over that foam thing I almost bought!lol
By the 3\way, I e-mailed you:-)
Yes it is a reunion and I love it!

By the way, happy growing to you too!

Laura, hello! I wish you could of seen what my day was like. I had every intention to mail you a plant today, and my stress got wind of me. I never made the P.O but will within a few days:-) I am so happy to see you here and that you have gotten to know my good friends!!!! I am so happy they have gotten to know you!!!

Jojo, what can I say except for YAHOO every time you come here. You are much treasured by all of us!

It was 35 today with harsh winds= my favorite kind of day..Right...

I hope we see the 60's again before true winter is here to stay. My Black elephants ears has finally died right to the ground. I will did mine out this week and stick it in a pot into the basement for a good sleep.

Have a great day dear friends. By the way Al, good one! lol

Mike

LOL, Al! In zone 9, why would you need to bring them it? I'm in zone 8b and don't bring mine in - they come back every spring.

Kayjones,
I don't think Al was saying I had to bring it in, looks to me like he was just explaining how he cares for his and giving me options.

We do have our share of hard freezes, and some long wet spells that could be a problem for a bulb planted shallow in a container.

If I wasn't going to try and grow it all season, I would do as Al suggested, and bring it in to store till spring.

Josh~ It will go in a window facing South. Will that work. :-) I still can't find the tag to know which it is. Its around here somewhere. In the past year my life went from organized mess, to just mess. lol..

JoJo

There's an Elephant in my room! LOL! I get impatient so rather than wait for my son, I moved it in myself. lol.. It's in 5-1-1 so it wasn't too bad. :-)

I use lots of bark mulch for some of my in ground plants that winter over, and if were having a hard freeze, sometimes throw a sheet over them.

I don't have much to protect , just 2 or 3. Especially this season! Didn't grow much over summer.

Do have some lemon basil I'm thinking of yanking and bringing in. It took all the abuse a plant could take this summer and is a real trooper and hanging in there! lol..

JoJo

Jojo..You are a riot! I wouldn't panick like that living where you live for sure! lol

Would you believe I have one planted in a pot that has survived two frosts already and working on a third?! I finally pulled it in with not a leaf yet, but at least the soil mass didn't freeze. I am a procrastinator! And yet, they still come back after a long sleep in the dark basement.lol

I have yet to dig my favorite black one up from the ground!

Yum lemon basil sounds quite aromic! Have you ever tried growing 'Lemon Verbena'? Oh, what a stronge pleasant aroma every time you lightly brish up against it! You can use it in soups, tea, and in salads!

No problem, Mike... every fall I see those stacks of styrofoam things, and I can't for the life of me figure out why anyone would waste their money on such ugly, useless items... but to each their own, I suppose. I've gotten along fine without them for the entire length of time I've been gardening, and I haven't regretted it.

Besides, you still have to figure out how to fit ungainly shaped plants, like roses, under the darn things... and it just seems like too much of a hassle for the actual protection they provide, which in my eyes is very little. Plus, I don't think styrofoam is a very "green" product, anyway... and I kind of like my planet. :-)

Have a nice day, everyone!

Morning!

I love the lemon Basil! Any Basil for that matter. If you barely touch it, the aroma is amazing! I also have seeds for licorice flavored. :-)
I haven't tried Verbena yet.

Jodi,
Around here come frost the park is nothing but sheets/ghosts in the yards. LOL! Everyone tosses them on their roses and such.

JoJo

It must look like an extended Halloween, JoJo! That's kind of cute! Little sheeted ghosties everywhere! :-)

It does Jodi! lol...

I might wrap a few beds in plastic this season and try a few greens and such. I didn't have a summer garden. :-(

JoJo

We had a very hot, dry summer, too... and I was lucky to be able to keep the main beds and the potted stock alive. I didn't even bother with a vegetable bed, as I had intended. You might have decent luck trying it that way. :-)