Elephant ear plant
Xanthosoma sp. or Coco yam.
Elephant ear plant - Xanthosoma growing in a border of mixed tropical foliage
The picture above
shows the elephant ear plant growing in all its glory.
Luckily for us Xanthosoma, also known as the coco yam, is widely
grown as a food crop through out the tropical world. Even
better, the tubers of the plant are then sent all over the world for
people to eat. So if you are unfamiliar with this vegetable
you
will need to locate your nearest Afro-Caribbean grocer.
By the time your plant has reached this stage it is ready to be planted outside. In fact they will race away as soon as they get into the soil. Make sure you wait until any risk of frost has passed. Prepare the soil with plenty of home made compost and composted manure. If you are going for a mass planting or planting in singles, plant them in a crater. Once in growth in the soil they like a lot of water. A good daily soaking during hot weather, less if things cool down, will keep your elephant ear plants in excellent form. If you ease off during hot weather your plants may develop brown margins and generally look unhappy.
Literature often states that these plants can be grown in the shade. Whilst this is true, the reference is more for tropical shade which is hot, not temperate shade which is generally on the cool side. They will grow in the shade in cool climates but not as quickly or as large. Plant them in full sun somewhere where daily watering (when necessary) will not be a chore.
A newly planted group of elephant ear plants
The foliage of the elephant ear plant has zero frost tolerance. Due to the low replacement costs the whole plant, tubers and all can be thrown on the compost heap. Some literature suggests the elephant ear tubers have a cold tolerance of zone 8b if left in the ground. Experience has shown that even after mild zone 9 winters all that remains of any tubers left in the ground is something resembling thick white paint.
The elephant ear plant is more or less pest and disease free. Emerging shoots atract the odd aphid in the greenhouse but never reach epidemic proportions. These are easily controlled by finger or brush. The biggest threat to your established elephant ear plants is the summer hail storm. A 20 second hail storm can reduce the leaves to lace.
| What you are looking for are Xanthosoma, sold loose by the kg under the name of coco yam (in the UK at least). Choose a shop with a high turn over to ensure your elephant ear tubers are nice and fresh. They should be quite a deep pink with brown flaky bits. The more eyes they have the more potential shoots they have. |  |
Tubers of the
elephant ear plant -Xanthosoma
| Avoid any that are going a brownish grey and dry as they are probably a little old. The weight of the tuber is also a good indication of freshness (heavy = good). They are not too expensive and depending on size you can probably buy between 10-15 Xanthosoma tubers for the price of one growing elephant ear plant from a nursery. Also try to choose tubers that are more spherical as they will fit into pots easier |
 |
A lone coco yam (non
spherical example)
Once you have made
your purchase,
it is important to turn your back and walk away. You can't
save
them all from the pot. Be thankful that you can give life to
the
few you were able to save.
Planting elephant ear tubers
Next you need to
plant your elephant ear tubers. Find a pot
that
will fit the tuber in horizontally. Put some multi-purpose
compost in the bottom, lay the tuber on top and them cover with more
multi-purpose compost. They seem to prefer being completely
covered. Leaving the growing point sticking out of the
compost
seems to delay growth.
Water sparingly at first. They do not like to be sitting in wringing wet compost at the early stages and can rot if left in standing water. It is best to start your elephant ear plants quite early. A little patience is needed before much happens. Warmth helps, either in the form of bottom heat from a heat mat or propagator. It is equally effective just having them in doors. However the pots will be 2 -3 litre in size and as such are not exactly suitable for window sill culture. If you do not have a green house then you will need to bring your elephant ear plants into growth indoors.
Water sparingly at first. They do not like to be sitting in wringing wet compost at the early stages and can rot if left in standing water. It is best to start your elephant ear plants quite early. A little patience is needed before much happens. Warmth helps, either in the form of bottom heat from a heat mat or propagator. It is equally effective just having them in doors. However the pots will be 2 -3 litre in size and as such are not exactly suitable for window sill culture. If you do not have a green house then you will need to bring your elephant ear plants into growth indoors.
Sometimes initial growth can seem painfully slow. A small shoot will grow with the tiniest leaf and then just sit there. However they are rather like the swan - not much happening on surface, legs paddling furiously below. |
 |
elephant ear roots n' shoot
By the time your plant has reached this stage it is ready to be planted outside. In fact they will race away as soon as they get into the soil. Make sure you wait until any risk of frost has passed. Prepare the soil with plenty of home made compost and composted manure. If you are going for a mass planting or planting in singles, plant them in a crater. Once in growth in the soil they like a lot of water. A good daily soaking during hot weather, less if things cool down, will keep your elephant ear plants in excellent form. If you ease off during hot weather your plants may develop brown margins and generally look unhappy.
Literature often states that these plants can be grown in the shade. Whilst this is true, the reference is more for tropical shade which is hot, not temperate shade which is generally on the cool side. They will grow in the shade in cool climates but not as quickly or as large. Plant them in full sun somewhere where daily watering (when necessary) will not be a chore.
A newly planted group of elephant ear plants
The same plants later
on in the season
The foliage of the elephant ear plant has zero frost tolerance. Due to the low replacement costs the whole plant, tubers and all can be thrown on the compost heap. Some literature suggests the elephant ear tubers have a cold tolerance of zone 8b if left in the ground. Experience has shown that even after mild zone 9 winters all that remains of any tubers left in the ground is something resembling thick white paint.
The elephant ear plant is more or less pest and disease free. Emerging shoots atract the odd aphid in the greenhouse but never reach epidemic proportions. These are easily controlled by finger or brush. The biggest threat to your established elephant ear plants is the summer hail storm. A 20 second hail storm can reduce the leaves to lace.
Colocasia Esculenta var. Antiquorum or Eddoe
Clocasia esculenta var. antiquorum in a mixed tropical foliage setting
The aquisition and
propagation of the eddoe
is the same as for the coco yam above . The leaves of the
eddoe are
smoother and carried on a more slender stem. It is quoted as
being
slightly more drought tolerant but neither plant thrives when
neglected. One major difference is the price. Not
only is the price
per kg considerably less, the tubers themselves are much smaller.
There can also be quite subtle differences in the plants
grown from
tubers bought in different shops. Dark stemmed elephant ear
plants are
quite common.
Eddoes - colocasia esculenta var. antiquorum tubers
The
picture above shows three eddoes with the growing tip emerging.
This
is a good sign with eddoes. Occaisionally the tubers exhibit
no signs
of growth. These are best avoided. A good habit to
get into is to
drop by the shop on a regular basis, this way you can spot the new
arrivals. Eddoes will sometimes be have several green shoots,
if you
see these grab them with both hands. These tubers are raring
to go and
will not disappoint.
Eddoes (top) Coco
yam (Below) This picture shows
the difference in size between Colocasia esculenta var. antiquorum
(eddoe) and Xanthosoma (Coco yam)