Planting Elephant Ear Bulbs

Video Transcript

"YOLANDA VANVEEN: Hi, this is Yolanda Vanveen on behalf of Expert Village. In this series, we're talking about fall-blooming flower bulbs, and in this segment, we're talking about Colocasia or Elephant Ears which really don't even produce a flower. They're just big green, gorgeous tropical leaves that really get going in the fall. So that's why I included them in this series. I just love them. So Colocasia or Elephant Ears are also known as taro, or they make poi out of 'em. They're a fruit staple in half of the world. So they look just almost like a big potato. They're just a huge softball-like plant, and I just think that they're really interesting. You know you have a good bulb if it's firm. If it's really soft, then probably it's not going to be any good. And they have a bullseye and that goes up. And, again, when in doubt, go sideways. But if you see the bullseye, that's a really good indication that that would go up. They prefer hot, hot shade, because if they're in the hot, full sun, sometimes they'll get sunburned. Colocasia are great houseplants as well. So you can even put 'em in a container in the house and grow 'em as a tropical plant in your house, and then leave 'em outside over the summer in your patio. They're really easy to grow and they multiply quickly. They're just a great tropical addition to your garden. In our next segment, we'll talk about Canna Lilies, particularly the Durban."