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Wednesday, February 12, 2025

The Greatest Colocasias to Add Tropical Aptitude to Your Summer time Backyard


Almost definitely native to Southeast Asia, colocasia (Colocasia esculenta, Zones 7b–12) is utilized by many gardeners for its massive, tropical-looking foliage. This plant additionally has an extended historical past of being utilized in cooking. Guests to Hawaii are sometimes handled to poi, a starchy Polynesian edible meals paste made out of its rootlike corm. Frequent names of colocasias embody taro, eddo, dasheen, and elephant’s ear. Elephant’s ear is probably the most generally used frequent identify, however that may be complicated as a result of crops known as elephant’s ear come from a number of completely different genera, together with Colocasia, Alocasia, and Xanthosoma, all of that are members of the arum household (Araceae). Whereas there are a number of completely different species of colocasia, cultivars and hybrids of Colocasia esculenta are the principle ones you’ll discover being offered in backyard facilities to dwelling gardeners.

Colocasia in a container planting
Colocasias immediately elevate any container design.

A historical past of decorative excellence

I don’t develop colocasia for meals. Actually, until cooked, each a part of this plant is toxic to people. I develop it for its splendidly massive, bodacious, in-your-face foliage. It provides simply the appropriate daring texture to a container or a tropical really feel to the herbaceous border. Within the South and southeastern United States, colocasia is straightforward to develop and appreciates the warmth and humidity of our rising season. Leaf measurement can vary from lower than 6 inches huge all the best way to 2 toes throughout. I’ve been rising and gathering colocasias for the reason that early 2000s. It was throughout this time that many new decorative varieties got here to the market. Many of those had been bred by now-retired College of Hawaii professor John Cho, who was already well-known for breeding colocasia as a meals crop. Dr. Cho began breeding decorative cultivars, which turned the principle catalysts for most of the great choices now available on the market.

Present wealthy soil for finest outcomes

Dan Benarcik, a horticulturalist at Chanticleer Backyard in Pennsylvania, wrote an article that I really like on colocasia and different elephants’ ears. I reached out to Dan for his recommendation on rising colocasia in our area. He advised me, “These crops don’t want something fancy. They love wealthy, natural, moisture-laden compost for his or her roots to get ‘down and soiled’ in. You possibly can spend some huge cash on fantastic soil selections, however my finest consequence has come from the underside of the compost heap. Even when the fabric isn’t but totally decomposed, they’ll thrive.” Dan and I’ve had related experiences, as I’ve discovered that colocasia loves moist and organically wealthy soil. Including extra supplemental fertilizer at common intervals in the course of the rising season will yield massive, engaging foliage. As for solar publicity, most varieties thrive in full solar or partial shade.

Hardiness and overwintering

Is colocasia hardy in our area? It is a tough query, and I hesitate to seek advice from colocasia as solidly hardy. I do have a number of choices which have continued 12 months after 12 months in my backyard in Tennessee. Others simply lasted a couple of years after which pale away. As a rule of thumb, gardeners in Zone 7b and beneath ought to take extra care in overwintering if they need crops to return yearly.

I requested plantsman and backyard designer Troy Mardin for his ideas on hardiness. He mentioned, “Many types of colocasia are hardy in a lot of the South, however I all the time pot up some offsets from my favourite, harder-to-find varieties in late summer time and overwinter them.” That is stable recommendation, as colocasias are straightforward to retailer over the winter and also you don’t must hold them actively rising. I pot offsets up, all the time protecting them on the dry facet, and overwinter them in a backyard shed or storage room the place it doesn’t freeze.

Choosing the Greatest Varieties

There actually is not any best-of-the-best colocasia. There is just one that’s finest for you and your scenario. I do have my favorites, and fashionable breeding has introduced us a whirlwind of recent cultivars. Many new cultivars have vibrantly coloured stems or shiny leaves that may actually stand out. Listed here are a couple of spectacular cultivars.

Royal Hawaiian Maui Gold colocasia
Royal Hawaiian® ‘Maui Gold’ has yellow-green leaves that work with just about each different colour.

Royal Hawaiian® ‘Maui Gold’ colocasia

Colocasia esculenta ‘Maui Gold’, Zones 8–12

Royal Hawaiian® ‘Maui Gold’ colocasia is a clump-forming elephant’s ear that was launched to the general public in 2012. Stems arch as much as 4 toes excessive and produce gold-chartreuse leaves. Plant it within the floor or in containers. Together with darkish foliage and complementary blooming annuals, you’ll be able to’t go mistaken with this choice.

Pharaohs Mask Colocasia
The darkish purple leaf veins of Pharaohs Masks™ create wonderful distinction with the sunshine inexperienced leaves.

Pharaohs Masks™ colocasia

Colocasia ‘Cophama’, Zones 7b–12

Pharaohs Masks™ colocasia brings shiny inexperienced leaves with bulging purple veins to the backyard. This plant is actually arduous to look away from. Maybe a little bit slower rising than different choices, it nonetheless performs admirably. Leaves will be as excessive as 4 toes tall at season’s finish. That is such a particular plant that it’s price overwintering in colder zones.

Illustris colocasia
Mix ‘Illustris’ colocasia with mild inexperienced crops to carry out the colour of its leaf veins.

‘Illustris’ colocasia

Colocasia esculenta var. antiquorum ‘Illustris’, Zones 7b–12

‘Illustris’ is an oldie however a goodie. Monumental, elongated heart-shape leaves are dusty black with inexperienced veins. Older clumps can develop as much as 5 toes tall in the course of the rising season. General hassle-free within the backyard, this plant may even maintain its personal as the only occupant of a backyard container.

These actually are great crops that needs to be included in nearly each backyard. Straightforward to develop year-round in hotter zones and overwinter in colder ones, they’ll proceed to offer large enchantment 12 months after 12 months.

For extra Southeast regional studies, click on right here.

 

—Andy Pulte is a college member within the plant sciences division on the College of Tennessee.

Images: Andy Pulte

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