Great! I never grew elephant ears before a couple years ago. Then a friend gave me a small plant in a pot. It grew nicely and had to be repotted. That winter I brought it in the house and had a terrible time with major die back but it revived the next summer. That winter I didn’t want the hassle so I left it out….in a 10 inch pot. It died, of course. So I threw the dirt with the dead plant in it off to an unfinished area of my yard along with twigs and leaves last spring…..kinda a compost area. That plant grew 4+ 😂feet high and is still sending out leaves! It’s gigantic and I love it but I didn’t know what to do this winter. I thought I’d just cover it with leaves since it came back from a small pot! Now you have confirmed this is the way to go. I really didn’t want to dig it up and find a place to store it. I have lots of leaves. Thanks.! I’m in zone 7b. Oh! Another part of that same plant grew in a tote with zucchini! There must have been a bit of root on some of the soil I threw in there from the pot.
Elephant 🐘 Ears will surprise you. We have another variety called escalenta that Don't emerge until the mid summer. Every year we think they are not going to come up but they do. We gave away a lot & they are still coming up plentiful. Leaves are the way to go. We've done it 4 years in a row.
@@ShonAndJaniceGardening . I cut back the plant in the tote. It was in a small pot but grew out of it. Massive roots! I planted it in the ground and left a few leaves on. I’m pretty confident it will return next summer. I had to cut the pot off but it wasn’t possible without losing some thinner roots. Boy it was bunched up in there. 🥴The other big one grew through the sticks so I left them around the plant and took the box off. There were a ton of babies grown pale in the flaps. Boy! These surely want to live!
@@DtheMan247 I used to bring our upright elephant ear in and keep it near a sunny window. When we saw the colocasia coming up one summer we waited just before frost and took a chance cut the alacasias back and covered them with leaves and they came back
@@ShonAndJaniceGardening Oh ok. My mom used to bring them in. I am in Maryland, so it should be good especially with the mulch. Would you recommend this method for banana trees as well?
We are glad to be able to help. We have been doing this for 5 years with success every time. We are in zone 7. That has a lot to do with it. Thanks for visiting our channel
I have a question. I wrote before. I didn’t plant mine. They grew up from a pot I had left out all winter then threw in a compost box. They are very tall and clumped together. I need to separate them cuz they are so bunched together. Would you do that now, in the fall or wait till spring? Thanks for any suggestions. Zone 7b. Black elephant ears that point down.
@@ShonAndJaniceGardening . I cut them down. We got a couple nights of 29 degrees. It’s 80 now with 60 at night. Crazy. I don’t have leaves yet. My oak tree hangs on to them till the bitter end. I potted up a couple babies and they’re doing fine in the house. I also uprooted a few and wrapped in newspaper. They’re spending the winter on the garage. It’s funny. I did absolutely nothing to get these and now I’m trying every trick in the book to keep them!
We're glad this was helpful. We've been been doing it this way for several years. Getting rid of the leaves prevents pest on the other plants. Rotten leaves encourage pest. Your in zone 7. You should get good results
Just found your video, thank you! We had a late cold snap here in Zone 8 and some leaves killed, some bouncing back. Today I'm pruning and hopeful. Thank you!
You can do the same as I did. Your frost is usually in November. I cut ours before frost to avoid mushy plants. Keep an eye on the weather. Cut them and cover with leaves
Thank you Sir, the slant-cutting of the stalk is excellent advice. I'll always remember to cut that way and recommend to others. My first year with Elephant Ears. Thank you.
We hope you have success with your elephant ears. They do well in zone 7. We have 4 types and no problems yet. We are glad to be helpful and are happy you enjoyed the video
I grew mine inside from the bulb and it's gotten pretty huge, should I cut it back or let it be? It's almost November and there's barely sunlight, and this is my first winter for my elephant ears
I want to thank you so much for the brilliant idea of using leaves to cover them. I was wondering how to protect a waterfall hill I have with various canna and elephant ears, along with a succulent garden and your leaf suggestion is perfect. I followed you just based on this common sense solution. Thank you so much!
Welcome to our channel. I got the idea from seeing the wind pile leaves on top of some small elephant ears into a corner of a fence. Before we had a chance to bring them in. After that 2ft of snow. They came back. I'm so happy we are in zone 7
@@ShonAndJaniceGardening We are in zone 9 in Las Vegas, but it gets desert cold here in the winter, so I was concerned. It's brilliant! I don't want to dig up all those plants for winter. And we have big trees.
Very helpful information. I am on my third year but may have covered mine too much last year with topsoil and cutting flat across vs. at an angle, so it looks like they rotted. The ground area is very mushy and no new growth is coming through yet. Any suggestions?
I did the same thing with mine- a little too heavy on the pine needles and I cut them off too close to the ground and straight across. Some rotted. Thanks for the advice. I love these big elephant ears, and don’t want to dig them up. I’m in zone 7.
We're glad that this was helpful. It seem like most videos for elephant ears are about storing bulbs in the winter. Next year they will come up when you have consistent over night warm temperatures
I did not cut mine before the frost, I was unaware how to take care of these plants. Is it too late to prune or do I just leave it? You made the comment it can get really messy!
My first time caring for a elephant. When indoors, I notice every other week a left dies and a baby appears. Now that I have it outside nothing dies..it is thriving. Should I leave it outside for now or bring it back indoors?
I left mine in the ground, cut them back, the frost hot Texas, and now the top the was left is brown sod and mushy. My question is...should I now clear off the brown parts away from the bulb or the plat will just start beach growing?
It should just become solid once you start having consecutive warm days. When the temperature gets hot a new elephant ear should grow out of the side of the trunk
