Elephant Ears
Last edited Sun May 15, 2022, 05:09 AM - Edit history (1)
Last year I grew five giant elephant ears in my container garden in front of my greenhouse. I planted them for dramatic effect because as you come up my drive, which is the length of a football field, it is hard to distinguish anything smaller. Just about everyone who comes back here comments on them (not very many people come back here, though). I was so disappointed to find I forgot to photograph them last summer, but I will be sure to do so this year.
Here are a few photos of my efforts growing them this year, plus some others I've collected to give you ideas on what you can do with them:
This depicts my planting session from last year. As you can see, I was able to get 5 giant ears for $15 at Home Depot 
It was a good deal but I hate them so much as a company I didn't go back this year. A friend told me she looked and their elephant ears were up in the $20 range for just one giant bulb this year, so glad I didn't waste my time at the orange box.
This picture represents the mid point in planting them. I put soil in the bottom, added some fertilizer, and then put the bulb in. It's tricky finding the right end, but if you have a question about which end is correct, you can just put them in sideways. The next step in this photo is to add soil to the top.
Here are 15 containers of elephant ears over a heating mat in my bedroom. I have another 15 like this growing in my office over a heating mat.
This is not my photo; I'm only including it because I love the variegation. I have elephant ears like this in my front area, though. Oddly enough, they come up every year and seem to be multiplying. The variegated ears are more expensive.
This is the first elephant ear this year to start a shoot
Here are a few ideas of what to put with them in containers. The following are not my photos; I just collected them for ideas:
This pic is ferns. You can get a similar dramatic effect with large ferns.
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I have the opposite problem from most home gardeners at my house … I cannot grow anything that calls for full sun because my house is surrounded by trees. I am always on the lookout for something colorful that grows in shade. I’ll be on the lookout for these! They are gorgeous. Thanks for sharing the photos.
