Elephant Ears

 I've wanted to grow the giant variety (Colocasia esculenta) of Elephant Ears for some time and for a second year I bought a corm at a Cincinnati greenhouse. Last year's experiment never really began. I planted the corm and waited ... and waited ... and waited. Nothing.

 I have since discovered that I probably planted the corm upside down.

 This year Tom picked one up very early in the season, probably March, and I placed it in a pot on our  enclosed (and heated) porch. Even so, it's a cool spot and I didn't see any evidence of a sprout breaking the soil for nearly two months.

 By late May I knew it was living and prospering ...

05-27-20

 We dug a hole in a pot on my back porch, took the corm out of the pot it was in (without disturbing the soil much) and replanted it. On May 27 what was clearly a leaf began to erupt.

06-04-20

Eight days later another - much longer - leaf began to unfurl. Apparently the small leaf is something akin to the drogue on a parachute, testing the air and leading the way into the spring sunshine.

06-05-20

 The next day the long leaf opened ...

06-26-20

 Fast forward three weeks and the plant has pushed new growth all around the corm. The leaves have found the sun and are all pointing towards the southwest. This location is shady in the morning but there is brief full sun in the early afternoon. Then, again, the plant is shaded by the garage late in the day.

07-04-20

 By Independence Day the plant opened many large leaves ... elephant ears, for sure. It gives the corner of the back porch a jungle-like atmosphere.

 Elephant Ears are commonly known as "taro" a starchy food indigenous to Africa and southern Asia. As Wikipedia notes, this is one of the earliest cultivated food items. It is said to be similar to our yams.

 Of course our cold climate means we'll have to dig the bulb in the fall and overwinter it in the basement.