Life Tree Nursery

Colocasia Plant | Elephant ear

R 230.00

Perennial
Elephant's Ear is one of the best survival foods in the world because it is hardy, all parts can be used and it can be harvested at any time of the year.
It originated in Southeast Asia and is now grown as a crop all over the world.
Elephant's Ear is believed to be introduced to southern Africa by Portuguese traders before 1500 - today the starch-rich corms are staple diet in many parts of southern Africa.
Elephant's Ear is a robust perennial plant with a large corm on or just below the ground surface and it has very large, heart-shaped leaves that are borne on thick stalks.
It can be grown in large containers or outside in the ground all year-round in subtropical and tropical areas.
They also grow in temperature region where the summers are hot.
There they are planted out for the summer and the corms are dug up and stored over winter - dry and with ventilation to prevent fungal infection.
Plant the root tuber close to the surface - the first signs of growth will appear in 1 to 3 weeks.
They need sun or shade and spacing in-between must be at least 1.2m to allow optimum growth - it will mature after 5-10 months.
It grows well in moist heavy soils but will also do reasonably well in any soil provided it is moisture-retentive.
Elephant's ear should not be left to go dry for too long and periodic fertilization (every 3 to 4 weeks) with a common plant fertilizer will increase yields.
It can also be grown as an aquatic plant.