HOW TO GROW ELEPHANT EAR PLANTS IN POTS AND IN GROUND | GARDEN ZONE 5B
Summary
TLDRThis video offers a comprehensive guide to caring for elephant ear plants, covering soil mix, fertilization, and pest control. It distinguishes between the three types of true elephant ears: Colocasia, Alocasia, and Xanthosoma. The host shares tips on pot and ground planting, including using compost and granular fertilizer for slow and quick nutrient release. Shade considerations for hot climates and spider mite treatments are also discussed. Additionally, the video addresses common issues like yellowing leaves and provides a step-by-step guide for preparing these plants for winter, ensuring they thrive year after year.
Takeaways
- 🌱 There are three types of true elephant ears: Colicasia, Alocasia, and Xanthosoma.
- 🌿 When planting in pots, use a good soil mix and consider the price range.
- 🌳 Add compost and granular fertilizer to the soil mix for a balanced nutrient supply.
- 🌞 For potted plants, a combination of slow-release (compost) and quick-release (granular fertilizer) nutrients is beneficial.
- 🏡 When planting in-ground, dig a hole twice as wide and deep as the plant and add compost or granular fertilizer at the bottom.
- 🌞 Elephant ears prefer part sun, especially in hotter climates, to avoid sunburn.
- 🌳 In-ground plants can rely on soil nutrients and slow-release fertilizers, while potted plants benefit from weekly liquid fertilizer.
- 🐛 Spider mites are a common pest for elephant ears and should be controlled with regular spraying and washing.
- 🍂 Yellowing leaves can be due to various factors including overwatering, sun exposure, pests, or fertilization issues.
- 🌬️ To prepare for winter, dig up the plants, cut off roots and foliage, and store the bulbs in a cool, dry place.
- 🌱 For those in climates with frost, keep the plants in the ground or pots until the first frost to maximize energy storage in the bulbs.
Q & A
What are the three types of true elephant ears mentioned in the video?
-The three types of true elephant ears mentioned are Colicasia, Alocasia, and Xanthosoma.
What is the recommended soil mix for planting elephant ears in pots?
-The video suggests using a good soil mix within your price range, emphasizing that the best quality in that range is appreciated by the plants.
Why is it important to add compost and granular fertilizer when planting elephant ears in pots?
-Compost and granular fertilizer are important because they provide a slow feed for the plants. This is combined with a quick feed from liquid fertilizers for a balanced nutrient supply.
How should you prepare the planting hole for in-ground elephant ears?
-The hole should be twice as wide and deep as the plant, with compost or granular fertilizer added at the bottom before planting.
What is the recommended sunlight exposure for elephant ears in Ohio zone 5b?
-In Ohio zone 5b, the video recommends part sun, meaning morning sun and afternoon shade for the elephant ears.
How can you prevent spider mites on your elephant ears?
-To prevent spider mites, the video suggests spraying the plants weekly with Captain Jack's Dead Bug and hosing the leaves off to maintain a moist-free environment.
What are the common issues that can cause elephant ear leaves to turn yellow?
-Yellowing leaves can be caused by over-fertilization, too much or too little water, too much or not enough sun, pest issues, or simply the natural aging of older leaves.
How should you prepare your elephant ears for winter storage?
-The plants should be dug up, roots and foliage cut off, and the bulbs allowed to dry. Once mostly dry, they are stored in paper bags in a cool, dry, and low humidity space.
When is the best time to wake the elephant ears from their winter storage?
-The best time to wake the elephant ears from their winter storage is in February, according to the video.
What should you do if you want to store your elephant ears in pots for the winter?
-If storing in pots, ensure the soil dries out completely before cutting off the foliage and storing the pot in a cool, dry place.
Why are elephant ears a desirable addition to a garden according to the video?
-Elephant ears are desirable because they are a striking plant that, once experienced, gardeners often choose to grow year after year.
Outlines
🌱 Elephant Ear Plant Care Basics
This paragraph introduces the video's focus on elephant ear plant care, both in pots and in the ground. It highlights the three true types of elephant ears: colicasia, alocasia, and xanthosima. The speaker shares their experience with colicasia and mentions having alocasia and xanthosima in their home. Key tips include using a good soil mix for potted plants, adding compost and granular fertilizer, and the importance of a balanced nutrient intake through both slow and quick feeds. For in-ground planting, the advice is to dig a hole twice as wide and deep as the plant, adding compost or granular fertilizer at the bottom. The speaker also discusses the use of liquid fertilizer for potted plants and the ideal sunlight conditions for elephant ears, emphasizing the need for part sun in areas with hot summers to prevent burning.
🌞 Dealing with Elephant Ears in Extreme Heat and Winter
This paragraph delves into the challenges of caring for elephant ears in extreme heat and preparing them for winter. The speaker advises that in regions with intense summer heat, such as Texas or Florida, plants should be placed in part shade or full shade to prevent sunburn. Common issues like spider mites are addressed, with recommendations for proactive treatment using Captain Jack's Dead Bug spray and other methods like hosing off leaves to maintain a humid environment. The speaker also discusses the causes of yellowing leaves in elephant ears, suggesting it could be due to overwatering, sun exposure, pest issues, or over-fertilization. For winter preparation, the process involves digging up the plants, cutting off roots and foliage, allowing the bulbs to dry, and storing them in paper bags in a cool, dry space. The speaker emphasizes the importance of allowing the plants to store energy in the bulbs before the first frost and provides advice on reusing bulbs in cooler climates.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Elephant Ears
💡Colicasia
💡Alocasia
💡Xanthosima
💡Soil Mix
💡Compost
💡Granular Fertilizer
💡Quick Feed
💡Spider Mites
💡Over-Fertilization
💡Winterizing
Highlights
Elephant ears are one of three types: Colicasia, Alocasia, or Xanthosima.
When planting in pots, use a good soil mix within your budget's best option.
Add compost and granular fertilizer to the soil mix for a balanced nutrient intake.
Granular fertilizer and compost offer slow feed, while liquid fertilizer provides quick nutrients.
For in-ground planting, dig a hole twice as wide and deep as the plant and add compost or granular fertilizer at the bottom.
Liquid fertilizer can be applied weekly for potted elephant ears to promote growth.
Elephant ears in Ohio zone 5b are planted in part sun for morning sun and afternoon shade.
In very hot climates, ensure plants are in part shade or full shade to prevent burning.
Spider mites are a common issue; regular spraying with Captain Jack's Dead Bug is recommended.
Spider mites can spread to other plants, so proactive treatment is essential.
Yellowing leaves in elephant ears can be due to various factors like overwatering, sun exposure, or pests.
Older leaves naturally turn yellow and die off, which is a normal process.
For winter preparation, dig up the plants, cut off roots and foliage, and allow bulbs to dry.
Store dried bulbs in paper bags in a cool, dry, and low humidity space for winter.
Wake the bulbs from winter slumber in February to restart the growing process.
Allow elephant ears to stay in the ground or pots until the first frost to maximize energy storage.
If storing in a pot, ensure the soil dries out completely before cutting off foliage and storing.
Elephant ears are a rewarding addition to the garden, often grown year after year.
Transcripts
hey guys thank you so much for watching
today's video is all about elephant ear
care in pots and in ground there are
three different types of true elephant
ears while there are a lot of plants
that grow foliage very similar
they may not be elephant ears elephant
ears are either colicasia alocasia or
xanthosima this here is a colicasia and
then i will show you some allocations
and then i will show you a xanthosuma
that i keep in my house i hope this
video is informative leave me some
questions or comments if i did not
answer all of the questions that you may
have so let's go ahead and get started
so i'm holding my mic like this because
i don't have a good place to clip it
so that's why it looks like this
um anyways so my first tip would be when
you're planting in pots to use a good
soil mix now
this can be whatever
you can afford in your price range buy
the best in that price range they
appreciate a decent soil mix
tip number two when you are planting
them in that soil mix make sure that you
add in compost and then also add in a
granular fertilizer
for several of my pots i planted them in
and i used worm casings and then just a
basic granular all-purpose fertilizer
any liquid fertilizer is going to be a
quick feed for the plant
granular fertilizer or a compost is
going to be a slow feed for the plant
quick feeds means that the plant can
utilize the nutrients in that fertilizer
much faster than a granular or
any other sort of compost because those
things have to break down over time
which is why you want to do a
two-piece combo i guess so you want to
have a slow feed and a quick feed
if you're planting your elephant ears in
ground you want to dig a hole that is
twice as wide and deep as the plant and
then you want to add a compost or a
granular fertilizer in at the bottom of
that hole
and then plant your plant in that hole
if you choose to fertilize
a liquid feed throughout the season you
are definitely welcome to do that that
will also help your plant grow big i
don't do that for my in-ground plants
just because it's just one extra thing
to do they do just fine in the ground
with
you know the nutrients that they can
pull from the soil and the
slow feed that i put in the hole
so it's kind of up to you what you
um have the time for
anything that is potted will
be very happy to get a liquid fertilizer
weekly
so i garden in ohio zone 5b
and i plant my elephant ears in part sun
meaning that they get morning sun
and then they get afternoon shade if you
live in an area of the world or country
where you have a very very hot sun
hot summer
hot sun and summer you will want to make
sure that your plants are either in
part shade or full shade so i'm talking
like
you know texas heat florida heat you
want to make sure that your plants are
getting a lot of shade or else they may
burn
so one of the common issues that i have
with my elephant ears are spider mites
spider mites are just nasty little
creatures that look like tiny little
spiders and they will quickly take over
if you are not proactive with your
treatment so every week i spray my
elephant ears down with captain jack's
dead bug
and this year we are having a big
spider-mite issue in the garden spider
mites do spread to other plants so i
have a lot of plants in the garden that
are suffering from spider mites i am
continuing to spray and stay on top of
it so if you happen to see a spider my
issue on your elephant ears make sure
that you are
taking
control of that situation because it can
spread to
everything else in your garden
along with spraying your plants with
like a neem based insecticide you can
also just hose the leaves off every week
spider mites do not enjoy
moist or humid conditions so that is one
way to keep their numbers low so one of
the questions i get asked most often is
why are my elephant ear leaves turning
yellow
this is a loaded question because it can
be just about anything it can be
fertilizer it can be too much water it
can be too little water it could be too
much sun it could be not enough sun it
could be a pest issue it could be an
over fertilization issue
just so many things so one of the things
that i always ask people is how do you
take care of it
and then you kind of get a list and you
kind of go through that list am i you
know am i over watering it am i is it in
too much sun
did i over fertilize it um
is there a pest issue is this an older
leaf because older leaves do die off
it's normal for
those to turn yellow and fade so another
question that i got is when do you
break these plants down for winter what
do you do when winter time comes what i
do is i dig them up i cut off all of the
roots and the foliage and i allow the
bulbs to dry out
and once they are dry or mostly dry i
put them in paper bags like you would
like a paper
you know lunch bag or like a grocery
paper bag i store them in there and then
i put them in a space that stays cool
kind of like a basement or in a closet
and stays cool and dry so you want it to
be in a space that is not getting a ton
of humidity and a space that is not
you know
moist
so once february comes that's when i
start to wake my elephant ears back up
from their winter slumber and then we
start that process all over again
so my suggestion is if you want to keep
reusing your bulbs every year and you
live in a cooler climate a climate that
experiences frost and hard frost you
will want to leave those elephant ears
in the ground or in pots until that
first frost or close to it just to give
them as long of season as possible to
store energy in the bulb
once you have that first frost or you
get close to it
go ahead and cut that plant back if you
want to store
your plant in the pot you definitely can
do that make sure that that soil dries
out
all the way before you cut off the
foliage and store that pot
so you guys already know how amazing
elephant ears are and having them in the
garden once you get your first one you
will always grow them in your garden
year after year so thank you guys so
much for watching if there were
questions that i did not answer feel
free to leave them below i am so happy
to help you guys with this many of you
have reached out on instagram or in the
comments section and i really appreciate
that i am
happy to help you so if you have a
question ask it
alright guys thank you so much for
watching have a good day bye
you
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