I have a thing for Elephant Ears. My mom's second ex-husband, while they were still just dating, had a giant specimen outside of his basement apartment. I don't think he was growing it; it just lived there, too.
So anyway, ever since I went to New York and saw some nice ones in Times Square, I have been seeing these everywhere in DC. Well, not really everywhere. Mostly western Northwest (where the rich folk live. Have you ever tried to buy Elephant Ear bulbs? They're pricey!). I live kind of smack-dab in the middle of Northwest, so I have pretty easy access to all parts!
I took this photo of a nice clump of gigantic leaves (above), but then, walking by to meet a friend for dinner, I noticed a few yellowing leaves. The effect was stunning, to me! I don't know if the plant is dying or what, but it's looking hella-pretty!
I am debating buying some of these for the Mr. Yogato garden next year. I think I would be overstretching that plot of land.
But, I could buy a gigantic tub and have an extra container garden... There's this nice shady spot, too, near the grape vines... I think it would work...!
Elephant Ears
I think that plant would last like 43 seconds in my neck of the woods. Southwest desert. It is cool though.
ReplyDeleteThey are expensive.
ReplyDeleteI bought one from work and planted it up with a bunch of Caladium bulbs around the base: it hasn't really worked out very well, and I'm not sure why. I mean, the Caladiums are doing great so far, knock wood, but the elephant ear itself never seems to be able to grow more than two or three leaves at a time. This could be my fault (it's in a container, and although the Caladiums weren't very big, there were a lot of them, because I didn't think most of them would come up, so maybe it's also crowded) or the weather's (wet, cold, windy), but so far I'm kind of disappointed.
Love these plants... but in my experience they can be pretty thirsty.
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