Diamond Head Elephant Ear

This was the first elephant ear plant that I’ve purchased, and it was a bargain! I found the Diamond Head elephant ear for sale at my Costco. The bulbs were from Longfield Gardens and were only $13.99 for two bulbs, much cheaper than the ones sold on the Longfield Gardens website.

One already had three sprouts growing from the bulb, because of its head start, it grew much bigger and faster than the other bulb and I potted the bulbs in soil right away. After a few weeks in the pots, I planted them in my tropical garden. They provide a stark and beautiful contrast to the backdrop of green leaves from my Musa Basjoo banana plants and Canna Lilies.

These elephant ears grow fast! Watch the video. The one with the sprouts grew 5 feet tall with big bold dark leaves in a matter of months. The leaves start out being dark green and as they grow they turn black. The stems are really beautiful as they are a stunning red color like the Colocasia Sangria. But they are hard to see as this elephant ear plant has a clumping style of growth in its leaves. Near the end of the video there is a great shot of the beautiful red elephant ear stems. People walking past my house ask me about this elephant ear plant all the time, when I’m out gardening.

I water the plant three to four times a week. They can’t get enough water! Like other Colocasia Esculenta taro plants can grow in water. As winter came, the plant slowly died back to the ground. I dug up the bulbs and found about ten bulbs of varying sizes. I brought a few indoors to grow in pots under a grow light, I kept some stored in a paper bag, and I left a few in the ground to overwinter to see if they would come back in the summer.

I am glad I bought these elephant ear bulbs as they have started my hobby of growing elephant ears in my garden. By the end of the summer, I hope to have over 25 different varieties of elephant ears in my tropical garden. ~tropifonia