Colocasia Gigantea Thailand Giant Elephant Ear Plant

My Colocasia Gigantea Thailand Giant grew extremely fast from little 6 inch leaves to 5 foot leaves in one summer. The Colocasia Gigantea is the fastest growing and most amazing tropical plant in my California garden zone 9b. There are two varieties of the Colocasia Gigantea - The Thai Giant and the Common strain. The Thai Giant is the larger of the two strains. The large five foot leaves make the plant a showstopper It is the largest elephant ear plant in my garden.

I found the Colocasia Gigantea for sale on eBay from the seller gray-gardens for $9.99 plus shipping. It did not come as a bulb, but as a small plant in a pot. The bulbs that are for sale are not colocasia gigantea. They are taro roots known as colocasia esculenta, which is a much smaller plant and will not grow five foot leaves. Before I bought the plant, I purchased bulbs that were listed as colocasia gigantea for over $5 each. When I received them, I knew the bulbs were taro roots because I have bought many of them at the grocery store for 50 cents each to grow in my garden. I sent them back for a refund, the return address was for a grocery store. Learn from my mistake, and buy a plant, not the bulb if you want a true colocasia gigantea plant. To care for the plant, I let the Colocasia Gigantea grow indoors for a few weeks before planting it outdoors. I watered it 3 to 4 times a week and fertilized it 2 times a month during the growing season. The plant grew quickly with five foot leaves in less than five months. The plant only has three to five leaves growing. The older leaves turn yellow and die off as another leaf grows. I cut off the yellowing leaves to keep the plant looking green and healthy. At the end of the season, if it is mature enough, the Colocasia Gigantea will flower. Mine did not flower this season. As winter came and the temperatures dropped into the 30's the leaves died and I left the bulb in the ground to overwinter. My neighbor wanted the bulb to cook, but the Colocasia Gigantea bulb is not edible. This plant is my favorite tropical plant in my garden, the large elephant ear shaped leaves stand out from the rest of the tropical plants. Grow this plant and it will be the highlight of your garden.

Alocasia vs. Colocasia | Which is Your Favorite

 

All 16 different types of elephant ears that I grew in the first season of my tropical garden. Alocasia vs. Colocasia - Which is your favorite elephant ear plant? Here is the complete list of all the elephant ears in this video from start to finish. 1. Colocasia Mojito 2. Alocasia Mayan Mask 3. Colocasia Imperial Gigantea 4. Alocasia Calidora 5. Colocasia Black Coral 6. Colocasia Gigantea Thailand Giant 7. Colocasia Sangria 8. Xanthosoma Arrowleaf 9. Colocasia Bikini-Tini 10. Colocasia Jack's Giant 11. Colocasia Illustris 12. Alocasia Macrorrhiza 13. Colocasia Diamond Head 14. Colocasia Fontanesii 15. Colocasia Hawaiian Punch 16. Colocasia Esculenta Which is your favorite? Let me know in the comments. Colocasia vs. Alocasia Elephant Ears. Watch to see the difference between the Colocasia and Alocasia Elephant Ears? Here's a tip from the video, the Colocasia Elephant Ear Plants have the tip of their leaves pointing downwards, while the Alocasia Elephant Ear Plants have the tip of their leaves pointing upwards.

Scarifying Canna Lily Seeds to Germinate

 

Which method was 100% successful? Which method was easiest? I tried six methods of scarifying Canna Lily seeds to find out. Sandpaper, Nail Clippers, Rotary Tool, Boiling Water, Hydrogen Peroxide, and Blender were the methods I used to scarify canna seeds so that they would germinate and grow into Canna Lily plants. I used sandpaper to try and rub off part of the hard shell of the canna seed. I tried to nick the canna seed using nail clippers, a rotary tool, and a blender. I tried two methods of softening the hard canna lily seed shell, soaking in hydrogen peroxide and water, and pouring boiling water onto the seeds. The boiling water method is the easiest method and 7 out of 10 seeds germinated and grew into canna lily plants. The Rotary Tool method was the most effecient method as 10 out of 10 seeds germinated. But it is a more time consuming method. The Boiling Water method is best if you have a lot of seeds, while the Rotary Tool method is the best if you have a handful of seeds to scarify. The other methods - sandpaper, blender, and hydrogen peroxide were unsuccessful or in the case of the blender method you might end up wasting too many seeds figuring out which setting your blender will scarify the seeds without destroying them. I recommend the Rotary Tool method and the Boiling Water method to scarify canna lily seeds.