How to Grow Elephant Ears

Elephant Ears (also know as Colocasias, Alocasias, or Xanthosoma) are warm weather plants with large oversized heart-shaped leaves that resemble the ears of an elephant. While the varieties of plants are native to different parts of the world (South America, Central America, Asia, Africa, and Australia), they are known to be easy-to-grow plants that thrive in warmer climates. But they can be used as annuals, which are dug up to winter indoors until it is warm again in cooler areas.

Elephant Ears are also known for their fast-growing foliage and the ability to reach a mature size in just one growing season, making them a good pick for quick summer greenery or as a focal point in a flower bed. Rather than traditional bulbs, Elephant Ears grow from corms (also called “tubers”), which are a swollen underground stem that resembles a bulb and they grow over time as they are planted over and over.

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Can Elephant Ear plants stay outside in the winter?

You’ll want to check the cold hardiness zones for the variety of plant that you buy as it can vary from one plant to the next. Some winter outside in areas as cold as zone 6 while others can only tolerate a zone 9 winter.

How often should I water Elephant Ears?

Elephant Ears are high water plants and the more water you give them, the more they will grow! While the majority prefer to have wet (not soggy) soil, some varieties can even be put into a pot that’s submerged in water and grown as a marsh or pond plant. During summer, potted plants will need to be watered daily (or even several times a day) to avoid the soil drying out.

How much sunlight do Elephant Ears need?

Most varieties want full sun to partial shade, but there are some like Black Magic that prefer an even shadier situation. If the climate is extremely hot, an area that provides some afternoon shade is preferable. Plants with darker leaves need more light to keep their color, but the sunnier the spot, the more you’ll have to water the plant to keep up with its moisture requirements.

If you are keeping your plant indoors as a houseplant, you’ll want to find a sunny window where it will receive a lot of bright, indirect light. Avoid direct sunlight on a houseplant as that can cause leaf burn.

Should I fertilize my Elephant Ears?

Like a lot of other large tropical plants, Elephant Ears do well with heavy feeding, so you can give them a good general purpose fertilizer at least once a month.

Temperature and Humidity for Elephant Ears

As they are mostly tropical plants, Elephant Ears prefer daytime temperatures around 70°F and don’t like to go below 60°F at night. Most plants can’t handle a winter below USDA zones 8 or 9, with the exception of varieties like the Colocasia esculenta Pink China that can survive cooler climates like zone 6.

These plants thrive in high humidity, so they will struggle outdoors in a hot-yet-dry climate. You can use a humidifier near an Elephant Ear houseplant or mist the plant often.

Planting Elephant Ears

Check the variety of Elephant Ear you have for spacing before planting as they can grow between 2-6′ wide. You’ll want to wait to plant until nighttime temperatures are consistently between 50-60°F. Plant corms 4-6″ deep (larger corms are planted on the deeper side) in well draining soil.

If growing in a container, plant the Elephant Ear in well draining soil in a large container with drainage holes. Use a combination of potting mix (add vermiculite or perlite to help the soil properly drain if not already included in your mix) and a heavy dose of organic matter for nutrients (things like plant roots, leaves, mulch and animal manures). 

Repotting Elephant Ears

You can repot a potted Elephant Ear that’s outgrown its container by dividing the plant, separating any new corms from the main bulb, and repotting the divided plant and new corms in fresh soil.

Pruning Elephant Ears

During the summer growing season, you can cut off any brown leaves on indoor or outdoor plants at the base of the plant to make way for new growth.

If you are leaving your Elephant Ears outside all year long, you’ll want to cut them back to prepare them for winter. After the first frost, you should cut the plant stalks down to about 2-3″ off the ground and the plant will regrow during the next warm season.

Overwintering

Before the first frost, in zones 3-7, plants will have to be dug up and brought inside. You can either prune back the stems and dig the corm up to store in a cool, dry place over the winter (like a basement or garage as long as it’s not freezing in there). Lay the freshly dug corm out to air dry for a week to prevent root rot, then wrap in paper and store in a cardboard box.

To create a houseplant over the winter, you can leave a couple of leaves intact and plant the Elephant Ear in a container until the weather warms up again. If you chose the houseplant route, you’ll want to “harden” the plants in the spring by moving them to a covered porch for a few days to acclimate to the outdoors before planting in the ground.

Propagating and Dividing Elephant Ears

When you dig up your corm at the end of a season, you’ll see that there are smaller corms starting to offshoot from the main bulb. Wearing gloves to protect from the sap, simply break off the smaller corms (or cut off with a sterile knife), allow the cut areas to dry and heal, and then wrap them in paper to store with your main corms over the winter. Plant the small corms in the spring to produce more plants.

Types of Elephant Ears

The choice of Elephant Ear varieties is numerous, but the most popular ones come from the Alocasia, Colocasia, and Xanthosoma genus: 

Alocasia

• Polly: A smaller cultivar, this plant showcases ruffled leaves with white veins.
• Zebrina: A standout species with zebra-striped stems.

Colocasia

• Coffee Cups: This hybrid plant boasts a unique leaf shape as the foliage folds upwards to form a cup shape. 
• Black Magic: This variety has purple-black leaves and is one of the most popular black leaf cultivars.
• Thailand Giant: One of the largest varieties, these leaves can grow up to 4′ wide by 5′ long.
• Illustris: Extremely dark green matte leaves are the hallmark of this plant. Bright green veins accent the leaves, and, rather than corms, the plants spread by underground runners.

Xanthosoma

• Lime Zinger: These large chartreuse to lime-green leaves have arrow-shaped leaves. It grows 2 to 4′ tall and up to 3′ wide.
• X. lindenii: This variety showcases a beautiful silvery and white leaf.

Diagnosing common problems

• Pests: Aphids, mealybugs, and spider mites are the main pests for Elephant Ears. If an infection occurs, apply a horticultural soap to the leaves to treat the pests.
• Fungal leaf blight: A more common issue for Elephant Ears, if you see lesions that ooze a purple or yellow fluid, you’ll want to remove the affected stalks and leaves before it spreads to the rest of the plant.
• Yellow leaves: This can be a sign that the plant is getting either too much or too little sunlight, that you are overwatering or under-watering, or that you are over fertilizing or under fertilizing. Tweak your water and feeding first to see if that helps and then consider changing its location if the yellowing continues. Yellow leaves can also appear when the plant is simply starting to go dormant for the season.
• Drooping leaves: Leaves can droop if they become too heavy (you can use a stake if needed) or because you need to adjust their water, food, or light level. Temperature can also cause the leaves to droop if it becomes too cold.
• Wilted leaves: Generally, wilting leaves are due to too little light or water. Try watering more often and move to a less sunnier spot if that doesn’t do the trick.
• Stunted leaves: Leaves that stay smaller or grow in deformed usually indicate that you need more food, light, or water.