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View Full Version : Anybody grow Alocasia Borneo Giant??


natej740
06-19-2010, 10:56 PM
I think im gonna order one soon and was wandering if anybody has had any luck growing them and how big do they get? How do they reproduce do they pup like a banana??

palmtree
06-20-2010, 12:08 AM
I got a stump of one if that counts :) They are suppose to be easy to grow but I havent had luck with mine. Its in shade now slowly rotting but I think Im going to do it a favor and repot it into a pot in full sun.

Abnshrek
06-20-2010, 05:41 AM
I know my pink china pups like crazy.. :^)

mbfirey
06-20-2010, 04:04 PM
I planted one from a small pot about a month ago... just getting going, no pups yet. I know most of the "colocasias" pup a good bit. As far as Alocasias, I'm growing Odora, Portadora, and Brian Williams. The only one starting to pup is the Odora.

Dean W.
06-20-2010, 04:15 PM
I got some from jimmmy, but forgot what they are.

hydroid
06-21-2010, 12:10 AM
I've been growing them for a year or two. I had one get about 12 ft. last year. If it's the same thing that you're calling a "Borneo Giant". It looks almost prehistoric. My show stopper this year is a Calocasia Gigantea. I gotta post some pics of it. Hope this helps.
Bo

natej740
06-21-2010, 01:51 AM
I've been growing them for a year or two. I had one get about 12 ft. last year. If it's the same thing that you're calling a "Borneo Giant". It looks almost prehistoric. My show stopper this year is a Calocasia Gigantea. I gotta post some pics of it. Hope this helps.
Bo

Yes thanks. Post some pics if them if you have any. I think I have Calosasia Gigantea also. I am growing elephant ears for the first time and was wandering if i bought 1 plant do they spread so i would have more plants this fall when i dig them up or do you only get 1 plant per corm you plant??

mbfirey
06-21-2010, 06:12 AM
In theory they should all pup, but like bananas, and agaves, some are more prolific than others- In my experience the Colocasias (the more standard elephant ear)- like Thailand Giant pup more than the Alocasias.
Simple way to tell the difference is that Colocasia leaves attach from the back, Alocasias point upwards...

hydroid
06-21-2010, 09:20 PM
Hey Nate
I uploaded some photos in members galleries if you care to take a look. Hope this helps
Bo

LilRaverBoi
06-21-2010, 09:58 PM
Saw your pics...very cool! How old are those plants? I have a Colocasia Jacks Giant, but have been able to get leaves that I would even consider 'medium' so far (and I've had it well over a year). I really want to achieve large leaves like that, but they don't seem to do well for me in a pot :(

hydroid
06-22-2010, 01:48 AM
I got the Gigantea at the end of last year. I have started leaving my elephant ears in pots until they get good size bulbs and then I put them in the ground, it seems to give them a head start. I also live in a fairly mild climate along the gulf coast. Most of the elephant ears will split off and multiply. Hope this helps.
Bo

sandy0225
06-22-2010, 06:29 AM
I have 52 borneo giants that I got in this spring. I'll have to say so far I'm impressed. They are just as easy to grow as my calidora I've had for 5 years now or more. They are growing really fast, and already have leaves 6" across. Not too bad considering when I got them they were 1.5 inches tall. Agristarts didn't want to send them to me so small. They told me they weren't ready and I asked them to send them anyway because it's so much cheaper on shipping if they all come together. I haven't lost even one of them.
They are on sale right now too on my website! They are currently about 8-12" tall and growing so fast I'm going to have to cut them back soon to keep them shippable.

I'd say go for it, they seem so easy. They like to be kept wet and hot with part shade and lots of fertilizer from what I've seen. You need to do the same with your Jack's giant. I keep them in 1 gallon pots or even 4" pots in the greenhouse sitting in trays with about 1" of water that's injected with 20-20-20 at 200 ppm. Grow them like the swamp plants that they are and they'll really take off!
I've also had great luck with alocasia Sarian and I've got some of them right now too that are about 20" tall and getting big. They are going to be good puppers, a couple of them are already pupping in the 3.5" pots.

Alocasias are some of my favorites!

natej740
06-22-2010, 03:22 PM
Thanks Sandy i was going to get one off of you and probably get a few more bananas. So what should i do when cold weather comes? Do i just chop it down and dig up the corm and roots? Ive tried to find out how to care for them but there really isnt a whole lot of info out about them yet.

Hydroid, Great pics Those EE's and Saba's are huge!

Steve L
06-22-2010, 03:51 PM
I've tried it 3 times. It's only marginally hardy in zone 9. It did get a little larger each year after being knocked down to the ground from a frost but never reached the size of the pictures. Harsh winters kill it. I lost it again this winter. I'm not replacing it.

Steve

hydroid
06-22-2010, 09:46 PM
Thanks Nate, I may try and post a few more pics in member's galleries tomorrow. It rained today and I think that Gigantea grew another foot. Thanks
Bo

sandy0225
06-23-2010, 06:14 AM
It seems to be just a bigger version of macrorrhiza from a growth standpoint. So I'm thinking care would be the same. So far it's been identical to grow for me.
I'm planning on keeping it in the greenhouse with minimum temp 50 and just not watering/fertilizing it as much in the winter. My customers that don't have greenhouses are reporting good success keeping macrorrhiza and calidora just indoors as a houseplant and keeping it a lot drier in the winter than in the summer. Some of them have to cut it back before bringing it in, and they're reporting that it will grow back slowly over winter and that makes the plant more manageable as they get bigger. I have one lady that never lets her calidora go outside, it lives behind her sofa for the last three years. She no longer has a curtain on that window now because it's so big she doesn't need one.