natej740

I got a couple of plants off of the internet and when i got them they were in small pots probably less than a 2" square. They are Colocasia Thailand Giant and Alocasia Borneo Giant! They definitely arent giants now they are only about 4 to 6 inches tall! Should i pot them up in bigger containers and let them get bigger or put them right in the ground? Also with them being tissue cultured clones will they have enough growth at the end of growing season to have a "bulb"? Ive read somewhere someone dug up a huge plant and it had no bulb! I had great success growing elephant ears last year and storing the bulbs in my basement so im hoping i can get them big enough!

nannerfunboi

yea..not an expert on EE's..this will only my 3rd yr..so im a newbie.. LOL
i have great sucess with potting EE starter plants in bigger pots..good soil,good drainage, good light..some fertilizer..i go 1/3 concentration..till they go out in yard..
this yr..got great plants from super supplier but they came froze..so no thai giants this yr.. sigh..
but if your starter plants are healthy..im sure they will do fine..
and ya..they grow fast.. im not totally giving up on thai giant..i have source in S.C. that will have larger plants in june.. so im sure i'll break down and order some..LOL
i put mine in good soil,lots of compost,coco coir,and lots of sun..
my thai giants last yr..got huge!! leaves were over 70" long.. i loved them
good luck to ya !!!!!

Olafhenny

__________________
The reason I joined this forum was to share experiences,
my own and those of others and to learn from them.

RobG7aChattTN

The Thailand Giant will get big in one season, but even with a big bulb I think people have had a lot of trouble overwintering them except in the ground, mulched in zone 8 or higher. Alocasias work well as houseplants, so put a little size on it inside until the weather warms up, then plant it out and plan on making it into a potted plant for next winter indoors.

natej740

Thanks rob...so they are harder to keep than a regular colocasia? Mine were super easy to overwinter I just dug them up and threw them in the basement bare rooted after the first hard freeze. How big should I expect them to get in the first year? And do they get very many offsets?

And thanks again for the bamboo it's doing great still have it potted up and waiting on some new shoots soon!

1aday

Put them in 4" square pots (the deep ones if you have them) and keep them warm. Once the roots are to the bottom and sides move them to a 1 gallon pot until you're ready to move them outside.

__________________
Susan

RobG7aChattTN

I had a small Thai Giant in a pint pot last summer and it got pretty darn big. The plant itself was pretty darn big, but the leaves were HUGE! Different Colocasias overwinter dry differently. Some store easily, some are very difficult. Thai Giants tend to be difficult, and to top it off they don't really put out pups. Mine bloomed and died in late fall and put out two very small pups which I could not overwinter. I don't think they are supposed to die like that. It had cooled off, but was far from freezing. I overwintered a Borneo Giant for a few years (if you count last year when it came up late and didn't do much). It got fairly decent sized, but not much bigger than my Colocasias.

eric27

Nate that was my posting about digging up a big Thai with no bulb. They do make a bulb by the end of the first season, er most do, some make a flat odd tuber thing. Anyway the size of the plant often doesn't match the bulb. The plant is often huge with a smallish tuber-not as big as what you would expect. The tuber forms very slowly. They generally do get big enough to have something to over winter.However, your best bet is to keep it in active growth during the winter. If it goes dormant over winter chances are it will rot on you, in or out of a pot. I have never seen a plant so sensitive to temperature and moisture as the Thai. Also, the roots will rot off if you just think about watering it-whether it is too much water or if the soil is too cool. This plant is so difficult to over winter is much easier to start with a new one in spring, unless you have a heatded greenhouse. I have about 7 I managed to overwinter right now, including the massive one to the left that had leaves 7 feet long. It was well over 11 feet tall last year. I kept it very dry all winter. I lost 2.

The good news, where you live they will grow fast and huge from a small plant. It literally feeds off of high dew points and high temps. During the heat of summer give plenty of water, in a well draining, raised bed. And some fertilizer. It will do well for you even from the small size right now. Do not over water it now.

Your Alocasia should be much easier to overwinter.

Hope this helps.

nannerfunboi

thanks to all for your insights in starting,growing and overwintering EE..
especially the difficult thai giant.. guess thats why so many of us in
cold areas (utah here) still want to try with thai giant.. it is a dynamic
plant because of its size!!!
that and it grows so fast when put in environment of warmth,sun,wram nites,
and good soil..
im probalby not going to buy any thai giants early in spring..they dont make
it in the mail.. so holding off for june when my source in south US has them up for sale..
guess thats my anxiousness ...LOL
happy growing all

sandy0225

Keep the little ones warm and water them just the same as you would a banana of that size, in other words be a little skimpy with the water. As they grow, increase the water and fertilizer and pot size until they are so big you have to put them outside. at 4-6 inches tall, don't go over a 4" pot or you'll overwater and root rot them.

__________________
Sandy Burrell



Northern Tropics Greenhouse
1501 East Fuson Road
Muncie, IN 47302
www.northerntropics.com


specializing in bananas, heirloom tomatoes and water gardening plants~
check out our new online store at our website!

Planter56

I'll stick my two-cents in as well. I order Tai Giant from Logee's and the first one I got was rotted even before I got it. So you can guess what it looked like when I opened the package. They replaced it, but that one also had started to rot and died within the week after getting it. It does seem to be rather finiky. I'd like to try again, but since I'm not sure whats going to happen here, I'll refrain from ordering one again from some place else. I did get a Colcasia "Jacks Giant" and it's a very sturdy grower. It survived 50 degree temps in the lower appartment in my home and it's pups are putting out new growth now, upstairs in my kitchen window. If your worried about soil temp, try a seedling heat mat underneath to keep th soild temps up. And always, always use warm water, never never never cold water.

My other colocasias and Alocasia are now starting to grow as well. Drainage is important in keeping the rot away and also a good fertilizing schedule of a 10-5-10 works well. Of course 20-20-20 works just as well. I did loose my Xansthsomas over the winter to rot in the basement , but my Colocasia's did fine. Lari Ann Garner(spelling) is a fine resourse for info on alocasia's and colocasia's. Try contacting her at Arodia Researsch.com web site. She does a lot of breeding work. Oooops I think I'm rambling and will shut my fingers up.

nannerfunboi

good stuff planter.. my macrorhizas do the best for me.. my jacks giants
were big plants(1gal pots) when i got them.. from a super seller..
they have sent out 2 new leaves now..
i havent given up on thai giant..just picky where i buy them now..and
esp when i buy them.. they are pretty tender.. and im going to take
more care in overwintering than other EEs..

1aday

Kurt, you've stated the main problem with growing TC plants. These plants are grown in greenhouses in FL with high heat and higher humidity than the average home.

Most (and I'm not saying you did this!!) people buy them and take it the 1" plug and put them in a gallon pot, dump a bunch of fertilizer in because they want them to grow fast (thereby burning off the new forming roots), and keep them in a dry house 70 deg or cooler. They either keep them in the dark, or maybe near a cold window. Then they put them in the direct sun for several hours. They know the plants are tropical, so they give them lots of water, even though the plants will not grow unless they are at the proper temperature.

When their plant dies they blame TC.

Last year I ran a plant co-op and grew a lot of Colocasia, Alocasia and Musa from TC. I followed Sandy's directions and didn't lose one. But, I have a greenhouse, which most people don't have.

If a person doesn't have a good place to grow these small plants, they should just bite the bullet and pay a little more for ones that have been started. That way someone else takes the risk!

__________________
Susan

RobG7aChattTN

Amazingly, I just discovered my Colocasia 'Thailand Giant' actually overwintered. It bloomed and died to the ground last late summer and I dug it up, potted it, and put it in a heated closet in my basement (and lit with grow lights for my other plants). It never showed any life, but I splashed a little water on it on occasion anyway. When I moved everything out to my unheated greenhouse this spring, it went along for the ride. I uncovered my greenhouse and let the rain water everything. I was SHOCKED to find three pups poking up out of the pot today. So, I guess not impossible to overwinter indoors. Two little green pups that I tried to overwinter the same way died quickly and I haven't seen any life since.

Planter56

I agree 1aday, many people do jump the gun when getting new plants. I my self usually wait until I see new growth and roots coming out from the bottom of the pot before potting on and fertilizing 1/4 strength a month after receiving. Up here in the cold north, we have to becareful of how much gas we use to heat the house up, so we normally don't have ideal winter conditions, which 'Jacks Giant' seems to take very well actually, But I have found that a few of my Alocasias don't really like a 70 degree house too well. So it's always an experiment as to which will make it and which won't. I do try to get old enough pups that will make the trip from whereever their coming from.

There are times that I wish growers would hold up shipment until the weather is better, as we ask them to, but they don't always listen, and then well (making the sign of the cross and saying a few Hail Mary's) we hope when we get something in the mail, it's not dead. Unfortunately, I think with the TG's that I ordered, the plant was cut too soon from the parent and it wasn't cleaned well and a fungicide applied as in both times the rot started from the cut end. I also think they over watered them before shipping, whereas I would have prefered them to be on the dry side. A wilted plant I can deal with, rotting I can't. I'm rambling again.... I"d relly like to start getting my guys outside, but we're having unusually cold weather, even for us up here in Buffalo, NY.

Congrats Rob on your discovery. I hope they make it to hugeness! YOu'll have to show pictures later in the growing season.