Randy4ut

I received several differnt types of EE's from a good friend of mine awhile back... They are doing wonderfully, but I want to know some more info on them... My friend gave me the common name that they thought was correct and I want to know exactly what it is that I have... Could somebody look at the following pictures and give me the scientific names of each plant? If a better pic is needed, just let me know and what exactly I need to try and capture in the pic to help with identification, I will do my best...
Thanks so much for the help in advance...

Pic#1


Blue Taro?

Pic#2



Bloom on #2


Purple stem taro?

Pic #3


Black stem taro?

Pic #4


Ruffles?

Again, thank you for the input...
Randy

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aroidgrower

Randy your plants are very nice I can ID them all but the messed up thing is most all colocasias that are sold are one species esculenta. All the forms are just cultured forms of that species.

Your first pic looks to be Xanthosoma Atroverins but with this group it is hard to get a exact name with out a flower but the blue coloration makes me think its this species.

The next is colocasia fontanesii so is the third

Next is Colocasia esculenta violet stem

and then last colocasia esculenta ruffles

Good luck growing them.

Randy4ut

Many thanks, Aroidgrower...
I thought you would be the one to answer my questions... Is the Xanthosoma Atroverins, the scientific name for "Blue Taro"? I am having trouble finding any information on either name... Got a good link where I can learn more about each of the plants??? Again, thank you for your help...
Randy

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Steve in France

While we are on the subject of Alocasia/Colocasia. I was given an Alocasia Gigantea the other day , the big form not the form that pups like crazy and never gets big in Europe. In Europe we know this plant as Colocasia Gigantea , so is it Colocasia or Alocasia? It has heavy veining like Alocasia but holds it's leaves horizontal to dropping like Colocasia.
Later
Steve

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aroidgrower

Their are a lot of forms of Xanthosoma violaceum is the one commonly called blue taro. Taro usually means colocasia but xanthosomas are commonly miss ID as them.
The form you have is Xanthosoma atroverins I sold a form and named one Xanth Blue giant years ago. It is a gian form of atroverins with dark blue leaves a bit different than the form you have their.

The Colocasia gigantea their are two forms. One form seems to be a sort of mutation that easily pups and is fairly cold hardy here. The other form is a much much larger grower and probably the reason the species has this name. It is not as hardy and rarely if ever pups.

I should add that their is a Alocasia on the market called Gigantea. This is one miss ID and it was later ID as a blue or purple stem Odora out of China. Its stems are purple and its leaves upright. It has shown to be somewhat hardy which is uncommon for us here up north with Alocasias.

Steve in France

Thanks Brian , that really helps a lot and explains why UKOasis growers like myself only have small results from Colocasia Gigantea. I'll pass on your answer to the UKOasis guys. Thanks again
Later
Steve

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Tangy

Very interesting. I have 2 plants I know are some type of elephant ear but I was wondering about this one. Its more of the size of my caladium leaves but it grows like an elephant ear.

I guess I should of been mulching these plants?? Any suggestions of mulches for EE?

Thanks- michael

Randy4ut

Tangy,
From what I can tell, it looks like an Illustria... I may be wrong that that would be my guess... As far as mulch goes, I personally mulch all my beds with cypress mulch at least 3-4"...

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Steve in France

For mulch on that bed I'd put down well rotted cow maure plus leaf mold and finish it with a top layer of Bark Mulch. It will feed the soil , the worms will pull down the organic mulch to mix and airate the soil , plus the mulch will hold the moisure in which means less watering. A top layer of Bark Mulch will keep the weeds down and make the plants look like they are in a Pro garden.
Worth a thought
Later
Steve

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Tangy

Randy, Thanks for the info. The cypress mulch is readily available and very cheap in these parts so I think I will give it a shot this year. I already have some mulching a the lirope I put out this year.

This sounds like something to aspire for next summer. Thanks for the help!

aroidgrower

For mulching you should look for something that is organic and decays fast. As it rots it produces heat and helps protect the plant even more.

Hay/ cyperus mulch / pine straw do not work well

Hardwood mulch / chopped up leaves both work very well.


The mulch should be removed early spring if not the plant will sufficate.

Randy4ut

Tangy,
The main reason I started using cypress is because other wood mulches tend to attract termites and I have beds fairly close to the house... The other reason I use it is because it tends to stay put during heavy rains and I didn't want mulch in my pool.. I know it doesn't break down very fast which is good and bad, but I use other means to provide nutrients to my plants... I leave my mulch on year round to suppress weeds as well as retain moisture... I have used cypress mulch for 3 years now and have no ill effects from it... That is just my .02 worth on the subject...
BTW, I misspelled the ee you wanted identified... I was in a hurry and hit a instead of s.... 'Illustrius' Anyone else have a definite id???

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Steve in France

On the mulch front I always think of it in terms of what a forest floor is like in a Tropical zone , generally the soil is poor and most of the good stuff is locked up in living trees and plants. The leafmold and rotting old growth wood feeds the living plants. So with my garden in France which had poor soil to start with I mulched with manure and leafmold/garden compost. When I used straw or wood chips which have a high level of cellulose material ,which is hard for the bacteria in the mulch to break down without taking nitrogen from the mulch to use as energy. With high Cellulose stuff I also added a high nitrogen fertilizer to help with rapid breakdown of the harder organic material. What you get from a good mulching method is lots of minerals and other trace elements that plants use to grow at the maximum rate. With the short cool Summers in the part of Europe where our house is getting maximum effect was important . My main focus in Europe was Bamboo , Aroids ,Musa and Ensete my results with all were very good. If you take a look at my gallery you will see the growth on Ensete's and such. I also water everyday , that gets expensive on metered water , but gardening was my only Hobby so I did not care about the cost. Here in Bethesda I have not planted much in the soil , the soil here is poor and full of clay, so I'm going to have to improve it. in the areas which have flowerbeds.
Most of plants are in containers and I'm using the compost mixs you guys have recommended for Musa and such.Because this place is a rental I'm forced to container garden for the moment.
I hope my garden in France is ok, I'm not visiting it until next year.
Later
Steve

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Jane

That EE looks exactly like my Illustris. That's what I would say it is also.

Jane

Steve in France

Brian , if you have a minute could you pop over to UKOasis to comfirm the ID on Colocasia Gigantea , or not confirm :-)

http://ukoasis.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t...06335a68516f16

Thanks
Steve

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Tangy

Great pics! In particular the one with the boys head in relation to the ears. Got to get one of those.

At the risk of sounding foolish, is the Colocasia Gigantea the biggest EE?

Thanks- michael

Steve in France

If my ID is right and based on my limited experience I'd say this Colocasia has the biggest leaves I've seen on a Colocasia. Plus my friend says these leaves are small compared with the leaves he had on it last year. I'm hoping that there are some seeds forming in those old flower heads so I can grow a few to send to people. It only has one more pup on it at the moment and the pup I had seem less like a pup than a bit of old tuber that had grown about ten inches from the main plant. It could have been a seedling from a couple of years ago. I'll have to go back and ask Dan what he has noticed in the way of pupping and seeds.I should also say that the Colocasia in the pics is growing in a bit too much shade so the newer leaves are trying to turn up toward the Sun and do so until they get a bit older and heavier and then they are held in a horizon position.
I like that Xanthosoma Atroverins Randy has , I'd love to get the Blue Giant form.
Later
Steve

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Lagniappe

Hey Steve ,
I get a few (3-5) pups per year from this alocasia .

It actually gets larger than this but this bed is starved for organic material . I have to fertilize it regularly to keep it from looking chlorotic . Within the next few days these beds will get a huge drink of tea . I've just had wait for a break in the rain so that I could start "brewing" again .

Steve in France

Hi Pete , that's a good size plant , I'm not so hot on green Alocasia ID but it looks like an Alocasia Mac to me . I have the 'Bornea Giant' form here but it's a new plant and not near that big yet. Hope you get time to make the tea :-)
Later
Steve
p.s. I've never seen flowers in a group like the ones on the Colocasia , is this normal for this plant , normal for me is single Spaths from the center of the plant ?

I went to see my friend Dan who gave me the Colocasia Gigantea pup , he said it was from Brian's Botanicals AKA Aroidgrower . Good to know
I've wanted to grow a big Colocasia Gigantea for years and the form in Europe is small and pups too much , so I'm very happy now to have the large form .
Later
Steve

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Lagniappe

I was watching "Platoon" a few days ago, and there were a lot of what appeared to be Xanthosoma atroverins in the landscape.