Colocasia Thailand Giant flowers reduce leaf size?
 

I know there are a few of you on here that grow Thailand Giant, have any of you noticed that the flowers seem to reduce the size of the leaves? I have 6 plants all from one original, and every time they start to flower, the leaves are no longer very giant, maybe due to energy being put into the blooms. As an experiment, I am going to start clipping them off, I am pretty sure there is a connection. Also after growing them a couple of years, I am pretty sure Thailand Giant is a Colocasia/Alocasia hybrid. I am no expert, but its just too different from other EE. In some ways it closely resembles my Alocasia Odora. Mine also produce two forms of offsets, just like some hybrid Alocasia do, It produces short runners, and also little bulblets. Thai Giant grow very easy from seed by the way, I saved a pod just in case I want to grow some more, although I am not sure why, I get quite a few offsets if I dig around the mother bulb.

Re: Colocasia Thailand Giant flowers reduce leaf size?
 

Pics? How hard are they to grow from seed.

Re: Colocasia Thailand Giant flowers reduce leaf size?
 

Oops haha, I cut all the flowers off except one pod. Here is a pic of the mother last year with flowers, I collected a ton of seed. It grew from a small TC plant in spring, to this size by mid summer. I had unthinkingly planted it under a hickory, and it started looking like Swiss cheese so I had to dig it, and put it in a tub mid season, the tub is wider than a persons shoulders. They germinate in about 2 weeks for me, I soak them overnight, and put them in a tray of soil, let them grow to about an inch tall then separate. Do NOT squish the seed pods with your fingers, or you will get thousands of tiny crystals in your fingertips that burn like crazy. They grow slowly over winter under grow lights from seed, but once it gets warm outside, they grow like crazy. I gave all of them away this spring that I had started from seed from this plant, as I found 6 bulblets around the mother bulb/tuber, and there are 3 new ones coming up so far around her this summer. She is not nearly that large this year, it seems like once they develop flowers, they never get that large again, and they produce a lot of flowers. I am hoping the flower removal will give them a boost.

Re: Colocasia Thailand Giant flowers reduce leaf size?
 

YES!! When mine flowers the leaves get small. I hate it! I try to cut off the flowers. But it just seems to make more and more flowers as I cut them off. The next leaf will bring more flowers.

I wish there was a way to prevent it from flowering and focus on just BIG leaves!

I have never grown them from seed, I toss the flowers so I have not ever attempted to harvest seeds.

Re: Colocasia Thailand Giant flowers reduce leaf size?
 

I thought that was it lol, in the pics you see of them online when they are huge, you never see the flowers, and they will bloom when still small. I think the sellers probably remove them to get the huge size for the photos. Yeah, every new leaf has a new bunch of flowers with them, they look kinda neat, but I want the huge leaves.

Re: Colocasia Thailand Giant flowers reduce leaf size?
 

I just keep feeding with nitrogen, and cut flowers as they form. Leaf production is pretty slow in flower as well as smaller

Re: Colocasia Thailand Giant flowers reduce leaf size?
 

Got tired of my thai giant because of blooms and leaf reduction. I yanked it and replaced it with borneo giant alocasia.