A must for that BIG leaf jungly effect
Alocasia macrorrhiza 'Borneo Giant'
The Alocasia family. The main distinctions between Alocasia and Colocasia is that the Alocasia have their leaves poining upward on the stem rather than downward, and that Alocasia must have a free draining compost where as Colocasia can be grown in a pond.. Alocasia are not so easy to identify, as they hybridise easily and amature Americans breed all sorts of hybrids, so you can never be totally sure that you are getting the plant you expect. Another problem with identification is that the young leaves may differ significantly in shape from the adult ones, so comparing a small plant with pictures of an adult may not give a match. The pictures on this page are correct as far as I can tell, but identification can be a minefield.
Colocasia Black Magic
Argueably the most stunning of the Colocasias. Huge deepest purple, black, heart shaped leaves 24 x 18 inches, up to 5 feet high
Colocasia esculenta
The Common Taro. Plain green form. Grows well with its feet in the water. Grows to about 4 ft with 18 x 12 inch deep green leaves. Some have some darker banding between the veins.
Colocasia Illustris
Another stunning Colocasia, rivalling Black Magic, but easier to overwinter. Purple/black 24 x 12 leaves with contrasting bright green veins.
Colocasia Burgundy Stem
Monster Elephant Ear Plant. 3 ft by 2ft heart shaped leaves atop 6ft shiny burgundy stems. Grows as fast as Bananas
Colocasia Fontanesii
The waxy leaved Taro - Dark green, waxy, heart shaped leaves 18 x 12, with purple veins, on 4ft shiny purple stems.
- The picture above show a mass planting of Colocasia
esculenta, Fontanesii, Burgundy Stem, a yellow with red
striped Musa sikkimensis, with Canna Indica, and Black
Bamboo as the backdrop. with trailing Petunia to the
front. The the right of the picture is a Black Hamburg
grape. Picture taken at the end of August 2005.
For best effect plant out in groups of 4 to 5 plants. This mimics the natural clump forming habit of this type of plant. An idividual plant only has 3 to 4 leaves, after which they become very tatty and die off. This is natural, and not a culture problem. The pictures you see of plants in more tropical climates are actually clumps of plants with up to 10 suckers.
In warmer climates, where temperatures are higher for longer this clumping forms naturally, but in cooler climates, and we are near the edge of its growing region, you need to give them a head start. A single plant will only have 3 to 4 leaves, whereas 5 plants in a group will have 15 to 20 leaves.
Burgundy Stem 8th Oct 2006
You cannot beat the effect of mass planting of these plants for that truly tropical look. To buy enough plants commercially, would be very expensive, so it is better to propagate your own.
I lift the plants before they are frosted, which here (Chalk) is mid to late October, or Early in Decmeber in 2006!, but it may be earlier elsewhere. Divide the suckers and pot them up into small pots in a well drained compost with the collar of the plant exposed. Keep root damage to a minimum. Keep any runners on the plant to fully ripen, coiling around the inside of the pot.
Burgundy Stem potted sucker
The well drained bit is important for successful overwintering of some varieties, especially Black Magic, and small pots as the roots won't be agressiviely growing over the winter. Then place in a bright to sunny, frost free, place, 7C minimum for Black Magic types.. The plants will happily grow, very slowly, over the winter. Keep dryish, and only water from the bottom by standing the pot in 1cm (1/2 inch) of water for a minute.
In the spring the plants will show visible signs of growth and should then be watered more frequently. Once growing strongly repot into larger pots or tubs in moisture retentive compost ready for planting out after the frosts.. This can all be brought forward by using bottom heat, giving bigger, more established plants.
The 2006 plants started out late due to a cold early spring, but this was compensated for by the extremely warm summer and mild Autumn and Winter.
Please see the Colicasia Propagation Page for full details of Sucker and Runner propagation.