Hardy colocasias

[SteveW]

Has anyone on here been surprised by any colocasias that they left out last winter?
It's practically a given that gaoligonensis is hardy at least here in our part of the country and mammoths another proving to be hardy.
But while looking round the garden this afternoon I noticed that pink chinas back for the second year running. A result after this last winter
Another that's just emerging from the corm and stolons is formosana,nicknamed the octopus collie. As it's very prolific at producing stolons
Also I found another that's either aquatalis or gigantea,the leaf hasn't unfurled yet so can't Id it just yet. But to be sure a definite result either way.
Ill be leaving more of these out this year in slightly more favourable positions
Anyone else had theirs come back yet

[grub]

No

[SteveW]

You got some seriously cold weather though didnt you grub?
We got away lightly compared to most here.
There's still a chance some could come back though. It's only the gaoligons that've been up for months the rest are just reshooting now.

[Dave Brown]

Steve, I guess your garden must be slightly warmer than mine, and I know you are just that bit closer to the Thames/Medway estuary, so stayed a couple of degrees warmer.

I have C. e Mammoth coming back after it's 4th winter, tucked up against the north facing front bungalow wall. Also I have what I think is C gaolagongensis, just starting to come back now. C gaolagongensis has a habit of rotting off in summer, not sure why I remember others had a similar problem.

I have Pink China but that was potted and in the conservatory, as I only got it last October. C formosana, rotted during the summer in 2009. I hoped some of the stolons might come back but it appeared whatever took the main plant out killed the whole thing.

I think generally this spring has been too dry for Colocasia sprouting unless watered regularly. My biggest gaolagongensis rhizome top rotted off but the bottom half is sat there firm but not doing anything. Hopefully after yesterday's thunderstorms the ground is wetted though and with a bit of additional watering I can coax them up.

A lot of Colocasia are rated at USDA Zone 7b, but I think we are too cold/wet normally. What has your soil wetness been like over winter

[musa_monkey]

As an experiment last year i left a few colocasia burgundy stem out.
A few in the ground and a few in pots just to see if any would survive.
They all croaked

Not unexpected and i had a few others in the greenhouse that survived fine.
I like this plant, very easy to propagate, grows well and over winters well in a frost free space.

[SteveW]

Never had any problems with my gaoligons Dave
I've got them planted out in various places,the main clump is just in front of the big planter that holds my washy.Probably the sunniest part of the garden in winter and in itself the beds been double dug with loads of added manure and sharp sand for drainage.So its got to be relatively free draining,as much as clays going to be anyway
The main clump was very early to wake up as you may've read on facebook a while back,but the others are only just starting to move.
I have made a point of watering where I thought I had some dormant plants,collies,gingers etc.
But that thunderstorm lastnight was very welcome
I can sort you out with a replacement formosana later in the season if you want as the one I took into the greenhouse is running already

[SteveW]

Not unexpected and i had a few others in the greenhouse that survived fine.
I like this plant, very easy to propagate, grows well and over winters well in a frost free space.

It is a lovely plant,and normally easy to overwinter.......
but I lost mine this year
Hopefully one'll pop up in the garden from a buried stolon like last year