Hardy Tropicals UK

I am not about to write war and peace..... as they have done that already for me

The following web page has an article Written by
Dennis Carey and Tony Avent of Plant Delights Nursery
in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

This is quite a detailed article with many of the Colocasia we know and love.

However, please bear in mind this is written from an American perspective, so although there are some parts of the overwintering section that are useful, it will not necessarily work for a UK winter

Fascinating article Dave! Makes me want to get into colocasias even more. Wish we could get hold of the large range of exciting hybrids that you get in the states. The colocasia Rhubarb sounds fantastic!

I didn't realise there are soooo many hybrids out there. I have about 9 or 10 types but keen to get more. I have colocasias for quick interest and my expanding palm collection for long-term interest (providing winters are kind to the palms)

Kris

I have Colocasia rhubarb Kris

Plant Delights is where it came from - at the equivalent of some £19 per plant (compared to their $18 over there) to get them here from there (not to mention the HMRC rigmarole) you need to be a serious collector to try it.

rhubarb was one of the ones I ordered

Is it red stemmed - yes, is it redder than pink stem goes when you put it in the pond (crimson red in pink stem's case) - NO. Do the leaves look similar - yes. They will grow alongside one another for comparison as they get bigger leaves. Do I think it's the same plant YES

I've got a very small rhubarb now, Look similar to pink china at the moment. Only time will tell if it's different and the stems redden up.

Yorkshire Kris wrote:I've got a very small rhubarb now, Look similar to pink china at the moment. Only time will tell if it's different and the stems redden up.

I've been talking to Brian Williams (Brians Botanicals, Kentucky) who introduced these, and he said they look similar but where as Pink China is a zone 6 plant, rhubarb shows no cold tolerance so is at least zone 8 if not higher. From that it looks like Pink China is the one for outside here, and Rhubarb is better in a greenhouse

Dave Brown wrote:

Yorkshire Kris wrote:I've got a very small rhubarb now, Look similar to pink china at the moment. Only time will tell if it's different and the stems redden up.

I've been talking to Brian Williams (Brians Botanicals, Kentucky) who introduced these, and he said they look similar but where as Pink China is a zone 6 plant, rhubarb shows no cold tolerance so is at least zone 8 if not higher. From that it looks like Pink China is the one for outside here, and Rhubarb is better in a greenhouse

Rhubarb has grown a bit now and when compared to the pink stem there atre differences. The pink one can have some lighter greenish tinge esp at the leaf bases of the younger leaves. What is doubtless is that pink stem goes a much darker colour when grown in water. Rhubarb I have only the one of and it is sat in the pond. ALL of the stems are completely dark pink in colour. I'll get some comparison pics on later

EDIT--here as promised is a side by side comparison picture where rhubarb is on the right of pink stem. The main differences that can be identified are:

1. Stems on rhubarb are all entirely dark pink, only the latter establised leaves on pink stem are anything like as dark

2. Pink stem has white roots, rhubarb's have a definitive pink colouration to them.

3. Pink stem produces numerous offsets and runners easily, rhubarb had only one tiny offset (on the far side of the plant) when this picture was taken

Scott Radford wrote:

Dave Brown wrote:

Yorkshire Kris wrote:I've got a very small rhubarb now, Look similar to pink china at the moment. Only time will tell if it's different and the stems redden up.

I've been talking to Brian Williams (Brians Botanicals, Kentucky) who introduced these, and he said they look similar but where as Pink China is a zone 6 plant, rhubarb shows no cold tolerance so is at least zone 8 if not higher. From that it looks like Pink China is the one for outside here, and Rhubarb is better in a greenhouse

Rhubarb has grown a bit now and when compared to the pink stem there atre differences. The pink one can have some lighter greenish tinge esp at the leaf bases of the younger leaves. What is doubtless is that pink stem goes a much darker colour when grown in water. Rhubarb I have only the one of and it is sat in the pond. ALL of the stems are completely dark pink in colour. I'll get some comparison pics on later

EDIT--here as promised is a side by side comparison picture where rhubarb is on the right of pink stem.

14082011436.jpg

The main differences that can be identified are:

1. Stems on rhubarb are all entirely dark pink, only the latter establised leaves on pink stem are anything like as dark

2. Pink stem has white roots, rhubarb's have a definitive pink colouration to them.

3. Pink stem produces numerous offsets and runners easily, rhubarb had only one tiny offset (on the far side of the plant) when this picture was taken

This is the most informative post (to me) I've seen all week. Mine still looks like Pink China as the roots are still white and not pink/red at all.

BTW seen some amazing Pink Colocasia at Harewood House. Look out for pics in Harewood Thread