Gardening with Gary

Gardening Advice from an Expert

Elephant Ears

Laura writes~ Do you keep them inside as a plant or dig up the bulb and plant next spring? This is my first year to have gotten Elephant Ears. I would appreciate your help.

A. Once air temperatures drop below 65 F (18 C), you need to either bring your pots into the house or dig up your tubers. If you garden in the far north or have your plants in very deep shade, they may fail to make decent tubers, in which case, you are stuck with replacing them every year since you will have nothing to overwinter. If your plants have no tubers but look otherwise healthy, grow them inside a bright room that stays around 70F for the winter and possibly by spring, the pot may contain tubers.

If you dig them from the ground, you will need to clean them of soil, dry them and keep in a well-ventilated area at about 70 degrees F (21 degrees C). Storage temperatures should not go above 80 degrees F nor below 65 degrees F (18 degrees C). Some people use old nylon pantyhose or old mesh onion bags; others put them in paper bags.

While days are still warm, but nights drop below the magic number, bring pots in for the night and put them back outside during the day. But, once days start to cool, even if the plants still look good, bring inside from then on.

In spring, about six weeks before temperatures are moderate enough for them to go outside, repot tubers in new, fresh potting mix. Water once and set them on a shelf by a window, keeping an eye to make sure they do not dry out. It takes several weeks to see new growth, even if the tubers have started to sprout in the old potting mix. By the time they are starting to grow well, the weather has warmed enough to put them out for the summer.

Assistance in part from Suite 101.