How to Overwinter Colocasia / Elephant Ears

Here is what I know and have done to care for colocasia indoors. Winter care for colocasia can vary greatly depending on what type you're growing. I usually have mine stored as dormant tubers or grown in a semi-dormant state. I have been asked a lot about what do with colocasia in winter, took me a while to make the video. Sorry! Overwintering colocasia is quite simple when it's just for the winter. Growing elephant ears indoors is an entirely different topic if being done all year. I copied and pasted an outline to the video below. It pasted in an odd format but I tinkered with it and hopefully it is easy enough to follow. Hopefully this was helpful for what to do with elephant ear bulbs in winter!

Overwintering Colocasia
- Various methods
o Which you use depends on where you live and what type(s) you’re growing
- Know what you’re growing
o Colocasia have varying root structures
 Some form corms & some form tubers
 Some are runners
 Some are clumpers
 Some are in between
 Some take longer/multiple seasons to develop a large tuber
• Example thai giant, black magic

- In the ground
o Stop fertilizing several weeks before first frost
o Do not prune if you don’t have to
 Allow nutrient re-uptake to happen
• As day lengths shorten and temps cool
o Growth will slow
o Foliage may come out smaller
o Plant will start to pull nutrients from foliage and push it back into the corm
o Roots will start to die back as well
o When frost takes out the foliage
 Prune to the ground
 Mulch heavily with at least 4 to 6 inches in more mild climate (zones 7b)
• 8 to 12 inches if not more for colder zones
o If not in 7b, might be better to just lift and store if you don’t know which type you have and how hardy they are.
 Make a wire cage at least 3 ft in diameter and fill with shredded leaves, maybe a layer of mulch on the bottom with leaves on top

- Tubers
o Before frost/freeze
o Cut off dead foliage
o Dig up the tuber
 Rinse
 Allow to dry
 Store in peat or vermiculite
 Place in breathable container
 Store somewhere
• Dark
• dry
• Cool
• Frost free
• Check monthly for signs of desiccation and/or rot

- Non-corm forming types and those that are slow to develop a mature tuber *can use this method for all Colocasia though*
o Should be kept growing during winter
 Before frost or freeze, preferably while there are still a few weeks left with temps in the 40s – 60s
• Prune back all but the newest 2 or 3 leaves
• Dig it up and put it in a pot
o Remove as much native soil as possible while trying to keep roots intact.
o Pot into a well-drained potting mix
• Place somewhere cool but frost free
• Give plenty of light
• Be cautious not to overwater while in semi-dormant growth
• Winter care is not the same as summer
o No fertilizers needed
o Likely not watering with multiple flushes
o Will rot easily
 Leaves will start to droop slightly when thirsty
• Observe time between waterings and depth of moisture vs dry soil between waterings to determine how often and how much water to give
o Do not expect full and lush plants like they appear during summer.
 Often times will only have a few, sad looking leaves at a time.
 This is normal
o Watch for spider mites and all pest that feed on tender/new growth
 Winter foliage is often more thing and vulnerable

Time Stamps
0:00 Elephant ear plant winter care colocasia winter care
1:14 Overwintering colocasia in the ground
3:42 Digging and storing elephant ear bulbs
5:42 Growing colocasia indoors for winter

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