Black-Stemmed Taro

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Kyuzo
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Black-Stemmed Taro

Post by Kyuzo »

I've been growing Black-Stemmed Taro for a few years now. I got a start of it by chance from a local arboretum not knowing anything about it. After the first year I found through research that it grows where its wet (even in water) so I decided to plant it on the banks of a stream on my property. It went crazy! The plant is now about 5 feet tall. It is sending runners out everywhere, even across the stream to root on the other side. The picture is of my niece standing in it to give a sense of scale. She's five.

I've got more starts of this than I know what to do with. If anyone's interested, send me a PM.

Here's a link to some pics:

http://picasaweb.google.com/MattGColson ... directlink
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ghmerrill
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Re: Black-Stemmed Taro

Post by ghmerrill »

Hey Matt, thats AWESOME!

does it survive the winter in the ground there, or do you have to dig it out? I would love to trade you out of a start, if you are interested in a boo for trade? PM me and let me know!
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Alan_L
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Re: Black-Stemmed Taro

Post by Alan_L »

Yes, I agree, beautiful! Plus in the photo that shows it next to the "normal" Colocasia, you can see that the black-stemmed one doesn't have the leaf browning that the other does (or at least it's not as easy to see).
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Re: Black-Stemmed Taro

Post by foxd »

I was checking the plants last night and the Taro seems to have recovered from being shipped.
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Kyuzo
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Re: Black-Stemmed Taro

Post by Kyuzo »

Glad to hear it, Dan. As long as the Taro is wet it'll stay happy and be very forgiving. :wink:
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Re: Black-Stemmed Taro

Post by foxd »

Kyuzo wrote:Glad to hear it, Dan. As long as the Taro is wet it'll stay happy and be very forgiving. :wink:
It's going to stay in the basement for the Winter. Hopefully it won't mind this.

One question I haven't seen answered is what Zones people are growing this in? Can I plant it outside next year and have it survive our Winters?
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Re: Black-Stemmed Taro

Post by Kyuzo »

All the info I found about them suggests that zones 7 - 10 are their range. Some overwinter them in zone 7 winters outside in the ground by covering them with mulch kind of like overwintering a Musa Basjoo in the north (if you're familiar with that). I also read that juvenile plants wouldn't stand a chance. Overwintering one in zone 7 assumed that it was a mature established plant you were trying to overwinter.

I'm not going to fool with the plants in the picture this winter. I'll preserve some starts from it, but the main plants are way to big to move. They'll live or die on their own. I guess I'll be able to report in the spring about how they stand up to a zone 6 winter! :shock:
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Re: Black-Stemmed Taro

Post by foxd »

That was pretty much what I was expecting.

I am familiar with Musa basjoo in that I got one just a few days before we left for the ABS convention, though it looks much bigger than I remember it. :? I think I am going to move it to the basement this weekend since it is growing into the plant lights in the living room. :?
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Re: Black-Stemmed Taro

Post by Alan_L »

By "basement" do you mean under lights, or just for storage? (Will you keep it growing, or will you try to get it to go dormant or semi-dormant?)

I received some taro starts too, and trying to figure out the best way to keep one of them alive this winter (dormant would be great).
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Re: Black-Stemmed Taro

Post by Kyuzo »

When I overwinter my Taro, I keep them in a south-facing unheated, enclosed porch with lots of windows. I keep a few starts potted in 4 or 6 inch nursery pots setting in a container of water with about an inch of water in it. I don't generally heat the room except for the coldest of days when I switch on an oil-filled radiant heater. Its generally around 40 degrees in the room as a low. Keeping it any warmer than that causes them to initiate growth. It also makes it impossible (for me anyway) to keep the humidity up. When these Taro are in a warm, dry environment spider mites magically appear and eat them alive. Its not pretty! :evil:

I would advise keeping them warm enough to stay alive with some light and forgetting them until spring.

I know keeping them in water while dormant in the winter sounds like a good way to have them rot, but its never happened for me that way. Think of these as having the same moisture requirements as cat tails. :idea: They are after all a bog plant.
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Re: Black-Stemmed Taro

Post by foxd »

Alan_L wrote:By "basement" do you mean under lights, or just for storage? (Will you keep it growing, or will you try to get it to go dormant or semi-dormant?)
Stored under lights for the Winter. I have hopes of it staying above the magic 50°F that causes a lot of my plants to go dormant or die. :(
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Re: Black-Stemmed Taro

Post by Steve, N.J 7-a »

Some Colocasias survive winter here with a heavy mulch, especially near the house. C. 'Pink China' comes back vigorously in May, even away from the house.
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Re: Black-Stemmed Taro

Post by foxd »

The Taro has continued to grow and I'm going to have to move it to a larger pot. The one that it is in is getting stretched into an oval shape by the roots.

So far this Winter the basement has stayed above 55°F. :wav:
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Re: Black-Stemmed Taro

Post by Alan_L »

Did anybody know that black stem taro flowers? Two of my three are putting them up right now. Photos when it stops raining.
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Re: Black-Stemmed Taro

Post by foxd »

Alan_L wrote:Did anybody know that black stem taro flowers? Two of my three are putting them up right now. Photos when it stops raining.
Yes, I discovered that about a month ago. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to take any pictures. :cry:

Still haven't had any of the bananas flower yet.

Nor have I had the pineapple flower.

Nor the Surinam Cherries.

Nor the double purple bloom Daturas.
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