Elephant Ear - Thailand Giant

Other plants we have or landscape elements like ponds.

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pokenei
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Re: Elephant Ear - Thailand Giant

Post by pokenei »

3 feet long milestone has been reached. Now aiming for a 4 feet leaf by next month.
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Re: Elephant Ear - Thailand Giant

Post by stevelau1911 »

I'm not measuring mine on a regular basis, but mine is getting pretty big. The problem now, is how will I be able to successfully over-winter this monster, when it is enormous by the the end of the growing season. I couldn't over-winter them last year even with leaf bags + tarps so I need something even better.

I've been trying elephant ears for the last couple years, but I'm still a newbie with this plant so it's still trial and error for me.

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Re: Elephant Ear - Thailand Giant

Post by pokenei »

stevelau1911 wrote:I'm not measuring mine on a regular basis, but mine is getting pretty big...
Yep, that looks like a Thai Giant to me.

I will overwinter my giant indoor. I am not taking any chance on it. I only have one plant and would hate to see it die. The question for me is how best to overwinter it indoor. Keep it in a mulched pot and no water? Or try to grow it normally indoor which there're two issues: 1, it will be enormous, and 2, there won't be enough light which will cause it to grow long and weak and flop all over.
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Re: Elephant Ear - Thailand Giant

Post by Alan_L »

I have a Colocasia gigantea, but not Thai Giant as far as I know. It's growing in a pot that I just brought into the garage for the winter. Temps around 40ºF all winter, and almost no light. It didn't die but didn't keep growing. I watered it once or twice the whole time, and not much. Then in the spring I brought it out and it just started growing again.

I've found that most Colocasia are pretty tough when it comes to overwintering this way.
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Re: Elephant Ear - Thailand Giant

Post by pokenei »

I think the Thai Giant and the regular Gigantea are very similar. However, I don't think I'll be able to overwinter mine in the garage. Here at zone 5, our Winter is a lot colder. I tried over wintering my Coral Vine this way before and it didn't survive.
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Re: Elephant Ear - Thailand Giant

Post by canadianplant »

Dig it up, and keep it as a house plant. All my Colocasia/Alocasia do great indoors over the winter. The brighter the light, the more growth you get. I managed to get mine to put out 2 or 3 leaves during the winter. I dont have "thai giant" or "gigantea" mind you....

They take a bit of shock after you dig them up, and "stall" for a few weeks. They dont even need big pots, relatively speaking. I did realize that they needed more water indoors then any of my indoor plants (more then my Musas). I will say however, that some of my colocasia did exactly what Steve said: Some went floppy or didnt grow much at all, dispite the same care and light as the rest of them.

Mine are near an east facing window, and near a small, high south facing window. They get direct sun for a few hours off and on during the day, and then BRIGHT light for the rest of the day. The leaves started to die on mine, so i stopped watering ( was only doing so once a week or less). IT kept dropping leaves, so I sprayed for bugs. No difference. So finally I decided to go against all conventional wisdom, and kept the soil fairly moist ) 3 light waterings a week, and the they didnt stop all winter.

The only thing id suggest, is that when you plant them, make sure that there is a small about of the corm/neck of the plant sticking out. THis has made a difference in my EE plants in AND out.
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Re: Elephant Ear - Thailand Giant

Post by Alan_L »

The small colocasia I tried growing under lights all winter got bad spider mite problems, so watch out for that too.
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Re: Elephant Ear - Thailand Giant

Post by pokenei »

Twin leaf? I thought my Thai Giant was about to flower when something unusual came up along side the latest new leaf (right side of photos). It is obvious now what that is. Is this normal for elephant ears? Or have I witnessed some rare phenomenon that only occurs like 1 in a million?
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Re: Elephant Ear - Thailand Giant

Post by pokenei »

Well, the leaves of my Thai Giant seem to have maxed out at just over 3 feet long.
It is now blooming. Hopefully I'll have some viable seeds before Winter kicks in.
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Re: Elephant Ear - Thailand Giant

Post by Alan_L »

Remember that if you do get seeds they will probably be the species form, Colocasia gigantea, and probably won't be the 'Thai Giant' cultivar.
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Re: Elephant Ear - Thailand Giant

Post by pokenei »

Alan_L wrote:Remember that if you do get seeds they will probably be the species form, Colocasia gigantea, and probably won't be the 'Thai Giant' cultivar.
Why is that? Where did you get the info from?

From what I know, If a plant self seeds, then I would expect those seeds to have the same DNA, same characteristics as the mother plant...more or less. We shall see.

I am also hoping for some pups, but none so far.
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Re: Elephant Ear - Thailand Giant

Post by needmore »

thai.jpg
Had to up-pot mine today along with the red eye gecko form which had also filled a pot already.
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Re: Elephant Ear - Thailand Giant

Post by johnw »

pokenei wrote:
Alan_L wrote:Remember that if you do get seeds they will probably be the species form, Colocasia gigantea, and probably won't be the 'Thai Giant' cultivar.
Why is that? Where did you get the info from?

From what I know, If a plant self seeds, then I would expect those seeds to have the same DNA, same characteristics as the mother plant...more or less. We shall see.

I am also hoping for some pups, but none so far.

It's called inbreeding. Oftentimes with many other genera you get trash by selfing - all sorts of aberrants and weaklings, once in a very long while you hit the jackpot and get something better. Never can you use a cultivar name for a seedling. You'll probably get something quite okay in this case, maybe even similar but not Thai Giant. Safer btw with plants than humans. :oops:

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Re: Elephant Ear - Thailand Giant

Post by Tarzanus »

pokenei wrote:
From what I know, If a plant self seeds, then I would expect those seeds to have the same DNA, same characteristics as the mother plant...more or less. We shall see.
Even with self pollination, DNA starts crossing over process in which parts of DNA from each "string" of double helix ends up in their new position. During that "mixing", different genes can become active, even if they weren't expressed in the mother-father plant.

As mentioned above, in "animal kingdom" inbreeding usually ends up tragically, because in short time (several generations), genetic diseases and malfunctions can destroy the in-breeders. All genetic issues become more and more evident with every generation, because the offspring gets the same genetic material from both parents, even if it's shuffled a bit. Plants can be a lot more resilient when it comes to self pollination, actually they use it quite often to survive. Genetic flaws and diseases are also there in plants - with selective breeding, discarding weak plants and promoting healthy specimens with good characteristics, people managed to 'create' (improve) fruits and vegetables.

Seedlings could have the same characteristics as Thailand Giant plant version, but it's more possible that they would look more like it's predecessor from which mother plant came. They could also be lager. With seedlings - you never know for sure.
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Re: Elephant Ear - Thailand Giant

Post by pokenei »

Just an update on my Thai Giant. It didn't get any bigger than the photos I posted previously. It did produce a row of flowers that didn't have a chance to seed. At the first sign of frost (a few weeks ago), all the leaves withered and flowers were partially damaged. I brought the plant indoor today. Looks like it didn't produce any tuber, but has plenty of flexible enlarged roots (about 1/8"). I harvested a few stocks, and plan to cook and eat them. My dad decided to try it fresh, just a little piece of the stock. What he experience is beyond description. I was going to try it myself but he told me don't bother (to spare me the pain). His mouth feels like hell on fire that lingers for more than an hour. He's one those people who can chew hot chill peppers, but he said this is beyond spicy...100 fold.

Well, there is some good news out of this. Any raccoon foolish enough to try it will be in for a surprise :p

I still wonder if it can be edible when cooked well. But...I rather someone else be guinea pig.
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