Elephant Ears

Bold, tropical, impressive and sometimes tremendous. This describes Elephant Ears. They belong to the Araceae family along with Acorus, Arisaema, Dieffenbachia, Philodendron, Zantedeschia and voodoo lilies - interesting relatives, indeed. Various Elephant Ear genera include Alocasia, Caladium, Colocasia, Cyrtosperma, Remusatia and Xanthosoma.

Elephant ears capture attention. The largest are as conspicuous as pachyderms in the landscape, some growing as tall as 12'. The smaller ones, such as Caladium, make up for their small size with lots of color. (Caladiums have different growing requirements which are discussed in my other blog article, Fancy Leaf Caladiums.)

Most of us know Elephant Ears best for their ornamental value. They are hardy in USDA climate zones 8 to 11. Gardeners in colder climates lift and store them over winter for planting the following spring. They're great for bog and water gardens, and even for container gardens.

To learn more, read our article Bold, Tropical Elephant Ears.