A classic behemoth!

You’ll think you’ve moved to a tropical paradise with the magnificent Upright Elephant Ears, Alocasia odora. It’s easy to see how this classic earned its name with its monstrous foliage. Upright Elephant Ears has entertained gardeners for years with its heavily ribbed, upward pointing arrowhead-shaped leaves. It’s just as popular today as it was in the 1800s when European and American Victorians grew them in elaborate conservatories and gardens. In St. Louis, it has been used extensively for years and often has been found in our fantastic parks and public greenhouses. Can grow a whopping 4-8′ tall and 4-6′ wide. Easy to grow as long as consistent moisture is given.

Use Upright Elephant Ears in large containers, along streams and ponds, in large drifts, or in the garden as a spectacular specimen. Elephant Ears can be treated as an annual, or it may be dug up and stored in a location above freezing for the following season.

Growing instructions: Plant in full sun to part shade in soil that has been amended with compost or other organic matter. Keep plants consistently moist. Plants produce prodigious growth and benefit from regular fertilization. In St. Louis its tuber can be planted in the ground in mid-spring after the last frost date (in St. Louis April 15). To get plants off to a faster start, in late winter to early spring, plant bulbs in pots and place in a sunny window inside. Dig up tubers in fall before first frost and then overwinter in a cool dry location that does not go below 45 degrees.

4-5.3″ bulb