Here’s a plant that has created considerable buzz in the plant world. Redemption Elephant Ears, Colocasia, has many talking about its stunning foliage. In spring, rippled, shiny green leaves emerge and quickly turn jet-black. As the leaves mature, a neon-pink center blotch forms with veins, growing larger and radiating outward like a starburst. The rich pink gets even more vibrant in the heat. Redemption Elephant Ears’ long dark stems can grow 4-6′ tall. Plants mature into attractive clumps.

Use Redemption Elephant Ears in containers and the garden; anywhere an exotic show is welcome. It looks fantastic in mass plantings and near the water’s edge around pools, fountains, and ponds. It makes a tremendous partner to other seasonal plants.
Redemption Elephant Ears makes a fun houseplant.

Indoors give it bright light, with consistent moisture, allowing the plant to dry out between watering.
Outdoors Redemption Elephant Ear can be treated as an annual or dug up and stored above freezing for the following season.

Growing instructions: plant Redemption Elephant Ears in full sun to part shade in soil that has been amended with compost or other organic matter. Keep the plant 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 the plant off to a fast start, in late winter to early spring, plant the bulb in a pot and place it in a sunny window inside. Dig up tuber in the fall after the first frost and then overwinter in a cool, dry location that does not go below 45 degrees. If grown in large containers, the containers should be brought indoors to a frost-free corner for overwintering (it is best to leave the tuber in the container rather than remove it). Plants may be propagated by dividing large tubers.