Keep small children and pets away from the bulbs as well. Once your elephant ears have foliage, keep in mind that the raw leaves also contain these same toxins.
For Colocasia varieties of elephant ears, an 18 in (46 cm) wide pot is sufficient. For Alocasia varieties, go with something larger, such as a 36 in (91 cm) wide pot.
Elephant ears require a lot of moisture, so using a non-porous pot helps reduce water evaporation through the sides of the pot and helps keep your plants nice and hydrated.
Commercial potting mixes sometimes have fertilizer and added nutrients mixed in, which is fine for elephant ears as well. Never use heavy soils, which contain more clay, because they retain a lot of moisture and make it easy to overwater your elephant ears.
Either homemade or store-bought compost is fine for your elephant ears.
Don’t plant more than 1 bulb per pot. Elephant ears need about 6 ft (1. 8 m) between them to accommodate for their large spread.
If you have an elephant ear in a spot where it receives a lot of direct sunlight and you ever notice that its leaves are looking bleached or brown, move it to a place where it doesn’t get as much sunlight to give it a break from the harsh rays.
Elephant ears are fast growers, which is why they like to always have water available in the soil. They get stressed out if the soil dries out and stop growing well.
A 10-10-10 fertilizer contains 10% each of nitrogen, phosphate. and potash. A 20-20-20 fertilizer contains 20% each of nitrogen, phosphate, and potash.
If you live somewhere without 4 seasons and your elephant ears don’t go dormant because the temperatures don’t drop down enough, ignore the remaining steps and keep watering and feeding the plants as normal to keep them happy and green year-round. Use this time to repot or dig up and divide the bulbs to propagate them if the plants are becoming too big for your pots.
If all your plants are already indoors, there’s no need to move them. Their regular spot is just fine.
There’s no need to fertilize in the winter, either. Once spring comes to town, go ahead and start your regular watering and fertilizing routine over again.
