Colocasias

[JohnAndSancho]

I dunno if this is heaven or hell, I guess it depends on how you look at it. I paid like 20 or 25 bucks for a pot with a big one and 6 pups at Lowes not even a month ago, and I figured that the big one could be ok in its 3g pot and the pups would all be ok in 1g pots until spring when I can sell them. 

 

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHA NOPE They're already throwing roots everywhere, despite the fact that they're all in transplant shock and dropping leaves like crazy. I was really hoping these would stay small enough to be shippable on the cheap. 

 

They're not even under good lights. I see why everyone has a love/hate relationship with them now. I can't decide if this is a good thing or a bad thing but I'll definitely make more than $25 in spring. 

[TropicsEnjoyer]

somewhat basic, but regardless they’re pretty plants to quickly create that tropical foliage vibe

really hard to kill too, which is good most of the time 

[Merlyn]

Given the size of that trunk, I wonder if that's Colocasia esculenta or Xanthosoma sagittifolium?  Both are considered invasive plants, at least in Florida.  I have Colocasia Esculenta in my yard.  I've been steadily trying to eradicate it from several patches, but it just keeps popping up months later.  They may be annuals up North, so not invasive.

[JohnAndSancho]

5 hours ago, Merlyn said:

Given the size of that trunk, I wonder if that's Colocasia esculenta or Xanthosoma sagittifolium?  Both are considered invasive plants, at least in Florida.  I have Colocasia Esculenta in my yard.  I've been steadily trying to eradicate it from several patches, but it just keeps popping up months later.  They may be annuals up North, so not invasive.

I honestly don't know. It's a Costa Farms plant and it was labeled Colocasia California and that's all I've got to go on. I look forward to putting them in some old lady's truck in a few months and planting the big one..

[Merlyn]

@JohnAndSancho gotcha.  An AI assisted search says it might be an Alocasia Gagaena 'California' if the leaves are about 15 inches.  If the mature leaves are HUUuuuuuge (like 3 to 6 feet long) then it might be fhe invasive one.

[JohnAndSancho]

1 minute ago, Merlyn said:

@JohnAndSancho gotcha.  An AI assisted search says it might be an Alocasia Gagaena 'California' if the leaves are about 15 inches.  If the mature leaves are HUUuuuuuge (like 3 to 6 feet long) then it might be fhe invasive one.

Nate is gonna send me some bulbs of the Jacks Giant species too. I honestly thought 1g would hold the cuttings for a few months and now I'm like ok let's Amazon Prime some 3g pots but I'm not going any bigger than that for these. Save one sell the rest, that's my game plan. And it's funny, I've only got to keep it for 4 months to legally call it Mississippi grown. So there we go. I guess these will be on the edge of shippable come springtime. 

[John2468]

Here is what I believed to be an Alocasia California that I had a few years ago. This one is around 5ft tall with leaves around 2.5ft long.

[JohnAndSancho]

1 hour ago, John2468 said:

Here is what I believed to be an Alocasia California that I had a few years ago. This one is around 5ft tall with leaves around 2.5ft long.

Yep! That looks like a larger version of what I've got back in the grow room. I really need to come up with a clever name for this room...... 

[Merlyn]

@John2468 yeah that definitely looks like the Alocasia "California" one and not the invasive Xanthosoma or Colocasia.  The easiest way to tell is how the leaves are held.  Yours are upright with the tips pointing upwards.  The Xanthosoma and Colocasia Esculenta grow with tips pointing down.  I *think* that's an Alocasia = up and Colocasia = down quick ID method.  But I don't grow too many elephant ears these days...too much frost for most of them to be happy all year.

[JohnAndSancho]

1 hour ago, Merlyn said:

@John2468 yeah that definitely looks like the Alocasia "California" one and not the invasive Xanthosoma or Colocasia.  The easiest way to tell is how the leaves are held.  Yours are upright with the tips pointing upwards.  The Xanthosoma and Colocasia Esculenta grow with tips pointing down.  I *think* that's an Alocasia = up and Colocasia = down quick ID method.  But I don't grow too many elephant ears these days...too much frost for most of them to be happy all year.

I'm no expert either. Literally saw a $25 pot with a mom and 6 pups and thought "I'll bet I could sell the pups for what I pay for the whole pot in a few months," I just didn't know that "a few months" would turn into "2 weeks." I guess we can confirm conditions in my grow room are awesome for tropicals. It's literally like Florida in there. 

[Merlyn]

8 hours ago, JohnAndSancho said:

I'm no expert either. Literally saw a $25 pot with a mom and 6 pups and thought "I'll bet I could sell the pups for what I pay for the whole pot in a few months," I just didn't know that "a few months" would turn into "2 weeks." I guess we can confirm conditions in my grow room are awesome for tropicals. It's literally like Florida in there. 

Oh yeah, some of them are really rapid growers.  And some just refuse to die.  I had an interesting black leaf one with red stems.  I thought it died 3 or 4 years ago from frost, and then one randomly popped up over the summer...

[JohnAndSancho]

43 minutes ago, Merlyn said:

Oh yeah, some of them are really rapid growers.  And some just refuse to die.  I had an interesting black leaf one with red stems.  I thought it died 3 or 4 years ago from frost, and then one randomly popped up over the summer...

I'd like to get some with color - in much smaller sizes this time, but the stupid thing is it costs just as much to buy a sprout as it does to buy a 3 gallon pot. 

[John2468]

12 hours ago, Merlyn said:

  I *think* that's an Alocasia = up and Colocasia = down quick ID method.

I believe you’re right about that method. In my first picture, you can see Colocasia esculenta right beside it. And as far as all the other species I’ve grown, they all seem to follow that rule.