Today we will talk about a spectacular plant. Surely many of you have it decorating the living room of your home, or even in the garden. Something that is not surprising, since its leaves are very beautiful.
The scientific name of this plant is Alocasia macrorrhiza and sprouts from a bulb, but unlike bulbous flowers (such as the tulip or daffodil), the elephant ear has leaves all year round. Its color is soft green, due to chlorophyll.
Its origin occurs in Asia, specifically in India and Sri Lanka. Later the primitive and domesticated cultivation of this plant spread to the Philippines and Oceania. Elephant ear grows in various currently tropical and subtropical regionsespecially in the southeastern regions of China and Asia in general.
In the American continent, in Colombia, it grows in low areas of the Pacific and Atlantic coast, although it also develops in the inter-Andean valleys of the country and in the mountain range, where plants of other genera of the same family can grow.
Characteristics of the elephant ear plant
Elephant ear is a plant that has large leaves, as mentioned above, which can measure up to a meter and a half in length, and that come from their base getting smaller until they reach the tip that is shaped like a triangle.
Mostly these they are usually green in different shadesalthough you can find some that have purple or bronze highlights.
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How is the flower of the elephant ear?
They have an elongated, underground and porous stem, and underneath you have their roots and above the buds, from which the leaves and flowers sprout. Nevertheless, on rare occasions this plant bloomsbut when it does, this flower is called cane flower and has a whitish appearance.
This plant does not withstand freezing temperatures, so it is recommended to have it in a climate that does not have a very cold winterunless the frosts are very short, or their leaves will be lost in that period of time. But don’t worry, next spring they will sprout again.
The best for this type of plant is to thrive in hot climatesin a space in your garden that is slightly shaded. It is an ideal plant to have inside your house, in a room that has a lot of light and that is away from drafts.
For the elephant ear that is in a very dry environment, you will have to spray them on certain occasions, to avoid burning the tips. It is a plant that needs a lot of careespecially when it has been planted, but calm, then it will only need spraying.
It needs the sun to shine constantly during the day, so it will be better to place it in a strategic place for it.
Cultivation of the marquise plant
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If you are one of those who has decided to plant an elephant ear at home, you should take into consideration the following:
Whether planted in a pot or in the ground, it is advisable to fertilize throughout the growing season (from spring to late summer or early fall, depending on the weather) with an organic fertilizer, or with a liquid fertilizer for green plants such as Flower that you can buy here! every fifteen days.
And as for irrigation, this will have to be frequentbut the surface of the substrate must always be allowed to dry so that the bulb does not rot. It is a plant that will require, as we have mentioned, that after planting you water it constantly initially, but then with a few sprays it will be fine.
One of the benefits of this plant is that you can grow it or multiply it in a pot with seeds, or using the children that sprout from their rootsthat in a few days they will have the necessary strength for their development.
If you want to sow it directly in your garden, the soil of this must be moist and well drained And it does not matter that you do it at the foot of other large trees, since these will serve to give the necessary shade to the elephant’s ear.
The most recommended is that this plant is buried 15 centimeters away and the stem has at least one budwhich has to be dry. To achieve this, leave the stem to air dry for two to three days, so you better do this in the spring.
Plagues and diseases
Elephant ear is one of the plants that is rarely affected by some kind of pest or disease.
However, you may drop a mealybuga parasite that feeds on the sapcausing the plant to present unusual stains, which must be removed with a cotton swab moistened with alcohol or you can also wash it with soap and water. Another option is to treat it with diatomaceous earth, which is a highly effective natural insecticide that you can buy from here!.
If you have one of these in your house, you have to be careful when you cut itSince the sap released from its stem causes irritation to the skin and eyes, so be careful not to come into direct contact with it.
In the same way, you must be aware of the appearance of your plant, since this always has to be with its characteristic green colorbut if its leaves turn yellow, this is because something is wrong with it, so it may be the humidity that is affecting it or that it is not being sprayed correctly on its roots and leaves.
Pruning
Image – Wikimedia Commons / Fanghong
The plant doesn’t require you to prune it like other plants do. However, in the event that some of the leaves turn yellowish, you will need to remove the leaves from the plant to prevent it from turning into a parasitic disease vehicle.
Used to cut the spoiled leaves, utensils that are clean and disinfected when you are going to do an operation on the plantsince you have to avoid that you can transmit a parasitic disease through these to your elephant ear.
Multiplication
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Elephant ear plant: reproduction
The multiplication of this plant is done by dividing the rhizomeswhich should be done at the beginning of spring, dividing into proportions or detaching the rhizomes from the main bud, which in turn should have at least one bud or better two.
The cut surface of the rhizome has to be treated with a fungicide based on sulfur, in its powder form and you will have to let it dry for a couple of days, and then be able to bury it in a small pot with compost and soil, at a depth between 2 and 3 centimeters.
Now you will have to place the pot where there is a temperature that can be constant and around 24ºC, plus it must have shade. The substrate of your new plant must be humid until the fourth leaf comes out of it and then you can transfer it to a larger pot with this same substrate.
Is the elephant ear plant poisonous?
This is a plant that is not poisonous at all. Even It is used to feed fish as a substitute for concentrated feed that is provided to them, allowing their owners to spread their food.
Pigs are also fed this plant in some regionswhere farm producers use from the stem of the plant to the leaves, since these can replace in more than half the concentrate in the diet that they need.
Another form of use is for human consumption, although the presence of calcium oxalates can be irritating to people. However, in some cultures its leaves are used as vegetables the most tender and have different methods of cooking.
Although this plant is not poisonous, be very careful not to confuse it with the black elephant ear, which we will explain below and that if it is really dangerous.
Does the black elephant ear plant exist?
There is a black elephant ear, which has a similar appearance to those already mentioned in terms of its leaves, but that It has features that set it apart quite a bit. Its scientific name is Colocasia ‘Black Magic’.
The leaves, in addition to their characteristic color, they have a velvety texture that does not have the “original”. The truth is that the tonality that we can assimilate as black is actually a very dark green.
The size of this plant is between medium and small, so you will not need much space to have it, in addition to its slow growth, you will not have to move it for a long time.
The most important thing to note is that this is poisonousso if you have children at home be very careful with them, as it can poison if ingested. As for the flower that this plant has, it is really insignificant, but its interior is very similar to calla lilies due to its inverted cone shape.
It needs a special substrate so that it can maintain its green almost black color. This plant if it needs a good watering, that the “original does not need“, Which implies that you have to have a pot with a good drainage system and more dedicated care with it.
In short, the elephant ear is a perfect plant for you to have inside your house, plus it doesn’t require much careIt has a very ornamental appearance that can look good with the decoration you have on it, so you can dare to have it without any problem.
