Upright Giant Jurassic Elephant Ear Caladium Bulbs

Place these plants in a sunny place in the garden for 6-8 hours. If you're in a hotter planting zone, provide afternoon shade from the hottest time of the day.

Provide consistent moisture to the planting bed or container. Add 2-3 inches of water each week in well draining soil.

The elephant ear enjoys and thrives in medium to high humidity.

Average comfortable room temperatures will be sufficient. Bring indoors when nights are under 60°F.

Plant the rhizomes and leave over the winter months if you're in zones 9-11. If you're using it as an annual in zones 3-8, then lift them in the fall and overwinter. Plant in early spring after the last frost has passed. See our zone planting chart for details.

Create a rich soil environment when planting initially. Add organic composted materials as well as manure mixed into the soil. Use a nitrogen-rich liquid fertilizer every two to three weeks. Mix with water and apply to the soil's surface around the plant. Continue to apply each month until six weeks before the first frost in the fall.

Plant in the garden at a depth of 5-6 inches deep and 2-6 feet apart after the spring's last frost. Add amendments to clay soils in the garden to aerate the soil and allow for good drainage. Place the tubers so the pointy side is facing upward. Add compost or soil conditioners and mix in with the native soil. Depending on the earth's warmth, it usually takes three to eight weeks for sprouts to appear. To speed up the process, start them in containers inside the house and then move them outside into the garden when foliage emerges, being careful not to shock it. Start watering more consistently when foliage emerges.

If growing in a planter container, use a well-draining potting soil with perlite to aerate the soil.

Cut the leaves back and dig up in the fall before temperatures drop below 40°F. If you are in a cooler zone (3-8), remove the tubers from the soil with an inch of stem attached. Knock off all the soil and lay them on newspaper in a dry place for a week. Do not wet or wash the tubers. Sprinkle them with powdered sulfur to protect against fungi while they're in dormancy. Lay on a single layer screen or in a mesh bag so air can circulate around them. Store the tubers at 50°F-60°F.

To keep the Elephant Ear Upright looking its best:

Prune any dead or damaged leaves to rejuvenate them.

Use sterilized pruners to trim back down to the base of the stem.

Use a hose with a shower nozzle to wash off the plant leaves each month if it is in a covered area where rain will not reach it.

Divide the tubers in the fall. Remove the soil from the root system.

Choose blemish free tubers and discard any rotten segments. Separate each tuber (a type of root system), ensuring there are eyes or buds evident on each division. This is where new foliage will emerge. Cutaway these new tubers from the parent plant's roots with a sterilized sharp knife.

When replanting, set the tuber pointy side facing upward. Cover with rich, well-draining soil (add amendments to heavy soil in the garden). Wait until the plant is producing new green leaves before starting to fertilize.