Eddo (Elephants Ears, Colocasia ?)

Our local Asda store has started stocking a few more exoctic roots as well as fruit, I picked up a piece of Eddo root that had a dormant bud/shoot for a few pence (less than £1) just to see if I could get it to grow. After just a couple of weeks the dormant bud/shoot is now 2-3" tall and looking good...

Not sure where to progress from here, but we'll have some with it...

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=e...urce=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=FJz4T9ShEceO0AWw9_T9Bg

 

Bilbo , I was just posting about that , I was saying that every year i buy eddos from my local asian store and every year i end up with a different one.
this year he gave me some indian purple and they just start to come out.

from last year

some more from last year again ,

 

A few weeks ago I bought the Alocasia calidora (the elephant ear) and it absolutely hates my hot sun. It has humongous leaves which are green and brilliant and then immediately go yellow and die ... but new ones start up! It loves gallons of water but does not like the sun on it. We are having some work done here on Tuesday but after that the plant goes into shade with only morning sun.

 

Very nice.
I have tried the dormant tubers from the Asian stores in the past. But they often just rot. I think that they get thrown around a bit and are bruised.

I recently got some Colocasia from Fir Tree/Constantine. They are Chinese, collected at altitude but i am not sure i am going to risk them outdoors over winter.

 

My first year with them. My thoughts are:

Starting them off needs the minimum of water (I was sceptical about the method of just blowing [to provide moisture] into a zip-lock and leaving the bulb in there for a couple of weeks in the airing cupboard, but having tried just putting them in small pots and watching them rot I think this may be best.

Provide plenty of bottom heat initially to kick-start them (Reptile heating mats seem to be favourite)

I think also worth keeping in tiny pots of well draining compost (50% perlite) in the early stages.

Thereafter standing the pots in a saucer of permanently filled water is fine.

I paid about 30p each for my Eddoes at an online Asian Supermarket in the early Spring.

 

I picked 5 more roots today from Asda all with signs of growth and the best bit I got them for FREE, because the store assistant couldn't get the self service system to except them she turned round and said "oh, have them"....."I thank you, don't mind if I do"

 

Ok this is a bit of history from my local.
bough those in may

and this is what is coming out

2 from 3 years ago

few years ago

small variety from last year

the first one i bought 4/5 years ago

last year one , has dark stem

one of 4 collected from thailand ....must have lost the climping colocasia

got 2 more coming out , one from the shop and one out of thai seeds .
This is the plant I`ve lost

 

I recently got some Colocasia from Fir Tree/Constantine. They are Chinese, collected at altitude but i am not sure i am going to risk them outdoors over winter.[/quote]


I was reading somewhere that there are just 2 colocasia able to survive in Uk , 5 weeks ago i went to a chinese supermarket , to buy some lotus tuber , 3 years ago i managed to grow a lotus but died in winter , and i saw some tubers that look like colocasia , but actually really long , do you remember that shape of your colocasia?
this is the lotus tuber , but the lack of sunshine is not growing at all .

 

Can anyone point me in the direction of an online Eddoes supplier?
I have done a websearch but haven't come up with much.
Thanks

 

Google "online asian supermarket" ?

I've used this one, for example: www.theasiancookshop.co.uk

 

Kristen,

Thanks.
I did Google that, but got a bunch of websites selling wholesale chinese food!

 

This is one I got from Morrisons

 

Mine was from Wilkos a couple of years ago, as it was a dried tuber they couldn't kill it.

 

Thanks guys - I really fancy having a go. But I had never thought of buying a tuber from a food shop. What an excellent idea.

I live near Bradford, which I feel should be a treasure trove of growable tubers. What else can you buy as a food tuber ?

Pete - that's a fine looking plant. Did you get it as a plant or as a tuber?

 

Potatoes?

I'll get my coat :D