Q. This past year was my first time planting and growing elephant ears; I didn’t know I was supposed to pull them out of the ground for the winter! I pulled the dead stalks from them and I thought they would regrow again this year. Should I dig up the root and plant a new one or will it regrow again? — D. Connangel, Pike County, Kentucky
A. There are a couple of different options for handling elephant ears — depending on where one lives. Dig and store over winter or mulch them and let them ride out the winter as is. I’ve done both successfully. In Zones 8 and above, they can be left in the ground and treated like a perennial. Pike County has Zones 6A, 6B and 7A. Under normal growing conditions, they would most likely need to be dug up and stored over winter in these areas. Unfortunately, you may have to plant some new ones if these don’t begin to sprout shortly.
Option 1: Dig them up and store over the winter. To make the job less messy, wait until your bed has dried up a bit but plan on getting them up before frost. You can start making preparations by trimming the spent leaves and eventually trimming them back close to the crown. I usually keep the spent leaves trimmed throughout the growing season to keep things looking neat. Alternatively, if you don’t mind the ratty look, you can just wait until they die back and they will easily pull away from the corm.
Next, be careful to lift the corm, shaking away the excess soil and trimming any roots. Space the corms out on newspaper and let them air dry for a few days. Store in a cool and dry place over the winter in the mesh sack your onions come in or a box or a heavy paper bag. No plastic! Some folks throw a little peat moss or similar in for good measure. You don’t want them to dry up and shrivel. Let them go dormant — light is not necessary in storage.
Option 2: Cut the tops back before frost and give them a light protection of mulch. They should come back if the spot has good drainage and the winter is mild. Truth be told, I usually go this route in Virginia Beach. But eventually, as they multiply and become crowded, it may be best to dig and divide, reset and give a few extras away.
Last spring, I divided and reset them before they began to sprout. Everything worked out fine — they are very resilient. In the fall, I dug up a few and stored them. Some were approaching the size of a small football!
Last, a couple tips on their care. While they can be planted in full sun, they prefer part shade or filtered sun. They like a soil with plenty of organic matter that will hold moisture. They will thrive in a container but will need to be watered. The lush plants will let you know when they are thirsty. They are heavy feeders so don’t neglect them. Rich compost or an all-purpose fertilizer, whether liquid or granular, works fine.
Enjoy the tropical look!
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