Elephant Ear Bulb For 2018 Patio Garden: Planted in Pot

Here's the last in a series (for now) of posts showing of some of the tubers/bulbs that I picked up on a trip to Menards.  First there was the "Night Queen" mini Dahlias.  Then I posted about the semi-cactus Firebird large Dahlias.  Today, I'm posting a photo of another perennial bulb that's an Elephant Ear.  "Black Magic" variety.  Colocasia Esculenta to be specific.  I stuck this one bulb in the large pot along with one of the Dahlias and based on the description, this one will grow quite tall - with leaves that are 7-9".  As you can see at the top of the photo, it references a 36" plant height, so that's what I'm aiming for this season.   And what drew me to it was the whole "Black Magic" purple thing going on.  I've historically grown purple sweet potato vines as the 'spill' in our pots and I like the color they add in a sea of green.

You can find out much more about this particular plant over on the Missouri Botanic Garden's site where they point out some interesting things including the fact that the Elephant Ear is grown as a food product in places like Hawaii and is called taro.

Like one of the Dahlias, I have already gotten this one started in a big terracotta pot that I'm sunning in our dining room - where we get the most southern exposure.  I'll move it outside as soon as I can and then we'll have to keep an eye on it to keep the soil moist while it is coming to life.