Elephant Ears In Pots - Summer 2018

Back at the beginning of May, I posted about how I was trying some elephant ear bulbs in our containers this season after picking up a pack of nine of them.  Above, is one of my wine barrel containers that I have out on the back patio with - as you can see - some very happy Elephant Ears.  You can also see the wine barrel trellis that I embedded in the wine barrel with a first-year clematis vine growing up the back.  (I'll try to post about the trellis in a different post.  I have two of them that are both hosting first-year plants that, I *hope* will come on strong next year and we'll be able to use the trellises as screening material in a meaningful way.)

I have to say that I *LOVE* these elephant ears and the real tropical feel they lend to our pots.  I now have them in a few - including the Black Magic variety I planted with some Dahlias - and I know that I'll do them again next year.  I believe there is likely some way to salvage and reuse the bulbs each season, but I'm thinking that based on my experience this Spring/Summer, I'll just pick up another set and place them in various containers around the patio and this now has opened the gateway for even more experimentation with tropicals.  I can see using a small, tropical palm tree as the centerpiece of some containers along with some annuals to complement it for the 'fill' and 'spill'.  For now, I'll just continue to water and admire my Elephant Ears.  And plan our pots next year.