Great! I never grew elephant ears before a couple years ago. Then a friend gave me a small plant in a pot. It grew nicely and had to be repotted. That winter I brought it in the house and had a terrible time with major die back but it revived the next summer. That winter I didn’t want the hassle so I left it out….in a 10 inch pot. It died, of course. So I threw the dirt with the dead plant in it off to an unfinished area of my yard along with twigs and leaves last spring…..kinda a compost area. That plant grew 4+ 😂feet high and is still sending out leaves! It’s gigantic and I love it but I didn’t know what to do this winter. I thought I’d just cover it with leaves since it came back from a small pot! Now you have confirmed this is the way to go. I really didn’t want to dig it up and find a place to store it. I have lots of leaves. Thanks.! I’m in zone 7b. Oh! Another part of that same plant grew in a tote with zucchini! There must have been a bit of root on some of the soil I threw in there from the pot.
Elephant 🐘 Ears will surprise you. We have another variety called escalenta that Don't emerge until the mid summer. Every year we think they are not going to come up but they do. We gave away a lot & they are still coming up plentiful. Leaves are the way to go. We've done it 4 years in a row.
@@ShonAndJaniceGardening . I cut back the plant in the tote. It was in a small pot but grew out of it. Massive roots! I planted it in the ground and left a few leaves on. I’m pretty confident it will return next summer. I had to cut the pot off but it wasn’t possible without losing some thinner roots. Boy it was bunched up in there. 🥴The other big one grew through the sticks so I left them around the plant and took the box off. There were a ton of babies grown pale in the flaps. Boy! These surely want to live!
@@DtheMan247 I used to bring our upright elephant ear in and keep it near a sunny window. When we saw the colocasia coming up one summer we waited just before frost and took a chance cut the alacasias back and covered them with leaves and they came back
@@ShonAndJaniceGardening Oh ok. My mom used to bring them in. I am in Maryland, so it should be good especially with the mulch. Would you recommend this method for banana trees as well?
Just found your video, thank you! We had a late cold snap here in Zone 8 and some leaves killed, some bouncing back. Today I'm pruning and hopeful. Thank you!
Thank you Sir, the slant-cutting of the stalk is excellent advice. I'll always remember to cut that way and recommend to others. My first year with Elephant Ears. Thank you.
We hope you have success with your elephant ears. They do well in zone 7. We have 4 types and no problems yet. We are glad to be helpful and are happy you enjoyed the video
We are glad to be able to help. We have been doing this for 5 years with success every time. We are in zone 7. That has a lot to do with it. Thanks for visiting our channel
We're glad this was helpful. We've been been doing it this way for several years. Getting rid of the leaves prevents pest on the other plants. Rotten leaves encourage pest. Your in zone 7. You should get good results
I want to thank you so much for the brilliant idea of using leaves to cover them. I was wondering how to protect a waterfall hill I have with various canna and elephant ears, along with a succulent garden and your leaf suggestion is perfect. I followed you just based on this common sense solution. Thank you so much!
Welcome to our channel. I got the idea from seeing the wind pile leaves on top of some small elephant ears into a corner of a fence. Before we had a chance to bring them in. After that 2ft of snow. They came back. I'm so happy we are in zone 7
@@ShonAndJaniceGardening We are in zone 9 in Las Vegas, but it gets desert cold here in the winter, so I was concerned. It's brilliant! I don't want to dig up all those plants for winter. And we have big trees.
We're glad that this was helpful. It seem like most videos for elephant ears are about storing bulbs in the winter. Next year they will come up when you have consistent over night warm temperatures
I have a question. I wrote before. I didn’t plant mine. They grew up from a pot I had left out all winter then threw in a compost box. They are very tall and clumped together. I need to separate them cuz they are so bunched together. Would you do that now, in the fall or wait till spring? Thanks for any suggestions. Zone 7b. Black elephant ears that point down.
@@ShonAndJaniceGardening . I cut them down. We got a couple nights of 29 degrees. It’s 80 now with 60 at night. Crazy. I don’t have leaves yet. My oak tree hangs on to them till the bitter end. I potted up a couple babies and they’re doing fine in the house. I also uprooted a few and wrapped in newspaper. They’re spending the winter on the garage. It’s funny. I did absolutely nothing to get these and now I’m trying every trick in the book to keep them!
Very helpful information. I am on my third year but may have covered mine too much last year with topsoil and cutting flat across vs. at an angle, so it looks like they rotted. The ground area is very mushy and no new growth is coming through yet. Any suggestions?
I did the same thing with mine- a little too heavy on the pine needles and I cut them off too close to the ground and straight across. Some rotted. Thanks for the advice. I love these big elephant ears, and don’t want to dig them up. I’m in zone 7.
I grew mine inside from the bulb and it's gotten pretty huge, should I cut it back or let it be? It's almost November and there's barely sunlight, and this is my first winter for my elephant ears
I did not cut mine before the frost, I was unaware how to take care of these plants. Is it too late to prune or do I just leave it? You made the comment it can get really messy!
I left mine in the ground, cut them back, the frost hot Texas, and now the top the was left is brown sod and mushy. My question is...should I now clear off the brown parts away from the bulb or the plat will just start beach growing?
It should just become solid once you start having consecutive warm days. When the temperature gets hot a new elephant ear should grow out of the side of the trunk
You can do the same as I did. Your frost is usually in November. I cut ours before frost to avoid mushy plants. Keep an eye on the weather. Cut them and cover with leaves
My first time caring for a elephant. When indoors, I notice every other week a left dies and a baby appears. Now that I have it outside nothing dies..it is thriving. Should I leave it outside for now or bring it back indoors?
Great! I never grew elephant ears before a couple years ago. Then a friend gave me a small plant in a pot. It grew nicely and had to be repotted. That winter I brought it in the house and had a terrible time with major die back but it revived the next summer. That winter I didn’t want the hassle so I left it out….in a 10 inch pot. It died, of course. So I threw the dirt with the dead plant in it off to an unfinished area of my yard along with twigs and leaves last spring…..kinda a compost area. That plant grew 4+ 😂feet high and is still sending out leaves! It’s gigantic and I love it but I didn’t know what to do this winter. I thought I’d just cover it with leaves since it came back from a small pot! Now you have confirmed this is the way to go. I really didn’t want to dig it up and find a place to store it. I have lots of leaves. Thanks.! I’m in zone 7b. Oh! Another part of that same plant grew in a tote with zucchini! There must have been a bit of root on some of the soil I threw in there from the pot.
Elephant 🐘 Ears will surprise you. We have another variety called escalenta that Don't emerge until the mid summer. Every year we think they are not going to come up but they do. We gave away a lot & they are still coming up plentiful. Leaves are the way to go. We've done it 4 years in a row.
@@ShonAndJaniceGardening . I cut back the plant in the tote. It was in a small pot but grew out of it. Massive roots! I planted it in the ground and left a few leaves on. I’m pretty confident it will return next summer. I had to cut the pot off but it wasn’t possible without losing some thinner roots. Boy it was bunched up in there. 🥴The other big one grew through the sticks so I left them around the plant and took the box off. There were a ton of babies grown pale in the flaps. Boy! These surely want to live!
Thanks. Exactly what I was looking for; pruning for winter. 💯
We're glad this was helpful. There's a lot of videos for digging up and storing. Very few for cutting back
Thanks man. Had a hard time finding a video about not transplanting them into the house.
This works great for zone 7. I haven't tried this anywhere else.
Same here! Thank you for the helpful video.
@@DtheMan247 I used to bring our upright elephant ear in and keep it near a sunny window. When we saw the colocasia coming up one summer we waited just before frost and took a chance cut the alacasias back and covered them with leaves and they came back
@@ShonAndJaniceGardening Oh ok. My mom used to bring them in. I am in Maryland, so it should be good especially with the mulch. Would you recommend this method for banana trees as well?
@@DtheMan247 I've never winterized banana trees. I have seen them growing in zone 7 without digging them up. Your nearest nursery would know
Just found your video, thank you! We had a late cold snap here in Zone 8 and some leaves killed, some bouncing back. Today I'm pruning and hopeful. Thank you!
Same here in zone 7. We are ready for warm weather. The threat of frost will be gone soon
Thank you Sir, the slant-cutting of the stalk is excellent advice.
I'll always remember to cut that way and recommend to others.
My first year with Elephant Ears.
Thank you.
We hope you have success with your elephant ears. They do well in zone 7. We have 4 types and no problems yet. We are glad to be helpful and are happy you enjoyed the video
Great content! Now I know what to do with my elephant ears ❤
We are glad to be able to help. We have been doing this for 5 years with success every time. We are in zone 7. That has a lot to do with it. Thanks for visiting our channel
Thanks for sharing 🙏🏻🙏🏻 im in The same zone and was wondering if had to dig them up. 👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼
Our first winter we potted them up and kept them near a sunny window .We were so glad to find out we didn't have to do that every year
Thank you for this video! It was helpful. Most people I know leave them outside, uncovered in 757 and 804. I wanted a better method. :)
We're glad this was helpful. We've been been doing it this way for several years. Getting rid of the leaves prevents pest on the other plants. Rotten leaves encourage pest. Your in zone 7. You should get good results
Thanks how about if sun all summer long on them how to protect them for the summer in direct sun tree was cut down
They also do very well in full sun. Most of the elephant ears we plant. Perform very well in full sun 🌞
I like the way u used the leaves ..am going clone bunch in winter in the house too
We've been using leaves for 3 years and have been getting great results. We're in zone 7 . I'm not sure about other zones
Nice video. Good information.
There's not many videos on overwintering with leaves. The leaves are fantastic for zone 7
I want to thank you so much for the brilliant idea of using leaves to cover them. I was wondering how to protect a waterfall hill I have with various canna and elephant ears, along with a succulent garden and your leaf suggestion is perfect. I followed you just based on this common sense solution. Thank you so much!
Welcome to our channel. I got the idea from seeing the wind pile leaves on top of some small elephant ears into a corner of a fence. Before we had a chance to bring them in. After that 2ft of snow. They came back. I'm so happy we are in zone 7
@@ShonAndJaniceGardening We are in zone 9 in Las Vegas, but it gets desert cold here in the winter, so I was concerned. It's brilliant! I don't want to dig up all those plants for winter. And we have big trees.
I live in zone 7 also and last Winter all my Alocasia EE died due to an unusual 9 degrees for 2 days. I'm digging mine up this year.
Every video I've seen on winter storage always says store in dark cool dry place
Finally this is what I have been looking for!
We're glad we are able to help
Thank u so much for this video! I’m in zone 7 and I was so worried about when I should do this and how! Thank u so much!
We're glad that this was helpful. It seem like most videos for elephant ears are about storing bulbs in the winter. Next year they will come up when you have consistent over night warm temperatures
@@ShonAndJaniceGardening will they grow back same size when trimmed like in the video?
Thank you!
We are glad to be able to help!
Great idea, im goin to try this in case it works in zone 6
Thank you I had a huge elephant ear but it died due to winter and I cut it back hoping it grows
In zone 7 covering with leaves for the winter works fine.
Great job 👍🏽
Thank you
Thank you this was very helpful !
You're Welcome. Sometimes I forget to mention bits of information. We really enjoy the comments and questions
Awesome video
We're glad this video was useful
At what daily temps should I take the leaves off? Thank you.
Thank you…appreciate your advice…
You are so welcome
Great video! Thanks
Glad you liked it!
Good information. Thanks
Your welcome. I'm glad we don't have to dig them up every year.
Can you show how this comes back up in Spring?
Yes. We'll be doing updates so you can see the different stages
I have a question. I wrote before. I didn’t plant mine. They grew up from a pot I had left out all winter then threw in a compost box. They are very tall and clumped together. I need to separate them cuz they are so bunched together. Would you do that now, in the fall or wait till spring? Thanks for any suggestions. Zone 7b. Black elephant ears that point down.
Wait until the spring because they area about to go dormant
@@ShonAndJaniceGardening . I cut them down. We got a couple nights of 29 degrees. It’s 80 now with 60 at night. Crazy. I don’t have leaves yet. My oak tree hangs on to them till the bitter end. I potted up a couple babies and they’re doing fine in the house. I also uprooted a few and wrapped in newspaper. They’re spending the winter on the garage. It’s funny. I did absolutely nothing to get these and now I’m trying every trick in the book to keep them!
Use buckets or flower pots to cover them until you get leaves. They should be okay outside with temperature over freezing.
@@ShonAndJaniceGardening . OMG! I forgot about this even though I do it with cold snaps and spring veggies! Ha! Thanks
Thank you ❤️
We're glad we were helpful
I see it’s windy. Did most of the leaves remain intact over the winter? Thanks for sharing.
All 3 times the leaves stayed in place . Some will blow off of the pile but the elephant ear is not exposed . I check on it periodically.
@@ShonAndJaniceGardening Thanks so much. I'm planning to do the same thing.
Very helpful information. I am on my third year but may have covered mine too much last year with topsoil and cutting flat across vs. at an angle, so it looks like they rotted. The ground area is very mushy and no new growth is coming through yet. Any suggestions?
They come up at different times. Some slower than others. If you don't see them by mid summer get one with at least 3 leaves and try again
I did the same thing with mine- a little too heavy on the pine needles and I cut them off too close to the ground and straight across. Some rotted. Thanks for the advice. I love these big elephant ears, and don’t want to dig them up. I’m in zone 7.
@@michaelgoode1865 cut them 6 to 8 inches to allow room for die back. I've never used pine needles before. I know leaves work fine in zone 7
Hello there.
If I don't have leaves for cover, can mulch be used?
Yes you can use mulch. Sorry about the delayed response
@@ShonAndJaniceGardening No worries. I appreciate the response.
I didn't cut mine back but I now have new regrowth popping up around the old dead stalk. Should I do anything with the dead parts?
I just let them dry up. As they die back the new growth gets nutrients
I grew mine inside from the bulb and it's gotten pretty huge, should I cut it back or let it be? It's almost November and there's barely sunlight, and this is my first winter for my elephant ears
If it starts to wilt, cut it back and very little water.
Good ideas! Thanks!
You're Welcome Im glad we we're able to help.
We're glad we were able to help
I did not cut mine before the frost, I was unaware how to take care of these plants. Is it too late to prune or do I just leave it? You made the comment it can get really messy!
Are they outside or inside the house.
@@ShonAndJaniceGardening outside
It's not too late.
@@ShonAndJaniceGardening that's great news! Thanks for your help!
I left mine in the ground, cut them back, the frost hot Texas, and now the top the was left is brown sod and mushy. My question is...should I now clear off the brown parts away from the bulb or the plat will just start beach growing?
It should just become solid once you start having consecutive warm days. When the temperature gets hot a new elephant ear should grow out of the side of the trunk
@@ShonAndJaniceGardening Can you move them to another spot then?
If you are going to move them do it before the leaves start opening
Do you have advice for zone 9
You can do the same as I did. Your frost is usually in November. I cut ours before frost to avoid mushy plants. Keep an eye on the weather. Cut them and cover with leaves
I put my tropical elephant and put them in the house the one you cut down in the video was perennial I don't believe all elephant are perennial
Most Elephant ears are perrinial in zone 9 and warmer. I'm in zone 7 & we've had success with this method several times.
Some are not perrinial. There are caladiums people confuse as elephant ears that are not perrinial also.
My elephant ears is in a container, can I bring it in the garage during the winter?
Yes. If your garage is warm water very little. If it's cold let the soil dry out and it will go dormant
My first time caring for a elephant. When indoors, I notice every other week a left dies and a baby appears. Now that I have it outside nothing dies..it is thriving. Should I leave it outside for now or bring it back indoors?
If you are in zone 7 you can cover it with leaves or mulch
@@ShonAndJaniceGardening
It's in a pot
If your garage is over 60 degrees in the winter.
Zone 7?
Yes
No thank you this helps.👍
I'm glad we're able to be helpful.
I do the same thing to my banana plants.
I'm glad we're in zone 7 and covering them with leaves is enough to overwinter them
I did not cut mine back. I did not know. They came back for a few years. We had a lot of snow for over a week. Do you think they are ok?
I've had colocasia come back without covering (the ones with the leaves that point down) I'm in zone 7 our snow dosnt last that long.
I thought that I butchered mine, but I didn't.
Sometimes they won't do anything until the temperatures get hot during the day and warm overnight