A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Plants and Flowers Forum Canna's and Elephant Ears

the other thread on canna's got me to thinking? I can grow canna's like crazy. they get as tall as me and I give dozens away each spring. my elephant ears only get 1-3 feet high. most are of the 'giant' variety. they are in the same beds as my canna's, same soil. I would think they'd grow in pretty much the same conditions as canna's. but evidentally not. any sugguestions?

no, elephant ears like it a bit drier. not a lot, but just a bit.

that figures! i've been giving them MORE water the past few weeks trying to get them to grow better. ha ha

i put my elephant ears slightly mounded and the cannas "flat" if that makes sense.

Cricket.. last year I had elephant ears get huge,, much bigger than the year before,, I'm thinking it may have had to do with the fact that I had planted a brugmansia real close to the EEr's and I had used a lot of compost and sheep manure, and feed the Brug lots of fish emulsion and fertilizer I'm pretty sure a lot of that drained towards the EE,, Plus the brug requires lots of water,, I was afraid it was going to hendar the growth or root rot(bulb rot ) the EE but evidently not, but as you know it gets hot as heck here early on in the season,, and I watered the Brug along with the EE almost everyday,, because the EE were droppy when I came home from work,, when the sun went down I'd water really well and I could almost stand there and watch the EE and the Brugs leaves reach up in thanks,, could be the variety you have,, some EE are for only shade and moist while others like it on the dry side as Jiffy said,, now Mine are in the sun all morning and very early afternoon then shade the rest of the day.
Maybe you need to add some compost and or admend your soil around the elephant ears,, and give them a good boost with fertilizer??
Here you'll see the Brug in the middle of the EE,, the soil in that area was amended with home compost, and sheep manure (aged), and general potting soil,,

also every early spring at the first sign of growth from anything in my yard,, I give a good dose of "superthrive," to build up hormones and give it a good drink of nutrients after not having any over winter. :wink:

WHOA..!!! yep, that's what the e.e.'s looked like at my friends house before she gave them to me. I can't remember now...it's been several years...how much sun her's was getting. I'll have more compost ready in 2-3 weeks. I'll give them some of that. can I mound dirt around them with them still in the ground or would I have to dig up, replant, and mound?

Wow, great pic.

Naaaaaaaaaaaaaa You won't have to dig up and replant,, I would just dig all the way around it maybe 4-6 inches out from where you see it growing and down about 6 inches and stir some of the compost in with the soils and water it in,, ,, I now have bulbs above ground that grew off last years EE,, EEEEEEEEEK <---- Just saw those a while ago,, Going back out in a bit to either separate them or bury them deeper!


*Thanks Tamara :wink:

great! I was HOPING it wouldn't be sugguested that I dig 'em up.

that's beautiful diane. i don't remember seeing that pic, but i'm sure i must have.

Question what is the plant in the middle of
your elephant ears it is so pretty great pic too

love the elephants.

I believe that is a brugmansia

Thank You kenny
That is a very pretty plant