Elephant ears grow very well but bulbs rot simultaneously

[Garden Noam Chomsky]

Hello, I live in southeast Michigan, and for several years I've grown elephant ears in front of my house. I start with very large bulbs, about cannon ball sized, and they generally grow very well until the weather gets cold. Last year was especially good. They got to about 6ft tall, and they even flowered.

The only problem is, for whatever reason, the original bulbs that I grow them from tend to rot away every year. When I dig them up in the fall, all that's left are the smaller bulbs that grew off of the main large bulb. I actually thought that this was just how they grew, but apparently not?

The only other thing that seems strange to me is that the main bulbs rarely if ever grow new leaves straight out of the top of them like I would expect. And when they do, they are very small. The main growth comes from the bulbs shooting new growth out of the sides and up. Is this normal? If not, could this be why these main bulbs tend to rot away. Am I maybe not planting them deep enough in the ground?

Thanks.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Did you plant them upside down?

 

[Garden Noam Chomsky]

I hope not. This is the top, right?

Also should they start growing large stalks right out from where you can see the old ones were cut off? Because they don't really do that, at least not large stalks. They shoot new stalks out of the sides of this and up.

 

[DirtMechanic]

There are pups but some bulbs spread like that, like a cell dividing.

 

[Garden Noam Chomsky]

See mine usually do not have much growth coming out of the top like that, mainly just out of the sides. Eventually maybe they'll get a few small leaves spouting out of the top, but the main growth comes from the ones that sprout out of the sides.

I'm wondering if I'm not planting them deep enough. Usually I start them in pots, and the top of the bulb is only an inch or two at best under the top of the soil.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Mine are not deep but they are hardy here in USDA zone 8. Your ground stays pretty cold?

I found this on the web:
"The Colocasia plants are wetland plants, so if you want to put them in pots around the edges of your pools and water surfaces, do so.
However, you should not plant them next to water sources outside of pots because they can grow and spread too rapidly. It might be difficult for you to contain their aggressive spread. "

I think this describes your pups and your problem. Especially that second paragraph. I imagine a plant on the bank reaching down to a water table rather than soaking in it. Do you use a particularly moisture retentive potting mix or soil? Mine are in clay so can get pretty dry at the surface in deep summer.

 

[Garden Noam Chomsky]

Hmm I don't really use any unique potting mix, just the standard potting soil you'd get at Lowes or places like that.

Once they have established themselves pretty well in the pots, after about a month, I take them out of the pots and put them in the ground in front of my house for the summer. I do water them really heavily once they're in the ground since I've discovered you pretty much can't over water them, and they tend to grow better with more water.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Hmm I don't really use any unique potting mix, just the standard potting soil you'd get at Lowes or places like that.

Once they have established themselves pretty well in the pots, after about a month, I take them out of the pots and put them in the ground in front of my house for the summer. I do water them really heavily once they're in the ground since I've discovered you pretty much can't over water them, and they tend to grow better with more water.

Does your soil percolate? You say the bulb is rotting? My clay can hold a puddle more than a day if it has been raining.