Gardening

If your elephant ears keep dying

ears

Elephant ears mostly grow in moist places, up to three and five feet tall. PHOTO | FOTOSEARCH

Elephant ears are a parade of beauty. But most plant lovers grow these beautiful flowers that have very large heart-shaped leaves, but abandon them when the stems break or they turn brown.

Elephant ears mostly grow in moist places, up to three and five feet tall. Most of them are rich green in colour, but there are others that have purplish-black, white, red, pink and multi-coloured variegated leaves.

Morgan Osiolo, a gardener in Mombasa grows Hilo Beauty of caladium under a shade. 

Elephant ears classified into different species such as Colocasia, Caladium, Alocasia and Xanthosoma, according to the colour of foliage and flowers.

He says there are things gardeners do wrong that hurt elephant ears, turn the leaves brown and crinkling.

“Direct sunlight can scorch the leaves. The plants can be grown outdoor but not under direct sun; place them partially under a shade,’’ says Mr Osiolo.

Oversized elephant ears are also excellent houseplants. They can be grown in large pots and placed in different focal points of the house to portray their artistic glamour. 

The other mistake is depriving them of water. If you stop watering them, the leaves turn brown on the edges.

Good spacing

Ensure the soil is moist throughout. These plants basically do well around the edges of ponds or swampy areas in the garden, so the soil should never be dry.
“These plants take in a lot of water and require consistent moist soil to make the leaves are rich in colour and attractive,’’ says Mr Osiolo, adding that wipe the leaves if the plant is indoors.

Also, if the elephant ear is dying, it might be due to lack of nutrients in the soil or the soil type is not suited for growing the plant.

“These plants need nitrogen nutrients in plenty. Apply fertilisers but not in large amount to avoid burning the leaves,’’ says Mr Osiolo.

The plant should also be grown with favourable spacing. This helps them utilise the nutrients sufficiently.

“Spraying the elephant ears with nitrogen fertiliser will reinforce the nutrients in the soil. If you’re growing them indoors, plant one elephant ear in one pot to avoid overcrowding and competition for the nutrients leading to weak stems and browning of leaves.

Also, insects can nibble the edges or suck sap from the leaves, changing their colour.

“Spray insecticides or pesticides to prevent pest infestations. Also regular wiping of the leaves helps these ornamental plants stay evergreen,” the gardener says.

Regular wiping also makes it easy to notice if the insects are attacking the leaves because most swarm the back of the leaf. 

The elephant ears can grow beautifully then it starts drooping. In such cases, it withers and what remains is a brownish stalk. 

“Weak stems are also caused by insufficient light,” he adds.

When the plant dies, don’t throw it away or uproot it, cut the main stem and plant directly into the soil. In three weeks’ time, the leaves will sprout from the “eyes” on the stem.

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