Elephant Ear

Colcasia

Alocasia

Xanthosoma

These are the 3 varieties in this category.

Alocasia do not like to be wet - I recommend growing them in a mixture of fine orchid bark mixed with some perlite. Definitely no peat or moisture retentive media in their mix. No full sun but as bright a protected spot as you can keep them in. They will usually sulk after shipping, if you disturb their roots and if they are to wet.

Colocasia are essentially water plants and I believe must be kept wet at all times, you can achieve this by keeping a saucer of water under their pots that is kept full. They can even be grown in ponds they love water so much! They do best with very bright light or even kept in full sun. They generally do not like to grow as an indoor plant unless its a very bright position. They will usually sulk after shipping, if you disturb their roots and if they are to dry.

Xanthosoma tend to be a mixture of requirements from the above two. They do not like to dry out, but usually do not like to be super wet. (There is the exception in some cases though as I have had them grow in ponds before, but it can be a risk!) Morning sun is usually ok, but hot afternoon sun can burn them. They will usually sulk after shipping, if you disturb their roots and if they are to dry.

It is normal for any of these plants to loose some leaves, or have a setback period due to shipping and re-establishment. I am working on growing all of these plants to be able to send them in their pots to minimise disturbance, however sometimes when they get to big i cannot do this. On arrival, do not disturb the root ball even if it seems like its a good idea, and when potting into your new pot of choice, simply put the new plant into the pot and fill in new potting mix around the existing soil to allow it to remain as undisturbed as possible.