Monrovia® Illustris Elephant Ear is a dramatic, frost tender tuberous perennial grown for its massive arrow-shaped foliage with dramatic green venation and black highlights. Its canna-lily like summer flowers are infrequent and often hidden in the foliage when they do bloom. The best color occurs with filtered light and rich, moist to marginal soils. If grown in area that experiences frost, bring inside to overwinter or treat as an annual.
Syn. with Colocasia 'Antiquorum'
Type: |
Perennial, Annual |
Origins: |
Africa |
Height: |
3' - 5' |
Spread: |
3' - 4' |
Spacing: |
3.5' |
USDA Hardiness Zone: |
8 - 10 |
Culture: |
|
Bloom Color: |
Yellow |
Season of Interest: |
MAINTENANCE NEEDS: Low maintenance. Do not let soils dry out.
LANDSCAPE USES: Accents or Group Plantings, Borders, Woodland Gardens, Water Garden, Pond Edges, Foundational Plantings, Indoor Plants, and Containers.
COMPANION PLANTS: Fern, Caladium, Begonia
IMAGES: Photos by Proven Winners, Colocasia esculenta, (2) Photo by cultivar413, 200710 179 Encinitas - San Diego Botanic Gdn, Lawn Gdn, Colocasia esculenta 'Illustris' Taro, (3) Photo by David J. Stang, Colocasia esculenta var. illustris 2zz, CC BY-SA 4.0, (4) Photo by David J. Stang, Colocasia esculenta var. illustris 0zz, CC BY-SA 4.0
*As plants have ranges in appearance they may not appear as the images shown.