How to Store Elephant Ears of the Colocasia Species for the Winter

As days begin to cool and shorten with the approach of winter, Colocasia esculenta, or elephant ears, prepare for their season of rest. The tubers of these plants are among those tender bulbs that are easily killed by freezing weather. Over-wintering elephant ears is a simple matter of digging up the tubers and storing them until spring weather warms up enough to re-plant them in your area. You'll need to get your elephant ears out of the ground immediately after the first freeze kills their foliage back.

Gardening fork
Cardboard box
Sawdust, peat moss or Vermiculite

Instructions

- 1
  Use a gardening fork to dig up your Colocasia tubers. This tool is much less likely to damage the tender bulbs than a shovel or trowel would. Injured tubers tend to rot and contract diseases quite readily.
- 2
  Shake the excess soil off of the Colocasia tubers. Cut the foliage off to within 1 to 2 inches of the bulbs. Rinse them gently and pat them dry.
- 3
  Examine each tuber for signs of damage, rot or disease and discard any that aren't perfect. Set them in the sun for two or three days to air dry.
- 4
  Cover the bottom of a cardboard box with 2 or 3 inches of sawdust, peat moss or Vermiculite. Arrange colocasia tubers on top of the storage medium so that they're not touching each other or the sides of the box.
- 5
  Spread 2 or 3 inches of the medium on top of the tubers. Repeat the process for the rest of your elephant ear bulbs. Cover the top layer with 2 or 3 inches of medium.
- 6
  Store the elephant ear tubers in your basement, between 70 and 75 degrees F. Don't allow the temperature to drop below 50 F. The basement is a good location if it's warm enough as rodents are less likely to access the stored bulbs.
- 7
  Check on your tubers once every three of four weeks. Discard any that show signs of softening, rot or disease.

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