How to Store Elephant Ear Bulbs for the Winter

Elephant ear plants, or caladiums, produce large leaves shaped much like an elephant ear. Depending on the variety, the foliage can be green or it may feature red, pink, white or yellow variegations. Elephant ears grow well in shaded areas of the garden, but they cannot tolerate winter freezing. The bulb structure they grow from, which actually consists of a modified tuberous root system, goes dormant in late fall. Storing the dormant bulbs indoors allows you to save your plants from frost so you can replant them next year.

Trowel
Newspaper
Fungicidal dust
Box
Peat moss

Instructions

- 1
  Dig around the base of the elephant ear plant once the foliage begins to die back after the first light freeze. Dig down below the bulb then slide the trowel under it and lift it from the soil. Some breakage of the small roots on the bottom of the bulb is fine and doesn't cause any damage to the plant.
- 2
  Cut back the foliage to within 1 inch of the top of the bulb. Leave the roots attached to the bottom of the bulb.
- 3
  Spread the bulbs out on a sheet of newspaper in a cool, dry room away from bright light. Dry for five to 10 days then brush the excess soil from the roots.
- 4
  Coat the bulbs with a fungicidal dust, following package application instructions. Most dusts are applied by placing the dust in a paper sack. Place the bulbs in the sack with the dust then shake the sack until the bulbs are coated.
- 5
  Bury the bulbs in a box filled with dried peat moss. Store them in a dry, 50 degree Fahrenheit location until you are ready to replant them in spring.

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