Elephant Ear Plants in Ponds

Natural Habitat

• Elephant ear plants are often found in bogs, swamps or even along rivers. They prefer the constant moist soil that allows them to grow their large leaves, and an aquatic environment supplies constant organic material for a rich soil base. Their foliage can get sunburned, so they're more often found near water-loving trees.

Around Ponds

• To use elephant ear plants around a pond, you must find an area of relatively shallow water. This is called the margin, and water here is between the soil level and 6 inches deep. If it is a natural pond, the muddy banks are the best area to grow elephant ears. In constructed ponds or ponds with liners and no muddy banks, elephant ear is planted in a container and set on bricks or stones as needed to ensure the root ball sits only a few inches below the surface of the water.

Benefits

• The large leaves of elephant ear shade the pond during the heat of the summer, providing relief for aquatic life and helping to prevent algae blooms that depend on direct sunlight. They add a tropical feel to a pond with their large, dark-green leaves. The foliage acts as a dramatic background for the blooms of other aquatic and tropical plants.

Considerations

• Unlike water lilies, elephant ears don't do well planted in the deeper areas of a pond. They do not tolerate freezing temperatures very well. Digging the tubers from the pond and storing them indoors once the foliage dies back for the winter ensures their survival. The tubers are replanted in middle to late spring to provide foliage all summer.