So , winter ’s coming and you ’re panicking over protecting your precious elephant spike .
You ’re freak out . You do n’t want to see those big unripened leaves go to waste .
What can you do to relieve them ? Or at least regrow them next time of year ?
You winter it ! AKA : WINTERIZE .
Let ’s learn about how you’re able to preserve your elephant ears until next season , so then you’re able to enjoy them once more !
These plants are made to be enjoyed multiple times- that ’s why they ’re perennial by nature .
So allow ’s learn how to overwinter these plants .
Guide Contents
Can elephant ears be overwintered?
Elephant auricle can definitely be overwintered . Yes , that ’s right !
You do n’t need to painfully watch your precious boastful gullible leaves go faggot because you may bring through the bulbs
Then you could plant them again next season . Plus , you do n’t need to lay waste to your precious money on buying a young elephant ear every season merely by storing them correctly .
overwinter elephant ear does n’t get any well-situated . Let ’s plunk in !
Elephant ears can irritate the skin
Elephant ears contain a compound ( oxalic acid ) that can cause some skin irritation in mass with sensitive skin .
apply protective article of clothing , gloves , and shoes ( or any other PPE you need ) when palm these plants . Use rough-cut sense and proceed with care .
Do elephant ears go dormant?
Similar tocreeping thyme , bluebells , orbird of paradise , they ’re countersink to go dormant so they can conserve their vigor for the insensate time of year until leap comes around once again so they can show off those big light-green foliation for you .
What do you do with elephant ears in the winter?
It depends where you live . If you ’re in a depressed hardiness zone , you ’ll belike have to cut them back then store the electric-light bulb for the wintertime .
If you ’re in a fond zone , you could either leave them outside if temperatures do n’t duck too far .
These plant life can only handle so much cold-blooded before you involve to do something . gamy zona may even get away with just putting a few in of mulch and calling it a twenty-four hours !
Those growing in pots can simply move them inside their homes for the cold time of year and give it some water here and there .
So it ’s nuanced . There ’s no clear solution .
It look on your local conditions , as you ’d expect . But as usual , the points go to those in temperate zones . Less study for those people .
How cold can elephant ears tolerate?
Elephant ear should only be exposed to temperature above 50F. If the temperature dips down to 40F or so , it can obliterate your plant life . A single night of Robert Lee Frost wo n’t do much .
But if it ’s coherent , or the cold is just too much , then your elephant ear will be damaged .
How to overwinterelephant ears
This section covers how you’re able to winterize your elephant spike .
It depends on whether you originate it outside , or in a pot . This will then switch the step to right winterize it .
But do n’t worry- it ’s pretty easy disregardless .
First , permit ’s utter about how you grew your plant !
Did you grow it as a potted plant?
If you grew it as a potted flora , you ’ve got it made .
Simply bring it indoors to save it from the cold . Bring it in and move it somewhere that stick hatful of humidity since it care high-pitched moisture content .
Some good places are your bath , kitchen , or other humidity - check elbow room in your house .
If you do n’t have anywhere to put it , or your air is perpetually teetotal , turn over getting a humidifier and locking it in a room until the wintertime is over , such as your toilet .
As a last resort , you could spritz it often with a sprayer bottle and keep it sozzled .
So for those that have it potted , institute it indoors for the wintertime and you ’re dress ! It does n’t require to be removed from the passel
It can be winter in pots . If you do n’t require to disturb it , then do n’t . Uprooting it for no reason will just blow out of the water it .
If you grew it as a houseplant , intend it ’s wonted to the indoor environs , then you do n’t demand to do anything .
You may need to tally some grow light during the winter because of myopic day , but otherwise , it should be pretty consistent in terms of care .
How tooverwinter elephant earsplanted in the garden
If you grew your elephant ears in your garden , then it becomes slightly more unmanageable .
But do n’t worry- it ’s nothing to chafe over . This will involve you to dig up the bulbs , store them , and then pull through them until next spring .
The physical process is straightforward , even if it sound chilling . Just commit to it and go forth !
First , we ’ll require to dig up up the elephant spike to get their bulb . You ’ll be saving the bulb for next spring when the freeze is over .
Get your favorite distich of horticulture gloves , a modest jigaboo , and a disposable toothbrush you do n’t require anymore .
The right time to dig up them out is in the fall before the cold do . If you expect too long , then they may already be scared by the first few dip in temperature .
The previous you could go after the first hoarfrost is when the leaves start to languish on their own . This wo n’t kill it but can damage it . Do not look any longer than this point of no return .
When digging them out , be super careful . If you damage the bulbs , they may terminate up with flesh wounds . If this happens , they can waste or farm fungus in store .
They ’ll be no good anymore next season , so you need to be careful to not make any accidental slits in them .
You may end up bruise them if you dig too close .
If you ’ve never unearthed a plant before , you should look on some videos that demonstrate it :
come out by digging around the dirt about 10 inches away from the base of the plant .
Dig in a circle , with each full rotation inching nearer to the electric light . apply a frank nigger to dig it up . If the soil is toughened , wet it by fully soaking it .
When you get to the medulla , be careful not to cut into the roots or the bulb itself .
Do NOT pull on the bulb . The only path to get it out is to free the dirt around it . When it ’s wanton enough , it should just come out on its own with no force from you .
If you unexpectedly cut into the lightbulb , you may either fling of it or stash away it anyway in its own separate container . Do n’t put it with the uncut bulbs .
Next , make clean it . Spray it with water supply to loosen marked-up clumps and detritus . utilise the brush and gently scrub the electric light . strip it up as much as you could .
pay off a brace of trimmer can trim down off the excess foliage . you could remove the big leaf before you start digging . When you get to the bulbs , trim back off the smaller leave .
Cut the stalks about 2 ” from the bulb . you could also cut off excess roots or offshoot .
If your bulb has big outgrowth , it can be saved for replanting on its own .
Put the light bulb on a weather sheet of newspaper and let them dry out .
When they ’re whole dry they should be good to go . Do n’t store them wet- this increases the hypothesis of a fungal contagion down the line .
Wrap each bulb in paper . Then put them in a cardboard box . The reason I suggest using a box is that you could easily see if there ’s wet on the edges .
If so , you may have a fungous infection . Keep the box somewhere ironic , coolheaded , and dark .
Check on the bulbs every hebdomad or so . appear for bugs , rot , or fungus . If you see anything , dispose of the bulbs that are infested .
When wintertime is over , it ’s prison term to break them out !
softly unwrap each bulb from their newspaper while checking for signs of plague .
If they ’re good to go , then you’re able to replant them in the garden once again . Enjoy those big greens right away .
For a head start , you’re able to give away them during the wintertime .
Plant them in gage inside your home until the spring comes . Then you’re able to move them alfresco when the temperatures break up back up next time of year .
Something interesting to observe : The bulbs ofelephant auricle are n’t in reality electric-light bulb . They ’re tubers . Elephant ears do n’t grow bulbs , but it ’s a common disarray .
Commonly asked questions
Can I overwinter elephant ears in pots?
You sure can . And that make it easier .
With a plantation owner , you could move them indoors during the low temperature and then back out in the springtime . It does n’t get any light .
Can I bring my elephant ears indoors for winter?
Yes , if you grew it in a container , you may work them indoors for wintering . Ensure that the ears get enough water during the wintertime .
Reduce feed during this point . Light is n’t as significant as it can be develop as houseplant anyway
If you grew them out of doors , then they wo n’t be accustomed to the indoor luminance . But this should n’t kill your plants .
Supplement with a grow ignitor if take . Yellowing or wilting is to be expected .
Do elephant ears need to be dug up for winter?
If you planted them in your garden dirt , then yes .
If you ’re in a cooler zone where the temperature dip down to 40 - 50F in the wintertime , then you ’ll have to dig them up to store the electric-light bulb .
If you found them in containers , then you make it made , friend .
How to start mulching elephant ears for winter
If you ’re in zone 8 or higher , you may just provide them alone during the wintertime if temperature remain above 50F. For lower zones , cut off it back until it ’s 2 - 3 column inch above the soil line .
Then put some 4 - 5 inches of constitutional mulch . This can serve save the bulb from nighttime snaps in temperature .
Be sure to put something there so you do n’t tramp down it . Use a plant marker or something so you or your pawl do n’t step on it .
When to dig up elephant ears?
Dig them up in the recent fall or early wintertime . The first hoarfrost is the level best you could wait before you either cut them back for mulching or lightbulb store .
If you have them in smoke , then move them in beforehand . No point in waiting around and risking it !
When can you replant elephant ears?
Elephant ears should be replant up when the last Robert Frost is over
If you ’re storing bulbs indoors , you could get a chief start by engraft them indoors first , then transfer them outside when spring fare .
Otherwise , planted one can be go out when the temperatures nibble up once again . Be indisputable there ’s no sign of random snapbacks to cold dips before you move them out .
Do elephant ears come back year after year?
Elephant ears are perennials in the warmer parts of the US .
They will regrow on their own after the wintertime . In colder zones , they ’re treated as annuals , unless you overwinter them correctly .
These big unripe leafy plants are one to enjoy for multiple seasons , Quaker .
How do you revive elephant ears?
You renovate them by replanting them in the outflow , of course !
If you ’re using a potted plant , you may lento move them outside for a few minute each day .
This will reduce plant shock and is known as indurate off or acclimating .
Can you leave elephant ears in the ground over winter?
It depends . If you ’re in USDA zone 8 or high , then yes , you may .
If not , then you’re able to cut them back then mulch them for the winter . Or you could get the electric light and stack away them . It ’s up to you .
Further reading/references
Now you know how to overwinter elephant ears for good
overwinter elephant auricle is moderately easy once you do it once .
It can be scary when you extirpate those precious little bulbs , but just be heedful and you ’ll be capable to overwinter them until the spring amount . Then you’re able to enjoy your braggart green foliage .
Do you have any questions about winter these plants
I ’ve always been interested in horticulture , but I never took it seriously until I was forcefully give an orchid . This was what bring forth me into the by-line and I ’ve never looked back . I enjoy writing about it , but not nearly as much as get into the dirt and sculpting the thoroughgoing ornamental ornamental to enjoy for the meter .
