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Colocasia (Taro, Elephant Ear)
The elephant ears we offer differ from the more common green box-store type. We offer many new and hard-to-find selections with colorful leaves as well as colorful stems. We are particularly excited to offer the new Hawaiian series of elephant ears that were bred for ornamental value from Hawaiian breeder John Cho.
Colocasias are very heavy feeders, so if your plant isn't growing enough, you either need more heat or more nitrogen. All of the colocasias we offer are hardy here in Zone 7b. Although suitable for soggy conditions, the cold-hardiness of colocasia is increased in soil that is not soggy during the winter. Where they remain in the ground over winter, they will be quite late to re-emerge in late spring or early summer, unless they are covered with 3-6" of mulch in early fall. North of Zone 8, it is essential that they are not planted after late August to ensure best winter hardiness. In parts of the country, a few of the newer cultivars of elephant ears do not form large tubers and, if dug in winter, cannot be stored dry due to a lack of adequate food reserves. These are best overwintered in containers in a cool basement or garage that remains above freezing. They also will not take a notion to grow until the summer temperatures escalate.
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Colocasia esculenta 'Rhubarb' (Rhubarb Elephant Ear)
Sun Zone: 7b-10 48" tall Origin: Asia
This new elephant ear is a real WOW plant. Colocasia 'Rhubarb' was "discovered" by Burl Mostul on a trip to Hawaii, where he found a clump growing in a suburban garden and realized its potential. The 4' tall stems that hold the large green leaves are brilliant red. We're not talking about a little anthocyanin pigment you have to strain to see, but we are talking real WOW red from 100' away. Be the first in your neighborhood to dazzle your friends. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #05188
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Colocasia esculenta 'Ruffles' (Ruffles Elephant Ear)
SunZone: 7-10 72" tall Origin: Asia
Open House/Web-Only!
(syn: C. "Ruffle Leaf") This spectacular form of the hardy elephant ear comes to us from a garden in Anniston, Alabama, where it was "discovered" by Southeast Palm Society member Hayes Jackson. We can attest that this clumper has both phenomenal vigor as well as hardiness. Each 3' long leaf has incredibly scalloped edges that sets it apart from typical C. esculenta. In growth habit, it performs here as a clumper, unlike the more stoloniferous forms. Colocasia 'Ruffles' has also multiplied faster than any elephant ear we have grown, with clumps multiplying from 1 to 100 divisions in 12-24 months. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #04320
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Colocasia esculenta 'Surf City' (formerly 'Waikiki') (Surf City Elephant Ear)
SunZone: 7b-10 60" tall Origin: Hybrid
(aka: C. 'Waikiki', C. 2001-056) Colocasia 'Surf City' is the latest introduction from Hawaiian elephant ear breeder John Cho. I've been drawn to this variety since we first put it in our trials. The vigorous growing tight clump is composed of 5' tall stalks that are purple toward the top, each holding a narrowly pointed, amazingly ruffled leaf. Each leaf is adorned with a small purple dot where the stem attaches to the leaf back. The narrow ruffled leaves add an entirely different texture in the garden.
Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #07247
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Colocasia esculenta 'Tiger Stripe' (Tiger Stripe Elephant Ear)
SunZone: 7b-10 60" tall Origin: E. Asia
This Alan Galloway selection makes a
large 5' tall clump of medium green leaves with some chartreuse yellow flecking. The best trait is the stunning stalks, which are heavily streaked with purple and yellow. When the soil is moist, it spreads well via aboveground rhizomes forming a large patch. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #07591
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Colocasia esculenta var. antiquorum 'Black Beauty' (Black Beauty Elephant Ear)
Part Sun to Light ShadeZone: 7-10 30" tall Origin: E. Asia
This superb 2006 Agri-Starts introduction is a stunning mutation of the popular C. 'Illustris'. If you can imagine intensifying the black leaf color and removing some of the green veins of C. 'Illustris', you can visualize C. 'Black Beauty'. We have no doubt a few of these got mixed in our recent orders of C. 'Illustris', so a few of you may already have this. In the ground, C. 'Black Beauty' is also somewhat stoloniferous like C. 'Illustris', making a 4' wide patch in 3-4 years...simply stunning. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #07727
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Colocasia esculenta var. antiquorum 'Illustris' (Imperial Taro)
Part Sun to Light ShadeZone: 7-10 30" tall Origin: Asia
Open House/Web-Only!
Imperial Taro is one of the most striking plants in our garden after it emerges in early June! This black-leaved elephant ear has dramatic green veins, highlighting the black background...always a conversation piece. Imperial Taro has proven hardy below 0 degrees F in our garden. The plant is slightly stoloniferous in heavy dry clay but abounds freely in wet organic soils...you will love it! Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #01280
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Colocasia esculenta 'Yellow Splash' (Yellow Splash Elephant Ear)
Sun to Part SunZone: 7b-10 48" tall Origin: Asia
Open House/Web-Only!
For those variegated nuts out there...we know you're out there...we are excited to offer the long-awaited Colocasia 'Yellow Splash'. There are several splashed forms entering the US, but this name should only be applied to this cultivar. Each 4' tall clump of large, grey-green leaves is heavily splashed with creamy yellow patterns, differing in each leaf. C. 'Yellow Splash' spreads via rhizomes, so propagation will be easy. Rich organic soils that stay moist in the summer will result in the largest plants. Thanks to plantsman Frank Galloway for sharing this exciting introduction. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #05722
SOLD OUT
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Colocasia fallax (Silver Leaf Dwarf Elephant Ear)
Part Sun to ShadeZone: 7b-10 18" tall Origin: Thailand, Vietnam
Open House/Web-Only!
We acquired this delightful elephant ear from the Galloway brothers, Alan and Frank. Unlike most other elephant ears, this light-shade and moisture-lover forms rounded leaves of velvety, medium green, each highlighted by a wide silver streak down the center vein, with smaller silver veins radiating from the center to the leaf edge. The plants are adorned all summer with small yellow spathe and spadix flowers. The 18" tall plants make 2' wide clumps in 3 years but spread much faster (4' wide patch in 2 years) in very wet soils by means of short, above-ground stolons...quite unique and quite beautiful! Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #02600
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Colocasia fallax 'Silver Dollar' (Silver Dollar Dwarf Elephant Ear)
Part Sun to Light ShadeZone: 7b-10, at least 15" tall Origin: China, Vietnam
Open House/Web-Only!
This Alan Galloway selection of the shade-loving dwarf C. fallax has proved to be a much more vigorous and attractive selection than any form of this species we have grown. The small, rich green leaves are much more rounded than normal and also highlighted by narrow silver veins and a wide central silver blotch. In late summer, the clumps are adorned with small yellow spathe and spadix flowers. The 15" tall plants make 2' wide clumps in 5 years, but should spread faster in moist soils by means of short, above-ground stolons...quite unique and quite beautiful! Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #06669
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Colocasia 'Fontanesii' (Black Stem Elephant Ear)
Sun to Light ShadeZone: 7b-10 80" tall Origin: E. Asia
Open House/Web-Only!
This is one of the most spectacular plants in our garden. The giant purple-black petioles (stalks) rise to nearly 7'. At the end of each petiole sits a giant, green, heart-shaped leaf (to 3' long) with a shiny black cast. In late summer, the plant is home to wonderful yellow aroid flowers, to 12" long, with a fragrance of papayas...WOW! Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #01632
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Colocasia gigantea (Giant Elephant Ear)
Sun to Part SunZone: 7b-10, at least 72" tall Origin: China
Open House/Web-Only!
Thanks to collector extraordinaire Hayes Jackson for sharing this very distinct and hard-to-find elephant ear. Resembling an alocasia, the 6' tall grey petioles (stalks) hold the large, silver-veined, grey-green leaves outright. When the plants mature, the tip of the leaf arches downward and each leaf develops bizarre appendages on the underside...you'll just have to see it for yourself. This clone of C. gigantea makes a fast-multiplying clump but without the long runners of many C. esculenta forms...still plenty to share. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #04692
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Colocasia gigantea Thailand Giant Strain (Super-Sized Elephant Ear)
Sun to Part SunZone: 8-10 108" tall Origin: Thailand
New crop available 01-01-2010 Make mine super-sized! This huge strain of the giant elephant ear was grown from wild collected seed (PES 1003B) from Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand, in 2003 by former PDN Research Manager Petra Schmidt. In the wild, the plants reached a massive 9' tall, which is much larger than the clone of C. gigantea we currently grow. For us, each individual leaf grows in excess of 5' long x 4' wide. Each seedling will differ slightly, but massive plants will be the result. In foliage, the leaves are an attractive glaucous-grey which is typical of this species. From an early age, the plants are adorned with clusters of dramatically large, pleasantly scented, white flowers. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #05896
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Colocasia heterochroma 'Dark Shadows' (Yunnan Dwarf Elephant Ear)
Light ShadeZone: 7b-9, at least 8" tall Origin: China
This fascinating new colocasia species was discovered at 4,000' elevation in Yingjiang, Yunnan Province, China. The plant was subsequently named in 1993 by China's aroid expert, Dr. Li Heng. Colocasia heterochroma has been hardy for us since 2002, forming a small patch to only 8" tall x 18" wide...a far cry from its taller cousins. C. heterochroma spreads very slowly via short underground rhizomes. The 6" long x 4" wide leaves are silvery green with a dramatic black interveinal leaf pattern. If the leaves aren't enough to get you excited, how about the naked, unisexual flowers??? C. heterochroma doesn't emerge for us until June, so chill out!
Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #06124
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Coniogramme (Bamboo Fern)
This group of mostly Asian ferns has a uniquely tropical appearance but have been quite satisfactory for years in our temperate garden. While the genus is mostly stoloniferous, they are slow to spread, making fantastic garden specimens. This has become one of our favorite genera of ferns.
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Coniogramme emeiensis Marbled Leaves (Striped Mt. Emei Bamboo Fern)
Part Sun to Light ShadeZone: 7b-9, at least 15" tall Origin: China
This amazing form of the bamboo fern comes from China's magical Mt. Emei (also spelled Omei). Coniogramme emeiensis makes a stunning clump of branched ribbon-shaped leaves, each highlighted with horizontal yellow bands, most pronounced in the new growth. So far, this has been hardy to 9 degrees F in our trials. Where it isn't hardy, it will make one really cool houseplant! Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #06949
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Coniogramme japonica (Japanese Bamboo Fern)
Light Shade to ShadeZone: 7b-9, at least 24" tall Origin: China, Japan, Korea
Open House/Web-Only!
This has long been one of the most admired and requested ferns from our garden, so we are thrilled to finally have enough to share. Bamboo fern is a unique bold-textured fern with upright, 2' tall, dark green, plastic-feeling fronds, emerging from a slowly spreading rhizome. For us, a 10-year-old clump is 3' wide. Where we have seen this growing in the wild, it seems to prefer a moist to slightly moist woodland soil...very easy to grow. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #04877
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Coniogramme sp. 'Ping Wu' (Ping Wu Bamboo Fern)
Part Sun to Light ShadeZone: 7b-10, at least 24" tall Origin: China
Open House/Web-Only!
This Hans Hansen collection hails from Ping Wu in China's Sichuan province at 5,000' elevation. The 3' long dark green, glossy bipinnate fronds arch outward to form a 2' tall x 3' wide plant in 3 years. The thick underground rhizomes spread outward, but not at a rate that will prove scary or invasive in the woodland garden. We have not been able to determine the species yet, but we are sure that it is not C. japonica. Quantities are very limited. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #06076
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Convallaria
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Convallaria majalis 'Hardwick Hall' (Lily-of-the-Valley)
Light Shade to ShadeZone: 3-7 9" tall Origin: Europe, Asia
Open House/Web-Only!
Here's a great plant for our customers further north. We've always loved lily-of-the-valley, especially the variegated forms, but they are painfully slow in our southeast heat and wimpy winters. We are delighted to finally be able to share one of our favorites, the yellow-edged C. 'Hardwick Hall'. Named after the famed English garden, C. 'Hardwick Hall' is a vigorous clone with 9" tall, glaucous leaves edged with a dramatic golden border. In spring, the patches are adorned with fragrant white flowers...a superb deciduous groundcover for a wide range of soil conditions. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #06826
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Coreopsis (Tickseed)
Coreopsis are recognized around the world for being tough, durable plants. Our ever-expanding selection offers some of the wonderful southern natives that are virtually unknown in gardening circles. In addition, some of the new hybrids that we offer are quickly going to become mainstays in virtually all sunny gardens. We have found that many of the new hybrid coreopsis tend to perennialize better if they are cut back after flowering reducing the seed production.
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Coreopsis helianthoides (Swamp Tickseed)
Sun to Light ShadeZone: 6-9, at least 30" tall Origin: USA
Open House/Web-Only!
This rare NC native is another of the great overlooked garden plants growing naturally here in the Southeast. Native to swampy forested sites from NC to Florida, C. helianthoides is similar in growth habit to C. integrifolia. The shiny, uncut, dark green foliage adorns 30" tall clumps. From September to November, C. helianthoides is topped with a stunning show of yellow-orange daisies...perfect for an overly moist site in your garden, although it has performed beautifully for us in regular garden soil in full sun. Thanks to Rob Gardner at the NC Botanic Garden for sharing this eastern NC accession with us. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #03802
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Coreopsis major (Whorled-leaf Tickseed)
Sun to Part SunZone: 5-8 36" tall Origin: USA
Open House/Web-Only!
From New York south to Florida, you are liable to run across Coreopsis major in open dry woodlands. So, why is it not grown in everyone's garden? Probably because it looks like crap (pardon my French) in the woods. Put a plant in full sun, and it becomes a killer perennial. The spreading rootstock makes a 5' clump in 5 years of sturdy, 3' tall stems clothed in whorled green leaves. From late spring through midsummer, the drought-tolerant clumps are topped with 2" yellow daisies...simply superb! Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #06825
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Corydalis (False Bleeding Heart)
While corydalis are found around the world, it is the temperate species from Japan/China that are proving to have the most garden value for the central-to-southern US. Breeders have now begun to use these species to add more exciting new breakthroughs in heretofore-unimaginable colors. |
Corydalis 'Berry Exciting' PP 18,917 (Berry Exciting Corydalis)
Part Sun to Light ShadeZone: 5-8a, possibly warmer 10" tall Origin: Hybrid
If you've been looking for another screamer for your garden, we've got just the plant. The folks at Terra Nova turned the foliage on Corydalis 'Blackberry Wine' to bright gold, and I mean bright! This amazing new selection makes an 18" wide mound of bright golden foliage in spring, topped, starting in late spring, with the same blackberry-colored flowers of the parent. I can think of few plants with this much potential to bring the effect of sunshine into a woodland garden. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #07425
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Corydalis 'Blackberry Wine' (Blackberry Wine Corydalis)
Sun to Light ShadeZone: 5-8a, possibly warmer 10" tall Origin: Hybrid
This stunning new corydalis from a recent China collection has performed amazingly well in our trials. What is normally a heat-sensitive woodland perennial is dazzling in our full-sun rock scree. For us, the 2'+ wide deciduous clump is topped with lovely, fragrant, wine-purple flowers, starting on tax day and continuing into early summer. In some climates, we are hearing reports of continued flowering through November. C. 'Blackberry Wine' is perfect as well in the lightly shaded woodland garden and integrates well with hostas and ferns. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #04868
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