Here’s another new elephant ear we’re thinking about introducing, but we’d love to hear your thoughts. Mature height is 3-4′ and it does spread among other plants. We are calling it Colocasia ‘Smiley Face’. This is an unidentified species, probably from North Vietnam, that has been hardy for us for over a decade. Thoughts?
Very pretty! I would certainly buy it. I like the growth habit and the look.
Yes! Who couldn’t use a few smiley faces?
I like the idea of it spreading. Planting close to some tall spikey plants would be interesting. I would buy!
This plant should move from possibly to definitely offer it. It is beautiful and I like the fullness of its character, whatever that means…I think it is a winner.
It certainly does give me a smiley face! What a wonderful way to spread some cheer. I’ll buy it.
I would certainly add this one to my collection. Beautiful!
Stems look very narrow… does it lodge or stay firmly upright?
We’ve not seen any lodging in a decade in the garden.
Very nice. I would use it over the darker types you offer
Looks nice and like the name!
Probably would buy. What is the hardiness number?
Looks like it probably would return in zone 7.
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Fine in Zone 7b
Love it and would definitely buy it. I live in No VA in zone 7 and elephant ears typically don’t winter over. Is this one an exception?
We don’t know how far north this will go past our location in NC.
I have grown this in 7a for at least 5 years and it has seen some sub-zero temps and still returned for me with no issues. A. It slower to start in Spring, but catches up nicely.
Just curious where you got your plant, since this has yet to be introduced? Colocasia ‘Illustris’ looks vaguely familiar and is common in the trade.
Or Zulu’s mask ?
Another great name.
Very beautiful. Not a big fan of colocasias but this is gorgeous,
I love it! I would definitely love to have one. How much did it spread in your garden?
We moved it to a sunnier location a couple of years ago, and it’s spread to about 4′ wide so far.
I would like to have it, certainly could get it next year as this year’s too late to get it in ground. The mottling is different and in some ways an improvement on “Mojito” (both are good, the larger, fewer spots here provide more to work with for me).
How does it do in light shade, sun, etc.? I have some common, green form of Colocasia esculenta growing very much under pines – mostly shade, yet they almost never flop unless the soil is very dry. The darker leaved types seem almost prone to doing so, even in near full sun for me (i.e. “Black Magic”, “Black RIpple”[the latter less so] in ~6 hours of direct sun).
We grew it in light shade for many years, where it persisted, but it exploded when we moved it to full sun.
I love it. Would it be possible to overwinter it? I live in zone 6b.
Probably not outdoors
Do deer go after it?
Great question. We have never seen deer attach colocasias, but hopefully others will chime in.