If you want your containers to have a real wow factor then this is something you want to read. Big is beautiful and what could be bigger than Elephant Ears? Together with Caladiums you will have two majestic plants which will provide a dramatic show all summer long. This article by Nick McCullough which I found on his Thinking Outside The Boxwood website explains how to do it.
May is providing us a progression of?peony and?iris blooms, but the life of a gardener is planning for your enjoyment a season or two ahead. Now is the time to plant bulbs for summer containers that will be large and impactful throughout the hot months. Here are two options of?bulbs you can plant in containers for high impact this summer.
ELEPHANT EARS:
Just as their name suggests, Elephant Ears have oversized leaves and are the alpha element or ?thriller? in any container combination. Elephant is blanket common name for the genus Colocasia and?Alocasia. ?One is not necessarily better than the other. ?It just depends on the what characteristics you are looking for. ?Recently, most of the breeding has been geared toward Colocasia so you are seeing many interesting variations like Colocasia esculenta ?Mojito? and black foliage Colocasia esculenta ?Diamond Head?. The tubers grow quickly and range from 3 ? 5 feet in height. In a 2 feet tall?container, you will have a lush, stately 7ft container. Elephant Ears can handle a variety of sun conditions, so are a good placement for anywhere expect heavy shade.
Thanks to their long stocks, you get to have a lot of fun experimenting with the foundation plantings around the tuber. You can go for burst of color or play with textures in the same tones. In the example below, we stayed in the dark tone, but would also look great if you used silver foliage for high contrast.
A pair of containers flanking a walkway feature a single dark tone combo of Colocasia esculenta ?Diamond Head? and Setcreasea pallida ?Purple Heart.?
See more at Thinking Outside The Boxwood
