I have newly discovered the wonders of the Colocasia plant. One commonly known variety is the Thailand Giant. They are beautiful big leafed plants.   


I have been doing some research and have found out that these plants thrive in a pond like setting. They love to have their roots constantly wet.

I built this little "Oasis" next to my garage and i was wanting to add one or two of the Colocasia's to it.
 
Bottom tier is 36 inches deep. Middle tier is 14 inches deep. Top tier is 28 inches deep.

My question to the other members is does anyone have any experience with Colocasia's ? Would i be able to grow them in the pond and would they become too big and overtake the pond.

I was also wondering how this area  would do for the fig tree's. It get's really hot and humid in this area on summer days. (Not sure the wife would appreciate them here though)

That is beautiful. I tried a small pond last year but could never stabilize the water and pulled it out. Great job.

Thanks Steve. Ponds are an area i am quite experienced in.
If you decide to give your pond another go at it let me now i am sure i can help.

Hi Shailesh. Thank you for the nice words. It took me almost 10 days just to dig the hole. Then, ... with help from a pro it took another 2 weeks to assemble it.
Trying to  fit the liner i think was the hardest part. It was big and heavy and awkward and hard to fit in. I think the liner for the bottom tier was the heaviest and weighed
probably around 300 pounds.

I have not purchased the plants yet we still have snow on the ground here. From the pics it looks like the stem is green. But he has quite a few varieties. What do you think ?
http://brugmansia-quebec.com/Catalogue/Catalogue-Colocasias_ang.html

Is it true that the roots sold in Spanish/Caribbean bodegas can be grown into Taro plants= Callocasia esculenta?

In NYC, the bodegas as stocked with these tropical "roots".  Just wondering.


Frank

Wow what a beauty. I love it. I have read the same thing.
They do not tolerate any sort of cold and the leaves turn yellow long before frost hits.

I love the stem on your plant. The leaves as well. They look as if they start off in a cupped form and then
as they grow they fold over.

Check out LOGEE'S for "ALOCASIA" plants....and also for unusual plants with beautiful leaves, try:

Alocasia sanderiana
Alocasia longiloba

Also various hybrids.  Some smaller Alocasias make beautiful house plants, and can be grown in pots (even pots without drainage).  Use them as a center piece on a patio table, or grow them near a water feature, rill, pond, fountain, etc.


Frank

Thanks Frank. Very very much appreciated.

Pino-

Love the plants and the water garden.  Nice job.

Glad to help.


Frank

Your pond is fantastic! Great job!

When I put plants in my pond I used the basket pots for ponds lined with landscape fabric and filled with dirt. I tried to keep the tops exposed but it sure makes it easier to control the roots.

Thanks Frank. Thank You Tami.

My first year i used those as well and yes you're right they do keep the roots from going all over the place in the water. What ended up happening to me is that the plants grew too much too fast to stay in the baskets. I had Water lettuce and Hyacinthe's in them. The next year i waited for the roots to grow longer and i would bury some under rocks to hold the plant in place and the fish eat away at the other roots slowing it's growth. I also had read that Cana lillies do well in water so i tried a couple in one gallon pots and sure enough they grew. I would love to see a pic or pics of your pond.

I planted a Japanese Fibre Banana off to the side of my pond, it always dies to the ground every winter but it adds a nice tropical touch for me up north as well.  In Montreal they have a lot of these in the summer in the Gardens, it looks like a dinosaur habitat when you have a lot of them in a border, looks like you will have a great looking pond in summer time (looks great now but always when it fills in it looks better).

Hi Chivas. Thanks alot for the reply and nice words. I am def going to look them up.
How tall do they grow by summers end ?

Depends on how warm your spring is, what position you put it in (full sun vs part sun etc) and how much your fertilize.   I planted mine next to a fence so it gets about 1/2-3/4 day sun, the soil warmed up slow so it only got to about 7 feet tall, the year before it got to about 12 feet.  Last year I didn't fertilizer it as much and it put up a ton of pups, it can take a lot of fertilizer, I used manure and fish fertilizer and it can take regular doses every week or two weeks.  The stems die back in the winter for me so I won't  get any flowers or bananas (not good for eating anyways) but the leaves are good for cooking still.  It supposedly survives down to zone 4 if you mulch it well, I usually put 3 feet of mulch around and on top of it and it comes back, just might take a bit longer if the winter and spring are cold.  Here we can buy a 4 inch pot for $5-$12 depending which store you go to, they start off small but they will grow with fertilizer and water, just let them get established before you pump water and fertilizer to it so you don't drown it.

Thats a beautiful thing you built Pino.