Rethinking Elephant Ears in my creek next year

[sissy]

make a home made hot house .Find someone replacing there windows in there house and ask if you can have them .I used storm windows and pressure treated wood frame easy to do

 

[j.w]

I don't know about where you are sissy but I do have a greenhouse and if I put plants in it during winter then I have to pay for the electricity to heat it or the poor plants will freeze here so in the house or garage they go where they can't freeze.

 

[taherrmann4]

I live in a neighborhood where the association does not allow sheds, play houses, green houses to be put up in our yards. If we were allowed I would have a greenhouse by now.

 

[sissy]

I have one built on the ground and it is made from double 2x12 stacked using rebar and hose clamps and there is a foot of mulch around it and under it and the windows are just hinged on top and it keeps my plants all winter nice and warm .I use what is called thermo wrap also .Most of my bigger plants do go into the basement though .We do not have any association so no one can tell us here what we can and can't do .I have been looking at one of the backs of a u-haul with the plastic roofs .I saw a smaller one and it would not be to hard to cut windows into it .I saw houses built out of the backs of trucks so why not make one into a green house The smaller u-haul backs are small enough but not to small and painted pretty it could be cute and I could easily put it at the back of my house from public view .Behind my house is all woods so no one back there to see anything .

 

[rebelangel_3733]

Teherrman, ya I know what you mean by the house looks empty in the summer lol

 

[taherrmann4]

Has anyone tried planting caladiums in their pond with any success?

 

[sissy]

I did one year but was told they were poisonous to fish so have not done them since .Aggie was just we bit of a thing then and that was in my first pond .I bought some of the mini elephant ears .I like the tropical look yours give to your pond .looks like a rain forest

 

[j.w]

Yep sissy I just read that they are poison to fish online! Red Maple leaves also. I have a Japanese Red Maple by my pond and some leaves fall in once in awhile and I don't see fish dieing.

 

[taherrmann4]

Is it only poisonous if they eat the leaves? B/c I could always plant the caladiums in the creeks.

 

[sissy]

I have no clue but wondered what part of the plant and one says roots can be and if the root breaks loose and the fish get it and other says the leaves .

 

[DrCase]

My Koi have been living with my red maples a long time
No trouble yet

 

[j.w]

Good to know DrCase cuz I'm not pulling my maple out!

 

[j.w]

While looking online for Caladium plant toxicity I found this to do w/ animals and poisons: http://www.jspca.org.je/pets_toxins_info.html

I found online that it states that all parts of the Caladium plant are poison. http://www.cnykoi.co...ntpoisonous.asp

 

[CountryEscape]

Just saw this thread. Good to know the root system of the elephant ears. No wonder no one was a taker to my offer of bulbs. LOL
I have a taro, which I guess I thought IS a mini elephant ear, maybe not. Anyhow it only gets to be about 16" tall, leaves are a very dark burgandy, so it's called a black taro. Got it last year, brought it into the house all winter, lived, but didn't grow a whole lot. Wondering if I could have dried out the root/bulb and replanted it this spring? It has stayed nicely in it's smallish pot, too. Right now, with the 2 hard frosts we had last weekend (and I forgot to bring it back inside, darn it) the leaves are quite chopped up looking, but I hope it will come back and grow some more leaves. It's almost like something is eating it, but I hope that's not the case, just the wind is whipping it around and causing it to have holes and shredded look to the leaves. It's against the waterfall wall, to save it from the south winds, but still got blown around too much.
Guess I'll try the bulbs in my bog, but keep an eye on how large they get. Sounds like I'd rather keep the smaller bulbs, get rid of the bigger ones! The bulbs I have are golf ball size, a couple of them are elongated, too.
I like the look of the tropical plant, though, T'Man. Will be sure to not put them in my stream, unless it's deep enough to not have to worry about the root system pushing the water up and over the edge. I took your advise and made the stream much deeper than original plan. Thanks for the advise!

 

[addy1]

I put out my taro too early, ce, it dropped to 17, had a few hard frosts, and it is coming back nicely. Give it some time.