Elephant Ear question for Lesa *** PICTURE! post 8***

[baymule]

Thistlebloom, the elephant ears look gorgeous! Do you have to dig them up in the fall to keep them from freezing?

Oh yeah, they would freeze and rot otherwise. They are more impressive in person. The homeowner and I were really pleased with the
effect, but unfortunately her husband thought they looked too tropical for the house, and doesn't want them planted in the entry again.

In this particular case, I believe DH would stand for DUMB husband.

 

[thistlebloom]

Do they come in other colors?

Yes, there is a dark one, the one I planted was called "Black Magic" but it didn't thrive and I ended up pulling it from the pot. I had it planted with the smaller green one in the pic.

 

[bj taylor]

what stunners! I love the combo w/the Persian shield. what a great foil. I love elephant ears

 

[canesisters]

Those look fabulous.

Cane, We allow the plants to die back. If in pots lay on the side so they do not get rain water. Dig tubers and allow to dry completely. Cut off dead foliage. Store in a cool dry place in spagmun (sp?) moss.

I have a TON of sawdust - get it from a local cabinet shop to use in the coop. Could I use that to store the bulbs? We had our first hard frost the other night and all the leaves are gone now. I plan to get them dug this weekend.

 

[lesa]

Saw dust works great... I will tell you a secret. Last year I dug mine and took them down to the basement. I really was going to put them in sawdust- as I had in previous years. Then, it was spring! They were still perfect and put on a great show this year. I will make a bigger effort to get them in sawdust this year. I never had luck with the dark colored one either.

 

[897tgigvib]

Cane, the cabinet shop, do they use Walnut wood? If they do, don't use that sawdust for plants at all.

 

[canesisters]

Marshall, why not?
I know walnut is bad if animals eat it, and I'm pretty sure they use mostly pine, oak, etc. The shavings/sawdust are almost always very light colored. When there is a darker stuff, it's very little and mixed through out. I pick up 5-8 55gal drums at a time so I figured that I would be 'diluting' any bits of bad stuff.

 

[897tgigvib]

Walnut trees produce chemicals to stop other plants from growing under them. It's in all parts of the tree.

The chemical they make is called Juglone or something like that. Black Walnut trees, that's the kind most valuable for furniture and cabinet making, make more of it than other Walnut trees. Plants just...die...around Walnut trees or Walnut tree sawdust.

I do know it is called Allelopathic. The stuff is made by the DNA of Walnut trees.

 

[bobm]

Another thing to consider is that almost all cabinets are made with melamine... a medium density particle board with a coating of melamine plastic or vinyl all held together with glue.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Heres a Penn State article on the Juglone Marshall. I think pecans produce it too, just not as strong as Black Walnuts. I dont trust that list at the bottom at all. When you see a black walnut in a pasture or fencerow, you hardly ever see any trees or brush real close to it, even if other bushes and trees are growing wild all around it.

http://extension.psu.edu/plants/gar...nd-walnuts-and-other-juglone-producing-plants

I sprouted a black walnut from seed a couple of years ago so it is not big enough to be an issue yet, but Ill make sure no limbs or leaves get into the compost of the garden. I just dont trust it.

Speaking of Black Walnuts and pastures, Ive read that horses can be allergic to black walnut trees. We had several black walnuts growing in our pasture and fence row and out plow horses never had a problem when I was growing up. There is at least one black walnut in the pasture across from out front door (thats where I got my seed) and they keep a couple of horses in there. I guess there is a difference in can be allergic and will be allergic.