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TARO: Bog Plant or Garden Plants

TARO: Bog Plant or Garden Plants

Posted 04/12/09
Taro is  a common garden plant as well as a water garden plant.   Many know the plant  to be called “Elephant Ears” in the 48 states, but in Hawaii it is a very common vegetable!
Great Taro Farms of Hawaii

Great Taro Farms of Hawaii

Normally grown from a tuber or bulb.   The older the tuber, the larger it is, and commonly the larger the plant. Common in Malaysia,  back to possibly 5000 B.C.   The Latin name, “Colocasia esculenta”, all parts of the plant can be used for  food in different oceanic cultures. The tuber is used in much the same way as the potato, it can be prepared six ways from Sunday.  As a food,  it is grown commonly in patty fields, like rice or in shallow bog areas.

For the pond ,we now have 8 varieties grown in Florida.New for 2009: Taro Plumbae (Taro Metallic, or Taro Nigra), 2008: Nancy’s Revenge (Green with white center in older Foliage), Taro Hilo Beauty (Variegated), Taro Green, Taro Black Magic, Taro Marble, Imperial Taro, and Taro Violet Stem.

These plants can grow in summer in almost any part of the Continental US, wait until your ground is warm, 3-4 weeks after the last frost. The tubers should be dug up before frost, similar to that of dahlias  or cannas’ and kept in a cool dry place. The plants should grow larger and stronger each year. 
Taro can grow easily   12-60″  tall, depending upon variety and size of tuber. Sometimes the plants grow larger in warm soil than mild water. Only grow  in 1-2″ deep under water, for best results. You can drown the plants in too much water.  They can grow in sun or shade but if shipped as plants ,not tubers, they will not like being transplanted on a very hot day and may wilt. They prefer slightly acidic soil 6.5-7.2 which is not as common in pond plants.
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  1. Jon says:
    August 8, 2010 at 6:39 pm

    I have a imperial taro and it has spread to about 5 plants this year. The main stem normally has just 1 new leaf at a time. It started growning 2 leaves out of the same stem, 1 purple(like normal) and a green leaf. Is this a normal thing, or some kind of mutation?

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  1. Gardening Plants says:
    April 13, 2009 at 3:15 pm

    [...] Guide More infos are available here: The Basics Of Hydroponic Herb Gardening The Hydroponics GuideTARO Bog Plant or Garden Plants Water Garden Blog More infos are available here: TARO Bog Plant or Garden Plants Water Garden [...]

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