Colocasia esculenta Sangria

Colocasia esculenta 'Sangria' is a variety of Elephant's Ear from the same strain as the 'Pink China' cultivar. Equally cold-resistant and bushy, it offers even more colourful foliage. Its large emerald green leaves are adorned with bluish veins, sometimes tinged with purple, and carried on magnificent bright red petioles, reminiscent of rhubarb stems. This exotic perennial can be grown in the ground in most regions. It thrives in full sun or partial shade, in moist to wet, fertile soil that is low in limestone.

Originally from India, Colocasia esculenta, also known as 'true taro' or edible taro, spread long ago to tropical regions of South America and Oceania, and later to tropical Africa. This rhizomatous perennial plant is related to Arums and Ipomoeas, and belongs to the Araceae family. The 'Sangria' cultivar has exceptional resistance to cold and wet conditions, and a strong tendency to sucker. It is a herbaceous perennial that grows from a tuberous rhizome, forming a scaly corm covered with thick skin. The mature plant can reach a height of 1.25m (4ft) and a diameter of 90cm (35in). It has beautiful, slightly elongated heart-shaped leaves, bluish green, veined in blue-grey and tinged with pink. The leaf blade can reach 60cm (24in) long and 40cm (16in) wide, carried by a long red petiole that is sheathing at the base. The leaf surface is water-repellent. As it grows, the plant branches out from the base and produces numerous thread-like tubers that give rise to vigorous young plants. When an old leaf is removed, two new ones take its place.

Colocasia 'Sangria' is a tropical plant that is very easy to grow in the garden or indoors, even in wet and cool climates. It prefers a sunny or partially shaded location and is particularly resistant to frost when protected by a thick mulch. The plant can withstand temperatures down to -15°C (5°F) and regrow in spring. It makes a focal point in any setting, garden, house, or conservatory. It is marvellous placed in a large pot on a terrace, balcony, patio, or the edge of a pond. This voracious plant pairs well with cannas, arums (Zantedeschia aethiopica), banana plants, Gunnera, or tree ferns, whose magnificence recalls ancient forests. This plant brings the lushness of its native lands to our gardens and urban balconies. It is also a beautiful indoor plant that, like Monstera deliciosa, becomes a centrepiece in colonial-exotic, vintage, contemporary, English, or traditional decor over time.

True taro is consumed in Africa, China, Polynesia, and several other parts of the world. Its tubers are rich in starch, and its young leaves are eaten like spinach.