Colocasia Kona Coffee - Elephant Ears

The Colocasia 'Kona Coffee' is a spectacular perennial that thrives in moist soil. Its enormous leaves, almost black in colour, are very exotic and will create a setting perfect for escape on your terrace or by a pond. It can be used in containers in most regions, to be brought indoors during winter, but the luckiest ones can attempt to plant its large tubers in the ground, in an acidic to neutral, rich and moist yet well-drained substrate, in non-scorching sun or partial shade. Protection will still be necessary for this plant, which is sensitive to frost below -5 / -7°C.

Colocasia esculenta, also known as taro, is a cousin of the arums and belongs, like them, to the Araceae family. It produces very large cordate or sagittate leaves (that is, shaped like an arrowhead or lance), which can exceed 60 cm in length, at the end of a thick, upright petiole. These enormous leaves, which also have the ability to let water slide off their surface, give it its other name of Elephant Ear. The plant multiplies and spreads thanks to its large fleshy rhizomes, rich in starch (tubers). A well-established clump can reach over 1.50 m in height and width. Probably originating from tropical Asia or India, taro is now extensively cultivated in all tropical and subtropical regions: it has been used for hundreds of years for its highly nutritious tubers, which are consumed cooked by local populations and have a taste similar to sweet potatoes (by the way, "esculenta" means "good to eat" in Latin). The young leaves are also edible, but be careful, as they are rich in calcium oxalate and therefore not recommended for people prone to kidney stones. In the most suitable regions, flowering sometimes occurs on mature subjects in the form of summer yellow spathes.

The 'Kona Coffee' variety presents superb leaves, with the lamina and petiole almost black in colour. Its growth is moderate, reaching about 1m in height and 80cm in width. It belongs to the Royal Hawaiian series, obtained by Hawaiian hybridizer John Cho: these are robust, ramified plants resistant to leaf spot disease.

Taro 'Kona Coffee', being a plant native to tropical regions, is sensitive to frost. Literature indicates that it is resistant to very brief frosts of around -5°C or even lower, but you really have to live in a very mild climate region to be able to plant it in the ground, in a rather acidic, very rich and light, moist but well-drained soil. However, it is easy to grow it in a large pot that you can place on your terrace or near a pond. Keep the substrate constantly moist to avoid leaf dehydration. This will give you an extraordinary exotic touch! Of course, the pot should be stored in a cool greenhouse during winter, and good drainage should be ensured to prevent rhizome rot: during this period, the substrate should remain just moist, nothing more. If you have a moderately heated and very bright veranda, you can also keep it as an indoor plant, but you will need to pay more attention to the possible arrival of red spider mites, which can proliferate if the air is too dry. Taro plants are heavy feeders, so remember to provide nitrogen fertiliser in your pots, and repot them from time to time to renew the substrate.

For exotic scenes, pair it with other exuberant plants, such as Tetrapanax, Gunnera, hardy palms like Chamaerops humilis and Trachycarpus wagnerianus, or even the hardy banana tree Musa basjoo. Most of these plants can be planted in the ground in moderately cold climates, and you can then place your Colocasia nearby!