How to Keep Your Colocasia and Alocasia Thriving Year After Year in Cold Climates

If you’re like me and live in a colder climate (hello, Zone 5b!), you know that keeping tropical beauties like Colocasia and Alocasia alive through the winter can be a bit of a challenge. But fear not! With a little bit of care, you can enjoy these stunning plants year after year. Let me share my tried-and-true tips for overwintering these “elephant ears,” so you can keep their dramatic foliage gracing your garden season after season.

Meet the Giants: Colocasia and Alocasia

First things first—let’s talk about what makes these plants so special. Colocasia, with their massive, downward-facing leaves, can make a big, bold statement in any garden. On the other hand, Alocasia’s upward-facing leaves have a unique architectural elegance that’s hard to beat. Both are absolute showstoppers, and they’ve easily earned a place in my list of favorite plants.

Overwintering Colocasia: The Cozy Corm Approach

As the weather cools and the first frost threatens, it’s time to give your Colocasia some TLC. Here’s my step-by-step process:

1. Cut Back and Dig Up: When the temperatures start to dip, I cut back my elephant ears leaves, leaving some stem to hold on to. I carefully dig up the corms (those bulb-like structures that store all the plant’s energy). Then I clean the dirt off with my hands. You may notice clumps of corms, you can leave them together or carefully separate them.
2. Drying Time: After digging them up, I let the corms dry out in my garage for a week or two. This helps prevent rot during storage.
3. Trim and Store: Once dried, I trim off any remaining dead stems. In the past, I’ve stored them in dry peat moss and always had success. This year, I tired a simpler method—just placing them in a box with no medium. I lost a couple but my storage area is not as cold as I would like. Once in the box, store them in a cool, dark, and dry place, like a basement closet. Do not let them freeze.
4. Winter Check-ins: Throughout the winter, I check on the corms every so often. If any look rotten, I discard them to prevent spread. When spring rolls around and the weather starts to warm up, you can either pot them indoors to get a head start or wait until after the last frost to plant them directly outside. Be cautious with watering—too much water too soon can cause the corms to rot before they have a chance to root.

Alocasia: The Houseplant Heroes

Alocasia, with their upward-facing leaves and striking appearance, do wonderfully as houseplants during the winter. Here’s how I keep mine happy indoors:

1. Trim and Divide: My Alocasias are pretty large, so before bringing them inside, I trim back and divide the plants into more manageable sizes. This also helps if you’re tight on space like I am.
2. Pest Control: A quick rinse with the hose helps remove any pests that might be lingering on the leaves before they come indoors.
3. Pot and Place: Once cleaned up, I repot the Alocasia into smaller pots and bring them inside before the first frost. They go into a cozy room with a window and some grow lights to keep them thriving through the winter.
4. Winter Care: I water them sparingly throughout the winter—just enough to keep them going. As the old leaves die off, I trim them away, making room for new growth. The leaves that emerge during winter might be small, but don’t worry! Once you move them back outside in the spring, they’ll start growing those big, beautiful leaves again.
5. Sunlight Adjustment: When it’s finally time to move them back outdoors, be prepared for a little sunburn on the old leaves as they adjust to the brighter light. Don’t worry—it’s perfectly normal. You can trim off any sunburned leaves, and the new ones will thrive in the sunshine.

Alternative Method: Storing Alocasia as Corms

While it’s possible to store Alocasia as corms in a cool, dark space like Colocasia, I’ve found they’re a bit slower to start this way. Personally, I prefer to keep them as houseplants, but if you’re short on indoor space, this is a viable option.

And there you have it—my go-to methods for overwintering Colocasia and Alocasia in a cold climate. With a little care and attention, you can keep these tropical wonders coming back year after year, bringing a taste of the tropics to your garden no matter how chilly it gets outside!

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