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I live in zone 7, southern New Jersey, and a discoloration is forming on my elephant ears. Can anyone tell me what I am doing wrong? Could it be watering before 8 AM than allowing the sun to hit my elephant ears, or not enough shade? Do they require fertilizer? It appears to be happening on the lower ears only.

The Garden Frog with C Renee · Answer

Do you water every day? this could be from too much watering plus i never get water on the leaves when I am watering (even rain barrel watering) because you can burn or scald the leaves but not at 8am i would not think. then you mentioned sun which is also a factor. is this the first year? they like decent soil and will grow in most but i notice that heavy dense clay really slows their growth . I know here in zone 7b in VA they need shade more than sun and will burn. 
so my advice is to stop watering every day. water about every 3 or so days and see what happens. happy gardening

Mary Krygiel · Answer

It would probably be worth trying to water with a bucket of water that is not hitting the leaves. It might work.

Rebekka · Answer

Thanks for the answers, but I'm still hoping for more ideas. The elephant ears do seem to not want water on the leaves. Thank you Mary

Baiba Darley · Answer

Elephant ears need  fertile, humus-rich, moist or wet, slightly acidic soil. By the looks of your soil it needs more organic material. Soil makes a big difference in how your plants thrive.

Wanda.ll · Answer

Looks like they need some kind of nutrients to me. Might call you extension office or go to goolge and ask 'what makes them turn yellow'. Here in Texas they can grow either shade of bright sunlight just depends on variety you have.

Christine · Answer

If the young leaves at the tips of the branches are normal in colour, while the older leaves at the base of the branches are turning yellow, this indicates nitrogen or magnesium deficiency. However, weird discolourations of the leaves can mean a virus which is a bigger problem. Try fertilizing first. If that doesn't improve things, cut off all the affected leaves and burn them.

Valerie · Answer

Unfortunately I don't know the answer to your problem, but as the leaves have been damaged, why not use them to make beautiful bird baths? Here is a link : http://www.hometalk.com/diy/outdoor/garden/making-garden-art-birdbaths-1763157

Sue Vernon · Answer

Iron-or lack of iron can cause yellowing. I use coffee grounds around all my plants and they stay green and bloom beautifully.

Susan Cryor · Answer

I had the EXACT same issue with mine, that I winter over in the basement ( live in Lockport NY)
Gave them a dose of fertilizer. Cut off the sad leaves and they are doing great.  Usually nitrigen diffency when lower leaves yellow.

Mrs. C · Answer

Leaf miners.

Buster Evans · Answer

I am in Tennessee and the soil at my place is CHERT . Redish rocky and really difficult to get a hole dug much less get things to grow.. still I have managed to scratch the surface of this problem and have had great luck with elephant ears..
 Mine are planted 6 (or more) inches deep. I don't water them they are all around the foundation of my home,,, some are smaller than others, some are huge... If you drop water onto the leaves it rolls off! 
 I have found that (like previously mentioned) all plants LOVE coffee (roses especially).. So I would try putting small amounts (at first) of coffee grounds around the base of your elephant ears and see if that helps the problem... If its just one or two leaves per plant you can remove the affected leaves and the plant can sprout new leaves...It normally doesnt hurt the plant to do this.
 If this is their first year in the ground that could be a bit of the problem, Usually they don't do as well the first year as they will later... 
 Dont give up on them.. These are one of my absolute favorite plants, and they are normally very hardy... Just cut back on water, give them some coffee, and love them, they will respond in their own time...

Jenelle H · Answer

I grow them in my fish pond so don't think you can give them too much water. They love to grow in water just like Lotus. Maybe it is something in the soil. Perhaps pre-emergent or something like RoundUp.

Jennifer Pentrack · Answer

It looks like insects  try seven dust

EL Hoard · Answer

Elephant ears love water so that should not be an issue.  My experience wit these plants over the years is that the older leaves start turning when they reach the end of their life cycle, change colors, wilt and die.  These plants are continually putting out new leaves during the summer.  Mine bloom as well.

Terry Stutes · Answer

Lack of iron.......would have soil tested

Douglas Hunt · Answer

It's natural for the lower ears on elephant ears to yellow and die. That being said, they do want organically rich soil, so regular applications of fertilizer are a good idea, and do try to keep water off the leaves if sun is going to them. Partial shade is generally preferable.

Ronna Wilson · Answer

I believe what your plants have is a disease called mosaic virus. There is no cure for it you must destroy contaminated plants or it will spread.

Amanda H · Answer

could also try to add some spaghnum peat moss to the soil

Allison · Answer

You have a deficiency, I would try a little fertilizer only on a shady day, not a hot sunny day, and see what happens. Cut back the lower discolored leaves. Keep an eye on it for awhile. Or It may be a fungus/virus and you may want to ask your local extension service to test the soil, and also identify the discoloration of leaves.

Liz Mansfield · Answer

use some coffee grounds sprinkle around the soil ,for nitrogen ,also good on the soil around tomatoes

Silvia Macioshek · Answer

Epson Salts .... I use it throughout my garden .... live in South Africa and most plants are tropical ....
Silvia

Judy · Answer

The best advice I can give you is to listen to Douglas Hunt....he knows his stuff! Ignore the rest.

Rebekka · Answer

Thank you so much Judy.

Ang345172 · Answer

Is this taro?

Pam · Answer

I placed mine (not planted) around a pecan tree till I decided if I wanted to plant them somewhere or let them die after digging them up in a 1/2 a day sun spot, and they started growing and doing real good, the dirt hard as a rock but full shade, go figure?

Linda · Answer

I have mine on the shade of our home on the north facing side and mine grew and spread like crazy. The leaves get so big and beautiful. I water once a week with a soaker hose and in the mornings. I don't know if it was just one thing or all together. Good Luck.

Author Stacey Barlow · Answer

Ms. Rebecca, I found out that they will need fertilizing yearly. It might be getting too much sun as they thrive in shade and are big eaters needing two to three inches of water. It is to stay moist {the soil} also try mulch. I hope this helps.

Amy Ruth · Answer

I just purchased two elephant ear bulbs at Sam's Club and planted them in large pots under a large shade tree. I'm in the Temecula Valley in So Cal so it gets really hot here. The bulbs are already sprouting after one week. So exciting! I've put coffee grounds around the base of the plant area, hoping that will give them a dose of what they need to thrive.

Lidia Payne · Answer

Rebecca, were you able to figure out what is going on with your elephant ears? I have the exact same issue and I can't figure it out. I really hope it is not a virus. I have added nutrients, so it can't be it. Please let me know if you know more than advised by the community. It didn't seem like any of the folks have experienced the same problem

Brian · Answer

thats normole

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