‘Black Beauty’ is my new favorite elephant’s ear. A mutation of ‘Illustris’, ‘Black Beauty’ is grown for its 2-foot-long, 1-foot-wide, dark purple leaves with green stems and green veins. Once established in my garden, this plant held onto its leaves through the heat and drought of summer in full sun, which is unusual for the dark-foliage forms of elephant’s ear: They tend to look less than lovely when temperatures rise above 90°F. —Adrienne Roethling, “Elephant’s Ears,” Fine Gardening #148, page 61
Noteworthy CharacteristicsDark purple leaves with green veins
CareGardeners in cool hardiness zones may overwinter this plant’s tubers indoors covered by peat moss, after the leaves have been desiccated by frost.
PropagationPlant tubers when soil is consistently around 70°F. Offspring shoots can be transplanted.
Problems‘Black Beauty’ does not thrive when temperatures rise above 90ºF.
- Genus : Colocasia
- Zones : 10, 8, 9
- Plant Height : 3 to 6 feet
- Plant Width : 3 to 6 feet
- Foliage Color : Black
- Light : Full Sun to Partial Shade
- Maintenance : Low
- Moisture : Medium to Wet
- Growth Rate : Moderate
- Plant Type : Perennials
- Characteristics : Showy Foliage
Plant Characteristics are only available to Fine Gardening members
Sign up for a free trial and get instant access to our complete plant guide as well as our entire collection of articles and videos.
