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Giant Taro

Giant taro eventually grows quite large.

Even within confinement of large pots, giant taro, Alocasia macrorrhiza, is big and bold. Potted houseplant specimens grow about six feet tall. In the ground, they can grow twice as high. Individual leaves can grow three to six feet long, and two to four feet wide. They mostly point upward, but may sag to point downward. Trunks, if any, are short and stout.

Giant taro is somewhat rare within home gardens, most likely because of its size. It might also be a bit more demanding than other foliar perennials. It requires quite a bit of water at regular intervals. Also, it craves regular applications of fertilizer. However, it can burn if fertilizer is excessive. Soil should be loose, organically rich, and moist but not saturated.

Giant taro is also somewhat rare within nurseries. The big dormant bulbs are sometimes available with other summer bulbs during spring. Initially, they grow slowly, especially if weather is cool. Growth accelerates as weather warms. Some vigorous plants produce a few pups that are quite easy to divide as new plants. A variegated cultivar is notably rare. “Elephant ear” is another common name.

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Leopard Plant

Leopard plant enjoys shady riparian situations.

Not much can survive in the shade of broad eaves that extend over a northern exposure. With sufficient watering, that is where the leopard plant, Farfugium japonicum, can excel. It is naturally an understory species that prefers the shade of bigger vegetation. If it does not get too dry, it also performs well with full sun exposure. It enjoys organically rich soil.

Leopard plant is a striking foliar plant, but may also bloom for autumn or winter. Its bright yellow daisy flowers are about an inch wide, and bloom in loose trusses. The glossy and evergreen foliage might be foot and a half high. Some cultivars are more compact, while old cultivars may get slightly bigger. Individual leaves are about three to six inches wide.

Popular cultivars of leopard plant are notably diverse. Most are variegated with yellow or white spots, blotches, margins or irregular streaks. Some exhibit wavy, crinkly or convex foliar margins. Yet, the most popular is likely the old fashioned cultivar with simple, deep green foliage. Their subterranean rhizomes migrate, but rather slowly. Too much fertilizer can cause foliar burn or even inhibit bloom.

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Furcraea foetida ‘Mediopicta’

Furcraea foetida ‘Mediopicta’ looks like a big Yucca or a small Agave.

As spectacular as the bloom of Furcraea foetida ‘Mediopicta’ is, it is actually not the most desirable feature. Solitary flower spikes grow intimidatingly fast up past second story windows, and spread out several feet wide with small but abundant pale white flowers. They are certainly impressive, but are also the final act for mature plants just before they die.

Fortunately, they take several years to mature, so provide big bright yellowish green variegated foliage for many years. The other good news is that as they die, herds of pups (known as ‘bulbils’) develop and fall from the huge inflorescences. There are far more than enough pups to replace the original plants and to share with all the concerned neighbors who witnesses the crazy bloom.

Furcraea foetida ‘Mediopicta’ is not quite as tough as unvariegated (green) furcraeas, so it can be damaged both by frost or harsh exposure to sunlight. It is also a bit smaller, staying less than five feet tall (prior to bloom of course) and seven feet wide. Too much watering can cause rot.

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Japanese Aralia

Japanese aralia is both prehistoric and futuristic.

The popularity of Japanese aralia, Fatsia japonica, has spanned more than just a few decades. The big, glossy leaves of this lush foliar plant adorned the home of the Flintstones in Bedrock many thousands of years ago, as well as the office of Mr. Spacely of Spacely Sprockets, where George Jetson works, some time in the future! It is just as happy in most types of soil as it was in the front yard at the Flintstone Residence, and is just as happy in large containers as in Mr. Spacely’s office. As long as it is protected from harsh exposure or reflected glare (like it might get from large lightly colored walls or tinted windows), Japanese aralia does well in full sun, or can be just as happy in the shade of larger trees. 

Although it does not grow too rapidly, Japanese aralia eventually gets nearly eight feet high and wide, and commands a bold presence. Their deeply and symmetrically lobed leaves can get as broad as a foot and a half, on long petioles (stalks). The foliage of ‘Vairegata’ emerges with a yellow border that turns pale white. ‘Moseri’ stays quite compact.

Plants grown for their foliage can be maintained by cutting oldest stems to the ground as they deteriorate, so that newer stems can replace them. Excessive basal watersprouts can be cut or ‘peeled’ off if they get too crowded. Alternatively, lower growth can be pruned away as it develops to elevate the canopy and expose interior stems. However, individual stems do not last indefinitely, and will eventually need to be replaced by any convenient watersprout. The most deteriorated plants can be rejuvenated by getting cut to the ground just before spring.

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Variegated Boston Fern

Tiger fern is prettier up close.

Boston fern is merely one of several cultivars of Nephrolepis exaltata. Its cultivar name is ‘Bostoniensis’. Variegated Boston fern, or tiger fern, is reputedly a cultivar of this cultivar. Its cultivar name is either ‘Variegata’ or ‘Tiger’. From a distance, it seems to be a yellower version of the original. Prettily intricate stripes become apparent with closer observation.

Variegated Boston fern is a bit smaller and a bit less vigorous than common Boston fern. Like all variegated cultivars, it works with a bit less chlorophyll. Mature potted specimens might get no wider or higher than three feet. Unvariegated Boston fern can be more than four feet from top to bottom. Both could be larger if their long fronds were less pendulous.

In home gardens, variegated Boston fern can get rather tattered through winter. It is likely to defoliate if exposed to even minor frost. This is why it is more popular as houseplants, usually in hanging pots. Such potted specimens rely on consistent watering. Diffused but bright sunlight is best. Occasional application of fertilizer enhances foliar color and vigor.

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Alocasia or Colocasia?

Alocasia odora

‘A’ or ‘co’? What is the better prefix for ‘locasia’? There are certainly differences between the two, but information regarding such differences and characteristics is confusing and potentially misleading. It is amazing how much less information is available now that so much more information is so much more available than it has ever been before.

Alocasia generally develops big leaves that point upward. Colocasia generally develops big leaves that point downward. Alocasia prefers a bit of partial shade. Colocasia prefers more direct sunshine. Alocasia generally has more colorful leaves. Colocasia generally has bigger leaves. Of course, these are generalizations, and some species of each of these two genera seem to be species of the other genus.

Colocasia gigantea supposedly develops the biggest leaves and can get twenty feet tall. Alocasia macrorrhiza supposedly is the biggest of its genus and can get fifteen feet tall. It is difficult to know what to believe.

One the edge of a pond at work, we would like to grow whichever of these massive perennials develops the biggest leaves. If we grow Alocasia, we can put it in a partially shaded situation. If we grow Colocasia, we can put it in a sunnier situation nearby. If we grow Alocasia, we can put it a short distance from the edge of the pond. If we grow Colocasia, we can put it right at the edge of the pond. We only need to know which cultivar of which species of which genus we should grow.

I am inclined to grow Colocasia gigantea. We have a few months to decide, since we do not want to plant it during autumn or winter. We recently acquired this Alocasia odora. Also, another similar but unidentified perennial that seems to be a Colocasia must be relocated from another disproportionately compact landscape.

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Dracaena Palm

Dracaena palm is a foliar plant.

By the end of the Victorian Period, dracaena palm, Cordyline australis, had become very popular, both as small trees and as foliar plants. The largest specimens were only about twenty feet tall and half as wide. Removal of trunks that grew too tall for short foliar plants induced fresh basal growth. The drab leaves grew three feet long and three inches wide.

Cultivars with bronzed foliage became more popular after the Victorian Period, although not as common as the original. They grew slower and stayed smaller. The many modern cultivars of the past few decades stay even smaller, with even more impressively colorful foliage. Most are purply bronze or variegated with creamy white, pale yellow, pink or tan.

Modern cultivars generally mature efficiently, but then attain height too slowly to function as small trees. Some do not develop substantial trunks. They are therefore more popular for their delightful foliar color and texture. Many generate appealingly pendulous foliage. However, a few eventually develop sculptural form with exposed corky trunks and limbs. Removal of unimpressive floral panicles prior to bloom removes floral frass before it gets messy.

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Angel Wing Begonia

Begonia involucrata at Monte Verde

The simple pink or sometimes red or white flowers of angel wing begonia are not as flashy as those of other begonias, and are not abundant enough to provide much color. During warm weather, they are merely a minor bonus to the striking foliage. As the name implies, the big and angularly lobed leaves are shaped like wings of angels. Upper surfaces are glossy and dark green with irregular silvery spots. Undersides are even glossier and reddish bronze. With support, the lanky cane stems can get more than twelve feet tall. However, because older tall canes produce runty foliage, they are often pruned out to promote more vigorous and lushly foliated young canes.

Because they are sensitive to frost, and also because they are ideal houseplants, angel wing begonias are typically grown in containers. They like rather regular but not excessive watering, and rich potting soil. Abundant sunlight enhances foliar color; but harsh exposure roasts foliage. Partial shade is not a problem.

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Philodendron selloum

Philodendron selloum is unfamiliar with autumn.

There are all sorts of philodendrons with all sorts of fancy names. Yet, the biggest and boldest lacks a common name (at least one that is actually ‘common’), and is most popularly known by a Latin name that is not even correct. The proper name for Philodendron selloum is really Philodendron bipinnatifidum. It is a big awkward plant with big and deeply lobed leaves on long petioles (leaf stalks), and weirdly thick aerial roots. Well exposed plants can stand on wobbly trunks. Partly shaded plants can creep along the ground, and prefer to grab onto and climb tree trunks, fences or anything that they can get a hold of. The aerial roots are harmless to trees, and generally too slow to catch a healthy cat, but will take paint off of walls. All parts of Philodendron selloum are toxic.

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Japanese Aralia

The bold foliage of Japanese aralia is quite striking, whether kept low and dense, or suspended on taller lanky stems.

It may not grow too rapidly, but Japanese aralia eventually gets nearly eight feet high and wide, and commands a bold presence. The deeply and symmetrically lobed leaves can get as broad as a foot and a half, on long petioles (stalks). The foliage of ‘Vairegata’ emerges with a yellow border that turns pale white. ‘Moseri’ stays quite compact.

Plants grown for their foliage can be maintained by cutting the oldest stems to the ground as they begin to deteriorate, so that newer stems can replace them. Alternatively, lower growth can be pruned away as it develops to elevate the canopy and expose interior stems. However, individual stems do not last indefinitely, and will eventually need to be replaced by any convenient watersprouts.