English (United Kingdom) 
Russian (Russia) Colocasia
Family. Araceae.
Origin. Southeast Asia.
Description. A small genus of herbaceous, perennial, deciduous or evergreen plants, consisting of 6 species. The leaves are heart-shaped, 20 - 100 cm long, green, purple, black, white, yellowish, bicolor. The leaf veins may be green, purple, cream, yellow or pink. The surface of the leaves can be glossy or matte. The petioles are long - 50 - 100 cm, thick, arise directly from the underground tuber, black, purple, burgundy, red, pink, cream, sometimes even striped. The tuber can weigh up to 4 kg. Each peduncle bears from 2 to 5 inflorescences. The inflorescences are a spathe and spadix of yellow-green, orange or white, often fragrant, appearing in the axils of the leaves, often completely hidden by the foliage.
In nature, after flowering, small berries with a diameter of 3 - 5 mm, green or yellow, are formed.
Height. This is a large species - plants can reach 1.50 m in height.
Growing
Home care, pruning
Relatively easy to grow indoors. Sometimes the bushes shed their leaves in the fall and begin new growth in late winter. During the growing season, old leaves are often replaced by new ones. Withered leaf blades are cut off with a sharp sterile knife to maintain an attractive appearance and prevent the development of diseases.
Reproduction
Daughter tubers are propagated by transplantation. When using fresh seeds, germination occurs within 3 weeks. Large tubers can be cut into several pieces with a sharp sterile instrument. Sometimes new plants appear around the mother bush.
Temperature conditions
Tolerates summer heat well with adequate watering. Grow indoors at temperatures around 20 - 25 ° C during spring and summer. In winter, tubers of deciduous species are stored at a temperature of 15 - 17 ° C. Do not expose colocasia to temperatures below 10 ° C.
Lighting
The houseplant requires bright light with reflected sunlight. Over time, it can adapt to direct sunlight. For deciduous species, lighting is not important in autumn and winter.
Substrate
Colocasia prefer nutrient-rich soils containing large amounts of organic matter with a pH of 5.5 - 7.0.
Feeding
Every 2 weeks, feed with liquid fertilizers. In autumn, stop feeding and let the flower go into a dormant state; start feeding when the first shoots appear.
Purpose
Colocasia is grown for its showy, large leaves, which give the plant a very exotic appearance.
Flowering time
Rarely blooms indoors.
Air humidity
Use a humidifier or a tray with wet pebbles to increase humidity. You can spray the leaves with room temperature water, but tap water can leave unsightly whitish spots on the leaf blades. Spraying is done in the first half of the day so that droplets of moisture evaporate from the surface before dusk.
Watering
During the growing season, water deeply, keeping the soil moist but not soggy. At the end of summer, the frequency of spills is reduced. By winter, tubers of deciduous species should be in almost dry soil.
Transfer
Repot colocasia every spring as the pot becomes too small for the plant.
Pests and diseases
Tubers rot when water is stagnant or planted too deep.
Among the pests, whiteflies, spider mites, thrips, aphids, and mealybugs can pose a certain danger.
Note
All parts of the plant are toxic. Tubers of some types are edible and are used to prepare various dishes and drinks.
Varieties:
Colocasia esculenta
In Tahiti, the Philippines and Hawaii, this variety is grown for its oblong, brown, edible, starchy tubers. The plant is a herbaceous perennial with large basal, spear-shaped leaves up to 40 cm long and up to 25 cm wide. Leaf petioles are vertical, thick, glossy, and can be green or burgundy. The leaf blades are corrugated and may have a lighter shade on the lower side. During the flowering period, the plants form small ears with yellowish-green flowers, surrounded by a soft orange blanket. When grown indoors, flowering occurs extremely rarely.
Colocasia esculenta Magic Black Magic
A very large herbaceous perennial up to 80 - 180 cm high. Leaves up to 60 cm long, basal, on glossy, brownish or burgundy petioles. The leaf blades are spear-shaped, matte, dark purple or gray. Leaf veins can be highlighted in a light tone. The flowers are yellowish, small, collected in ears with a yellowish veil, and appear extremely rarely.
Colocasia gigantea
The plant is impressive in size - it can reach 1.5 - 3 m in height, which makes growing indoors difficult. The leaf blades are emerald green, corrugated, entire, reaching a length of 60 - 150 cm. The flowers are small, collected in cobs, covered with white blankets; flowering often goes unnoticed under the huge leaves.
