Colocasia Black Magic
Colocasia esculenta 'Black Magic'
The classic near-black elephant ear — huge, velvety purple-black leaves for instant tropical drama.
Grown and dispatched by Paradise Plants
About this plant
The one that started the craze for dark foliage. Colocasia 'Black Magic' is the original near-black elephant ear, throwing up huge, velvety heart-shaped leaves in deep aubergine-purple that read as black across the garden. It's the plant that turns a border tropical and a patio into somewhere altogether more exotic.
Plant it where it can be the star. Those great matte-black leaves are the perfect backdrop for hot colours and bright flowers, and a well-grown specimen builds into a bold, architectural mound from June until the first frosts. Give it warmth, rich soil and plenty to drink and it grows quickly, every leaf bigger than the last.
Where to grow it
Happy in full sun or part shade, with shelter from strong winds that can tear the foliage. The colour deepens with good light, so the sunnier the spot the blacker the leaves. Pot it into something generous, keep it standing in moisture, and feed it well — these are thirsty, hungry plants, and they repay it with leaf after dramatic leaf.
Supplied as an established young plant in a 9cm pot, grown here in Norfolk and ready to romp away once the warmth arrives.
At a glance
| Botanical name | Colocasia esculenta 'Black Magic' |
|---|---|
| Common name | Black Magic Elephant Ear |
| Cultivar | 'Black Magic' |
| Plant family | Araceae |
| Supplied as | 9cm pot |
| Mature height | 1–1.5m (3–5ft) |
| Mature spread | 90–120cm (3–4ft) |
| Position | Full sun to part shade |
| Soil and moisture | Rich, humus-heavy and reliably moist; happy at pond margins |
| Watering | Generous — keep moist at all times; can stand in water |
| Hardiness | Tender (H2) — overwinter frost-free |
| Foliage colour | Deep purple-black |
| Season of interest | June to October |
| Indoor or outdoor | Outdoor in summer; frost-free under cover in winter |
Care guide
Colocasia are grown for those spectacular leaves, and they ask for three things: warmth, moisture and food. Once nights are reliably warm, stand the pot in full sun or light shade, keep the compost wet at all times — they will happily sit in a saucer of water — and feed fortnightly right through summer. The more sun and food it gets, the darker and bigger the leaves.
Shelter it from strong wind, which shreds the foliage, and give it room to spread.
Overwintering
This is a tender plant and will not come through a UK winter outdoors. As the first frosts approach the leaves will tire and die back — that is your cue. Either move the whole pot into a frost-free greenhouse, porch or conservatory and keep it barely moist until spring, or lift the tuber, dry it off and store it somewhere cool and frost-free. Start it back into growth with warmth and water from April and it will return as dramatic as ever.
Plant it with
Plant it with bananas, cannas, begonias and ornamental grasses for a layered tropical display, or set it at a pond margin among ferns and other moisture-lovers.