Colocasia Black Ruffles
Colocasia esculenta 'Black Ruffles'
The frilled one — deeply ruffled, near-black leaves with rippling, wavy edges for texture and drama.
Grown and dispatched by Paradise Plants
About this plant
Take the drama of a black elephant ear and add a flourish, and you have Colocasia 'Black Ruffles'. Its deep purple-black leaves are edged with deep, rippling waves, so the whole plant seems to move and catch the light. It's the texture as much as the colour that makes people stop and look.
Those frilled, sculptural leaves give it a presence quite distinct from the smooth-leaved dark sorts — more theatrical, more intricate, and wonderful up close. Grown in a generous pot or as a feature in an exotic border, it builds into a bold mound through summer, each ruffled leaf bigger than the last. Give it warmth, rich soil and plenty to drink and it grows away quickly.
Where to grow it
Happy in full sun or part shade, with shelter from strong winds — those ruffled edges are beautiful but vulnerable, and a battering spoils them. The colour deepens with good light. Pot it into something roomy, keep it standing in moisture, and feed it well; these are thirsty, hungry plants, and they repay it with leaf after rippling 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 Ruffles' |
|---|---|
| Common name | Black Ruffles Elephant Ear |
| Cultivar | 'Black Ruffles' |
| Plant family | Araceae |
| Supplied as | 9cm pot |
| Mature height | 90–150cm (3–5ft) |
| Mature spread | 90–120cm (3–4ft) |
| Position | Full sun to part shade |
| Soil and moisture | Rich, moisture-retentive; happy at pond margins |
| Watering | Generous — keep consistently moist; can stand in water |
| Hardiness | Tender (H2) — overwinter frost-free |
| Foliage colour | Deep purple-black, ruffled |
| 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 the leaves and the better the ruffles.
Shelter it well from strong wind, which tatters the frilled edges, 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, ferns, caladiums and ornamental grasses for a layered tropical display, or set it at a pond margin where the rippled leaves can be seen up close.