Colocasia Fontenesii

Where most elephant ears make their drama in the leaf, Colocasia esculenta 'Fontanesii' makes it in the stem. Big, lush green leaves are held aloft on tall, glossy stalks of deep purple-black, so the whole plant has a striking two-tone architecture — green sails on near-black masts. It's one of the most elegant of all the Colocasia, and the tallest we grow.

Given warmth and moisture it romps up to head height in a season, making instant structure at the back of an exotic border or a commanding centrepiece in a large container. The contrast of fresh green against those dark stems reads beautifully through summer and gives a planting real height and presence.

Where to grow it

Happy in full sun or part shade, in rich, reliably moist soil — it's truly at home in boggy ground and at the water's edge. Shelter it from strong winds, which can catch those tall stems and big leaves. Pot it into something generous, keep it well watered and well fed, and it'll reward you with remarkable height and leaf after leaf.

Supplied as an established young plant in a 9cm pot, grown here in Norfolk and ready to romp away once the warmth arrives.

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 you give, the taller it grows and the bolder the stems.

Shelter it from strong wind, which can catch the tall stems and large leaves, and give it room to reach its full height.

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 bananas, tree ferns, cannas and ornamental grasses for a lush, layered jungle scheme, or set it at a pond margin where its height and dark stems give the planting its backbone.