Just purchased my first set of colocasia bulbs for my indoor garden today, and one seems a bit squishy. It doesn't seem wet, but it is dry and there seems to be a fair bit of air and space between the outer skin and the hard bulb inside. Is this normal? It's my first time dealing with bulbs, rather than matured plants, and I would love some help! Thank you!

Hi Laura,

That doesn't sound good! Did you buy them locally? Perhaps you can return them and get others? If you bought them mail order, email the place where you ordered them from and explain the situation .. if they are a good site they should offer to send you more at their expense.

If you can't replace them, then cut or pick off the squishy bits and make sure it doesn't smell rotten.

What exactly did you order? There are tons and tons of different Colocasias.

Thank you! I had gotten a response from some one on the bulbs forum who suggested that the papery layers may just be a bit bigger than the bulb, with air between them. It seems like I had a bigger risk of the bulb being dried out, rather than rotten, as the sqishy-ness was due to air pockets, rather than a moist bulb.

Per her instruction, I carefully inspected the bulb and it looked to be healthy, so I have planted it and will see how it goes! Unfortunately, the package just said "Elephant Ear - Colocasia". Ha, it was a random purchase at a Fred Meyers, but my mother-in-law wanted to split the package, so I took a couple home. I am crazy about aroids, so I will hopefully be able to ID it once it sprouts and shows me its leaves. If not, I'll post it on here for help IDing, everyone here has been so quick and helpful so far!! I have learned so much already!

IME with these, SM will appear on them even if you don't have issues with those on any other plants. They can be kept at bay by showering/wiping the leaves, but IDK anybody who enjoys doing that.

They're very satisfying to grow seasonally though, outside in a pot or ground for summer, excavated & stored dormant for winter. In Z7a, it wouldn't take much to keep it going outside in the ground permanently, if you have a potential spot for zone-pushing/cheating.

I have a lot of tropicals and a couple Colocasia indoors and I shower with them often, and do weekly walk-throughs cleaning their leaves and telling them I love them . They are very healthy so far and give me growth even through the winter (one went from a two leaf plant to 5 leaves over this last winter), so I am hoping these guys find my jungle as pleasant as my others do.

Oh, and the two I have were sent to me rooted and with at least one leaf, and are now about two years old! Hope they keep going strong. We luckily have a lot of room for them to grow as large as they can in here.