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Help with getting rid of elephant ear plants

Posted on 6/4/19 at 8:11 am
Posted by sportsguy88
Member since Jan 2009
121 posts
Posted on 6/4/19 at 8:11 am
We just recently bought our first house and have some elephant ear plant infestation in the corner of our backyard. Our backyard neighbor has it and it has grown over to our yard. The previous owner just tried to keep it at bay but we would like to try to get rid of it as much as we can. We have been digging up roots.

What are some good options (like poisons or solutions) to try to really get down in the roots to kill it?
Posted by way_south
Member since Jul 2017
819 posts
Posted on 6/4/19 at 8:18 am to
If your neighbor has them on your fence line, you're going to have them.
Posted by jmon
Mandeville, LA
Member since Oct 2010
8433 posts
Posted on 6/4/19 at 9:03 am to
Posted by baldona
Florida
Member since Feb 2016
20523 posts
Posted on 6/4/19 at 10:13 am to
Good luck Op, if your neighbor has them they will be a constant battle. I don't know if there is a chemical that kills them, probably is though.
Posted by Geauxld Finger
Baton Rouge
Member since Jan 2005
31782 posts
Posted on 6/4/19 at 10:16 am to
Does your neighbor want to keep them?

I’d see if he doesn’t mind removing them since they have obviously spread to the point of being a nuisance for you.

Digging them up roots and all several times over is the best practice. You could treat with herbicide but if you want to replant this area immediately, it’s not recommended

Bamboo, elephant ears, and shell ginger are three things I rarely plant or design with unless in a completely contained environment
Posted by gumbo2176
Member since May 2018
15253 posts
Posted on 6/4/19 at 10:45 am to
I did this with banana plants and also Elephant Ears and that is to cut them down to ground level and EVERY time green growth shows up, take a shovel and cut it off at, or just below ground level.

If no photosynthesis occurs, the roots will eventually die.

Now, if your neighbor has them, that's a different story unless you can dig a trench along the fence and put down some sort of barrier to keep the roots from invading your yard.
Posted by CrawDude
Baton Rouge
Member since Apr 2019
5285 posts
Posted on 6/5/19 at 9:24 am to
I used trichlopyr to kill banana plants and canna lilies I wanted to get rid of with great success. If you want to try it on elephant ears cut the stems just above ground level, “paint” the trichlopyr over the top of the fresh wound. The herbicide is translocated to the root system. Just have to be persistent with it as you won’t kill it all on the first go around.

The herbicide is sold as “Stump and Vine Killer” in retail plant nurseries or hardware stores. Bonide is just one of several brands, and has the little brush attached to the lid, as I recall. You don’t have to mix it, apply diectly to the fresh cut wound.
Stump and Vine Killer
Posted by Marlo Stanfield
Member since Aug 2008
2077 posts
Posted on 6/5/19 at 9:27 am to
I believe they are in the succulent family like banana trees and their root is a giant bulb. Only way to get rid of them is to dig the full bulb out. At my previous house, I had a banana tree that grew to about 6' in diameter. That is the whole thing was a ring with many stalks growing out of it. I had to dig the whole son of a gun out with a shovel one chunk at a time. Even then, a few weeks later I noticed a little sprout coming out of the ground and dug down to find one little piece about the size of a peach had fallen off the shovel and inadvertently covered back up when I filled the hole in after removal, and that sucker sprouted instantly.
Posted by BiggerBear
Redbone Country
Member since Sep 2011
2924 posts
Posted on 6/5/19 at 9:35 pm to
When life gives you Elephant Ear plants, make poi.

Couldn't resist. Also, the leaves are supposed to be pretty tasty.

Triclopyr is sold at Tractor Supply under the name "Brush Tox."
This post was edited on 6/5/19 at 9:36 pm
Posted by Sir Drinksalot
Member since Aug 2005
16751 posts
Posted on 6/6/19 at 7:51 am to
I just did this. I dug them out. The roots came out pretty easily. Now I am just pulling the babies when I see the leaves, and they are pulling easy as well.

Mine were Jurassic park sized.

I tossed them into the woods and on to the side of a the pond after I dug them out, in a big pile-but they are taking root and thriving there as well.

One thing to know-the juice from the plant will make your skin itch and burn so be careful.

I think they are toxic to dogs and cats too.
Posted by AlxTgr
Kyre Banorg
Member since Oct 2003
81738 posts
Posted on 6/6/19 at 8:54 am to
Get rid? Heck, I wish I had them.
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