Colocasia esculenta ‘Tropical storm’

Origin and botanical background of Colocasia esculenta ‘Tropical storm’

The species has travelled with people since prehistory, making a single wild birthplace difficult to separate from its ancient cultivation across tropical Asia, New Guinea and the Pacific. Taro's natural setting lies in warm wet lowlands, including marshes, stream margins and rain-fed hollows where water remains close to the surface.

Care through leafy growth and seasonal change

Support, pruning, handling and leaf care

Keep the pale-and-green crown away from traffic because a bent leaf stalk rarely straightens again. Do not tie the separate leaf stalks of Colocasia esculenta ‘Tropical storm’ together; a stable root ball and adequate light provide the correct support.

Light

Grow Colocasia esculenta ‘Tropical storm’ at the brightest east, south or west window available, using a sheer curtain only during unacclimated hot midday exposure. Direct sun supports sturdy growth, but pale sections can scorch before the greener tissue.

Watering

Keep the root ball of Colocasia esculenta ‘Tropical storm’ consistently moist during active growth, watering as soon as the surface begins to dry. Prolonged dryness damages fine roots and leaf margins, while permanent airless saturation harms the base.

Humidity and airflow

Moderately humid air supports clean leaf expansion in Colocasia esculenta ‘Tropical Storm’, although ordinary room humidity can work when watering and temperature remain stable. Keep the pale leaf areas out of dry heater streams.

Fertilising

Apply a balanced complete fertiliser at a low dose while Colocasia esculenta ‘Tropical storm’ is producing leaves and roots. Continue lightly at any time of year if warmth and active growth persist.

Repotting

Repot Colocasia esculenta ‘Tropical storm’ when roots and offsets fill the container, the crown lifts, watering becomes difficult or the mix compacts. Work while warmth and light keep the plant active, preserve the basal storage tissue and retain healthy roots.

Colocasia ‘Tropical Storm’ troubleshooting

A cream-white streak runs through the dark leaf centre

The bold central streak against purple-black foliage is the normal ‘Tropical Storm’ pattern. Its size can vary between leaves. Treat it as damage only when the tissue becomes soft, tears outward or develops an enlarging dead margin.

The pale centre turns tan and crisp

The cream tissue can scorch before the darker blade after an abrupt move into strong sun. Protect the compact plant while acclimating it and retain any firm green-black leaf area. A translucent or wet lesion spreading along the central vein needs removal and monitoring.

The compact plant produces small, weak leaves

Colocasia ‘Tropical storm’ is naturally compact, so size alone is not a fault. A declining sequence of increasingly thin leaves during warm active growth points to weak light, depleted nutrition or failing roots. Check the corm and root zone before feeding.

All leaves yellow and die back in cool conditions

Colocasia can enter a rest when light and warmth fall, provided the corm remains firm. Reduce water as uptake stops and wait for active growth rather than forcing it. Green leaves collapsing suddenly around a soft, foul centre is consistent with active rot, not dormancy.

The central shoot pulls away from the corm

This is an urgent growing-point rot sign. Remove wet substrate, cut out every soft section and retain only firm offsets with intact buds. Keep a salvaged crown at the surface and warmer while it re-establishes in fresh aerated material.

Colocasia esculenta ‘Tropical storm’ is toxic to people and pets

• Keep this plant away from children, cats and dogs.
• Its leaves and stems contain insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, which can irritate the mouth, throat, skin and eyes.
• Chewing may cause burning pain, drooling, swelling, vomiting or difficulty swallowing. Contact a veterinarian or medical professional after exposure, especially if swelling or breathing problems occur.

About the name Colocasia esculenta and the history of ‘Tropical Storm’

Colocasia comes from ancient Greek kolokasion, a name for an edible, corm-bearing plant. Esculenta means edible, reflecting taro’s long history as a food plant.

John J. Cho selected ‘Tropical Storm’ in Hawai‘i in 2007 from a controlled cross between ‘Black Magic’ and ‘Nancy’s Revenge’. It received United States plant patent PP27740 in 2017.

Heinrich Wilhelm Schott established the genus Colocasia in 1832 in Meletemata Botanica, page 18.

Carl Linnaeus first described it as Arum esculentum in 1753 in Species Plantarum, page 965. Heinrich Wilhelm Schott later placed it in Colocasia as Colocasia esculenta in 1832 in Meletemata Botanica, page 18.