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Little River Cooperative

Bun long Taro

$10.00 USD
$10.00 USD
Sale Sold out

Bun Long Taro
Colocasia Esculenta

days to maturity: 200
plant spacing: 1 plant every 2 feet
sunlight requirements: 6-14 hours, filtered sun
look out for: rot and nematodes
harvest notes: aggressive grower
perennial

Taro, also know as kalo, "potato of the tropics," or "elephant ears,” is an ancient aroid food crop grown throughout the tropics and subtropics. Believed to have originated in South East Asia, this wetland herbaceous perennial produces big heart shaped leaves and a stretchy corm. Although grown commercially in many areas of the Pacific Basin, it is mostly a backyard crop, usually planted in small plots near homes. Taro can grow in a wide range of well drained soil in high rainfall areas or saturated for prolonged periods. The most important food throughout the Hawaiian Islands, the mature root is boiled as a starchy vegetable and to make poi. The leaves are high in minerals and vitamins A, B, and C and prepared like mustard or turnip greens, called callaloo. Young leaves are also boiled or covered with coconut cream, wrapped in banana or breadfruit leaves and cooked on hot stones.

Materials

All of our plants are produced using OMRI certified organic materials (potting mix, fertilizer & pesticides) however our nursery is not certified organic. Plants are shipped in compostable peat moss pots and we use heirloom & organic seeds whenever possible.

Shipping & Returns

We ship plant orders every Monday. Due to the nature of shipping plants we only offer expedited shipping for our live plant orders. Our returns & exchanges policy is also quite strict since its hard to control the quality of a plant once it leaves our facility, however we do our very best to make sure that each and every customer is satisfied with their plants. Read more about our policies here. 

Size

All of our plants are potted in 4" pots and their foliage size varies based on how large the plant is naturally when its root ball is the correct size for the pot. If a plant is too tall for our shipping box we may prune it to fit (bonus: many plants do better after being pruned since they make bushier growth). We do our very best to ship all of our plants in the "sweet spot" of maturity however so long as the roots have colonized the pot we will consider a plant mature enough to ship.

Care Instructions

When you receive your plant its critical to get it out of its box and into the light the day it arrives. It will also want to be removed from its compostable plastic wrapping and given fresh water to drink. Keep in mind, this plant was grown in the tropical humid climate of South Florida, so if it's terribly cold or dry where you are it'll need to be hardened off before planting outdoors. Visit our care instructions page for more thorough info about caring for your new plant friend.

  • What Our Customers Have to Say:

    This is a great, local organization with really knowledgeable & friendly staff. They make gardening easy and accessible, and I've purchased many high quality plants and equipment from them.
    -Kate Black (5 star google review)

  • And Another One:

    How lucky we are to have a resource like Little River Cooperative here in Miami, not only for the access they offer to a great selection of plants and produce, but also for the knowledge they provide and the sense of community they foster!
    -Nick Vagnoni (5 star google review)