| Life form | Herbaceous |
| Family | Araceae |
| Origin | Southeast Asia, Burma, Himalayas, New Guinea, Philippines, Malaysia, Java |
| Ease of cultivation | Easy, with little difficulty |
| The size | Up to 1 m 20 cm – 1 m 80 cm in height and width. In nature there are plants up to 3 m or more. The width of the leaves is up to 90 cm. Adult plants due to their giant size can only be kept in greenhouses. |
| Growth rate | Several leaves per year, about 0.6 m per season. With age, the plant produces ever larger leaves. |
| Lifespan | Perennial |
| Temperature | Heat-loving plant. In the summer: 73,4-82,4 ° F, in the winter – 64,4 ° F, not lower than 60,8 ° F, otherwise the leaves begin to die. |
| Humidity | Increased. In the summer, spray at least 1 time per day, during the heating period, the content in the wet pebbles. |
| Lighting | In the summer – bright diffused light. The west and east windows are suitable. In winter (when contained taro without rest period), the illumination intensity is desired extra lighting. |
| The soil | Slightly acidic light fertile soil. Equal parts of sand, humus, peat and turf. Required drainage. |
| Watering | The plant requires a lot of moisture. In summer it is necessary to water 3-4 times a week, the land should be moist all the time; In winter, if the plant has not been transferred to a resting state, water it 1-2 times a week. |
| Fertilizer | Taro requires a considerable amount of fertilizer. During the growing season, starting in May, every two weeks, liquid complex fertilizer. If taro is grown in open ground, it is necessary to fertilize as often as once a month. |
| Reproduction | Late spring or summer young offspring. Young plants are separated from motherboard with a sharp knife, planted to the same depth as that of the mother plant, not bury! Keep at 77-82,4 ° F under polyethylene in the absence of bright light. It is possible to breed tubers (more difficult). Rarely multiply by seeds. You can multiply eyes, carved from the flesh from the maternal trunk. |
| Bloom | Cob with a veil, rarely blooms, yellow-white flowers, have no special value. |
| Transfer | Every year from March to May. Taro planted in a large pot with a diameter and a depth of at least 50 cm. To a large plant not fall over under the weight of its leaves, in the bottom of the pot can be placed heavy stones. Strongly overgrown plants are transplanted, combining transplantation with reproduction by dividing the bush. |
| Features of care | In summer the plant is successfully grown outdoors. Winter taro tubers can dig and keep them dry at a temperature of 59 F. In early spring tubers again go into growth. However, the plant can be grown and without rest period. The plant forms a very powerful tubers weighing sometimes several kilograms. In warm countries, they use them to produce starch. Young leaves are edible taro also eaten (but boiled or fried). |
| Difficulties | In excess of the light, the leaves turn yellow and become stained, dry leaves dry the upper leaves, new small leaves with lack of nutrients and in cold air, pale leaves with insufficient lighting or top dressing. Affected spider mites, aphids, whitefly, mealybugs and thrips. |
| Air cleaning | – |
| Toxicity | It calls for caution as all Araceae. Taro leaves are poisonous, so you should make sure that they do not try children and animals. |
