When was the giant strain of Thailand discovered?

Colocasia gigantea Thailand Giant Strain was discovered in 2003 by former Plant Delights research director Dr. Petra Schmidt. Petra is an aroid expert who was sent to Southeast Asia by PDN owner Tony Avent on a plant collecting expedition (see a list of PDN plant expeditions here).

Petra toured Laos and Thailand and kept her eyes peeled for anything new and amazing … and boy did she ever succeed! While in Kanchanaburi province, a local guide took her to an absolutely huge specimen of Colocasia gigantea growing in a national park. As you can see from the picture, the floor was bigger than the minivan Petra was riding in!

Petra collected seeds from the plant and the seedlings became the basis of the plant that we have on the market today. The seedlings are all slightly different, but they are all much larger than average. That’s why we call it ThailandGiant Strain instead of giving it some cultivar name … plants are not clones.

How big will it grow?

Colocasia gigantea Thailand Giant Strain is slightly hardy in our Raleigh, NC garden. It goes dormant at the first sign of cold weather in the fall and remains dormant until the following summer. The plant doesn’t wake up until it’s really hot … which is usually July for us. It grows quite quickly and at the end of September it is approaching its maximum size in our garden. Ours is a maximum of about 6 ‘tall, but the blades are each giant and can easily measure 3’ wide and 4.5 ‘long. Our short warm season greatly limits its maximum size. This plant will grow much more in the semi-tropical states of the US, where it feels more like its homeland of Thailand.

In his natural home, the parent of our seed variety grew over 9 ‘tall … truly monstrous!

How do we care about the giant of Thailand?

Colocasia gigantea Thailand Giant Strain is a solid zone 8 plant. Raleigh is in zone 7b and therefore we must take steps to protect our plant during the winter. The following list is a highlight of our efforts:

  1. We plant our giant from Thailand in a place that stays dry in winter. A wet spot will promote winter rot
  2. In late summer or fall, we dig up the plant and replant it deeper. We have recently learned that Colocasias tend to move upward in the soil profile over time. We need to counteract this so that the crown does not freeze.
  3. In the fall, we remove the dead foliage and pile a pile of shredded leaves on top of the bulb to isolate it.
  4. In late spring, we remove the shredded leaves so that the soil is not too wet.
  5. During the summer we keep the soil evenly moist but not soggy. Unlike C. esculenta, which likes wet feet, C. gigantea does not.

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