Hi Andrea,

I had a great response to your question but then I took a closer look at your photo. Do your plants have just roots at the base of the foliage, or is there a bulb-like structure the roots are coming off of?

Elephant ears are overwintered in a similar manner to canna lilies and dahlias.

Optimally, the roots, or bulb, (located at the base of the foliage) are dug up after the first frost has killed the foliage. The cold temperatures send the bulb into a state of dormancy which helps prevent decomposition while they’re in winter storage. After digging up the bulb cut the foliage back to within a few inches, trim off the little roots growing on the bulb, and brush or gently knock off most of the soil. You can hose the dirt off off but make sure to let the bulbs air dry in a warm spot with good air circulation for a few days. This curing period helps prevent rot and fungus growth while they’re in storage over the winter.

After the curing period, the bulbs can be wrapped in newspaper and stored in a box (not plastic, which can cause rot) to overwinter, but I’ve had better luck nestling them in a box with peat moss or pine shavings, making sure they don’t touch. Keep the box in a cool (40-60°) dark location until you’re ready to plant them in spring. Check on the stored roots periodically to make sure they’re in good shape. If they look too dry, they can be lightly misted with water, but if they get too wet they may start to rot.

Make sure to wear gloves when handling the roots as the sap can be very irritating to skin.

I highly recommend this article from Penn State on overwintering tropical plants. It has a lot of great information on elephant ear plants and several others.

This article from Iowa State is also good.