Illustration
Black Magic
Colocasia esculenta 'Black Magic'
Black Magic is grown for its foliage rather than flowers, giving the garden structure and color all season long.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Black Magic
Plant it in part sun. It prefers high water. It is hardy in USDA zones 8–11. Expect it to reach about 4 ft tall and 3.5 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 1 year (not yet checked).
What was checked
Mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun and the trait tags were checked against named botanical sources for this plant. The bloom months and water need on this page were not, and each fact above says which. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
How big does Black Magic get?
4 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult3.5 ftwideSee Black Magic in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
Where these facts come from
Black Magic's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags were checked against 9 published sources on July 29, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- Missouri Botanical Gardenheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- Plant Delights Nurseryheight, spread, hardiness zones and sun
- Breck'sheight, spread and sun
- Brent and Becky's Bulbsheight, hardiness zones and sun
- edenbrothers.comEden Brothersheight, hardiness zones and sun
- Holland Bulb Farmsheight, hardiness zones and sun
- Longfield Gardensheight, hardiness zones and sun
- American Meadowsheight and sun
- NC State Extensionspecies page, zones and sun onlyhardiness zones and sun
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
Good to know about Black Magic
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note.
Safety
Toxic to dogs, cats, horses and people. Every part holds insoluble calcium oxalate crystals that burn and swell the mouth, tongue, and throat when chewed. per ASPCA
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Design a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.