“Mickey Mouse Ears”, a copyrighted post, was written for my WordPress blog called Always Growing by Jan in Covington, Louisiana
My generous sister has come through again. Today, she shared some more plants with me, and I am particularly impressed with the Mickey Mouse elephant ear she gave me. It is called Mickey Mouse because from a distance, this variegated elephant ear resembles the silhouette of that famous Disney character. It even has a tail.
Xanthosoma sagittifolium albo marginatum is its botanical name, but I think Mickey Mouse plant is so much cuter and easier to remember.
This is a fairly cold hardy elephant ear as elephant ears go; it will survive zone 7 winters. The tip forms a cup with a tail sprouting forth from the end.
Unfortunately, I did not get a very good picture of the tail, but if you look closely at the above photo, you can see a tail coming off the tip of the plant.
I like the variation in the leaves because it is such a contrast. Dark green and crisp white leaves are rather thick and have an almost velvety feel. I will be planting this in the ground this weekend so that it will be established before cold weather comes around. According to my sister, this one plant should spread and make a nice clump. I can’t wait. This is one mouse I won’t mind having in the garden.
Always Growing 
Jake said,
August 20, 2009 at 9:33 am
That is a very cool looking Elephant Ear. It is uniue and I have never heard of it before now. I just made a post on C. ‘llustris’, lol.
Jake
Jan said,
August 20, 2009 at 5:00 pm
Isn’t this a great elephant ear? I’ll be by to check out your Illustris post.
Karla Sowders said,
August 9, 2011 at 11:57 am
We are selling Mickey Mouse here at Vedic Gardens and Nursery here in Cary, NC. It has been a very big Seller for us. People love that it is do different!! Thanks for you posts.
Karla
Jan said,
August 10, 2011 at 4:59 am
Karla, I have visited NC many times (mostly in the Blowing Rock area) and was impressed by the summer gardens there. I can believe Mickey Mouse Ears is a big seller; it is a great plant. Kids really seem to like it.