do elephant ears affect plants next to them

Question

Is there any record of how elephant ears change the color of flowers grown near them? A few years ago I had a Camellia japonica and after planting an elephant ear next to it, the red flowers of the camellia got a black ‘Indian Ink’ tinge too the outer edges of the petals. A few weks ago, I planted a white azalea with red tinges on the outer edges of the petals next to an elephant ear and now the azalea’s flowers have gone all red, no white at all. Is the change of color coincidence or do the elephant ears affect plants next to them?

Answer 1

This is actually quite common on both an Azalea and Camellia, for the plant to genetically mutate to another color flower on the same plant.

It can be caused by a virus or even just the plant converting back to a parent plant.

It does not have any connection to being planted near an Elephant Ear.