Caladium

Fundamental Facts

HARDINESS: Zones 9 to 11
PREFERRED SOIL pH: Slightly acid
PREFERRED SOIL TYPE: Moist, well-drained
PREFERRED LIGHT: Partial to full shade
ATTRIBUTES: Large multicolored leaves in white, pink, red, and green; for beds, pots
SEASON OF INTEREST: Summer
FAVORITES: 'Candidum', 'Freida Hempel', 'Miss Muffet', 'Rosalie'
QUIRKS: Flowers are insignificant and are usually removed
GOOD NEIGHBORS: Ferns, hosta, impatiens, coleus, fuchsia
WHERE IT GROWS BEST: Moist, fertile soil in partial shade
POTENTIAL PROBLEMS: Cold injury; spider mites, slugs and snails
RENEWING PLANTS: Lives several years; divide clumps of tubers in spring
CRITTER RESISTANCE: Excellent
PLANTING DEPTH: 2 in (5.1 cm)
SOURCE: Tubers, bedding plants
DIMENSIONS: 8 in-3 ft (20.3-1 m) tall, to 2 ft (0.6 m) wide; leaves 12 in (30.5 cm)

Caladium in the Landscape

For a look of tropical luxuriance in the shade garden, nothing beats caladiums. Their large, heart-shaped leaves, splashed or veined with red, pink, white, and green, create a colorful rain-forest ambiance. Caladiums can be used to edge a path or encircle a birdbath and they mingle well with ferns, impatiens, or other shade-loving plants. You can easily create a container that's made for the shade by combining caladiums with upright or trailing annuals that thrive in low light, such as coleus and fuchsias. Choose caladiums in colors that complement their surroundings. 'Candidum', which boasts white leaves edged in green, lights up any shady spot and mixes with other plants. 'Freida Hempel', whose large red leaves are edged in green and ribbed in crimson, works better as an accent. Because caladiums are often sold in 4 in (10.2 cm) pots with a few leaves, it's easy to select them by color.

Smaller caladiums with elongated leaves are the best choice for containers. A favorite is 'Miss Muffet', a dwarf whose creamy white leaves are dotted with rose and edged in apple green. 'Rosalie', with carmine leaves edged in dull green, is another option.

Growing Caladium

Hailing from tropical South America, caladiums cannot survive conditions much below room temperature, and thrive in warm, humid conditions. From Zone 7 northward, they need a head start indoors in spring to get them up and growing. Most gardeners buy plants at garden centers, but you can buy the dormant tubers and start them in a warm indoor room. Plant the tubers, with the bumpy sides up, 2 in (5.1 cm) deep in sterile soilless planting mix. Keep the containers at a warm room temperature and keep the planting mix constantly moist.

Plant caladiums outdoors, spacing them 8-12 in (20.3-30.5 cm) apart, when night temperatures warm to 60°F (16°C). In summer, water as needed to keep the soil moist, and fertilize the plants every 2-3 weeks with a balanced soluble fertilizer, applied according to package directions. If the leaves develop holes and slimy trails, suspect slugs or snails. Control these night-feeding mollusks by setting out saucers of beer to lure and drown the pests. If the foliage is pale and stippled, sap-sucking spider mites may be feeding on leaf undersides. Rinse them off with water from a hose or apply insecticidal soap per label.

Except in Zones 10 and 11, where they can overwinter in the ground, to save them, you need to stop watering a month before the first frost, so that the soil and tubers dry. Lift dry tubers before frost hits the plants. Remove leaves and air-dry the tubers for a few days. Store them through winter in a box or paper bag filled with dry peat moss kept at a temperature above 70°F (21°C). Check monthly, and if the tubers are beginning to shrivel, mist them with tepid water.

Increasing the Bounty

In Zones 9 and warmer, where summers are long and warm enough for caladiums to develop large tubers, you can divide clumps in early spring and replant. In colder zones, caladiums lose vigor each year, despite care, making them unsuitable to propagate.