I love caladiums! And what's not to like. Big beautiful leaves in many shades and combinations of red, pink, green and white. Varieties that will grow in the sun and shade.
Caladiums fit well in shady or semi-shady woodland gardens and borders but also look at home in tropical sunny or shady gardens. Wow, what a plant!
The caladiums that must have shade only are often referred to as fancy-leaf caladiums. They come in many variations of red, pink, and green. They like well-drained soil but consistent watering. If they get dry and the leaves fall to the ground they usually don't come back up and you have to wait for new leaves to come out. That doesn't take long with proper watering and good fertilizer. What fertilizer? Microlife, of course - our favorite organic fertilizer - but any good organic fertilizer will make them happy. Some of our favorite fancy-leaf varieties are blaze, candidum, carolyn whorton, fannie munson, frieda hemple, white Christmas, and moonlight.
Sun caladiums are also called strap leaf caladiums. They are usually shorter, more compact, and generally have pointy more narrow leaves. Strap leaf caladiums like the same well-drained soil and consistent watering as shade caladiums and lots of good organics as well. Some of our favorites are red frill, red ruffles, florida sweetheart, white ruffles, raspberry moon, miss muffet, white wonder, and roseglow.
Did I mention that we usually get a 50 to 60% return on caladiums from year to year. Don't bother to dig them up. Just let them die down in the winter and start fertilizing in the spring. You can plant your other annuals and perennials around them in the fall, winter and spring and wait for them to pop up and surprise you with beautiful foliage in the spring.
We still have lots of beautiful caladiums in a few different sizes. See ya' soon!
Profile
Type: Perennial
Color: Red, Green, White
Garden habitat: Garden or Container
Exposure: Shade and sun depending on variety
Care: Water & fertilize
