Caladiums

[Judy Glattstein]

In late February or early March I bought a bag of Caladium 'White Christmas' at Costco, a big box store. Mixed up peat moss and sand, put a layer in a plastic shoe box that my husband had put a heating cable in for me. Wet it down, placed the tubers, put on the lid. And left it. Took a longer than anticipated for the tubers to awaken but eventually they did begin to grow.

Fast forward to now. Very large pure white leaves. I've potted them up - about 8 out of 10 actually grew. I'll put them on a slatted shelf against the brick wall of the garage adjacent to the front walk. Pot up a Japanese painted fern, have a couple of  silver leaved rex begonia 'Moonlight' - should be an attractive summer combination in a shady place.

[Leo]

Here's a plug for Caladium World, the lowest-cost source of the most healthy Caladium tubers J've bought. They're grown in south Florida. Get on their mailing list and they will notify you when ordering begins. Over the last 20 years or so I've usually bought a bulk box of mixed colors and mixed sized tubers. They sell individual varieties. They usually offer elephant's ears as well (Alocasia.) They ship at the appropriate time for your zone. There is a lot of useful information on their Web site.

Most Caladiums tolerate full Arizona sun and heat outdoors if watered well. They're not just shade plants. Their only drawback is they don't tolerate even slightly low temperatures, not even when dormant.