I bought my very first Caladium earlier this year because I loved the colors... and I wanted something to set on the front porch where it only receives an hour or so of morning sun. I had to bring it indoors the other day when our temps were dropping to near freezing. Even though we won't have freezing temps for a few weeks (hopefully)... I don't plan on putting it back outside until spring. Is there any special care that it needs for these next few months?
Up here they are not kept as house plants that I have ever heard of. Usually they are lifted from their pots/beds and kept as a bulb, just like a canna. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Give it a try. put a humidifier in the room and make sure it gets an adequate amount of light and see if you can keep it as a house plant. I love their colors. good luck.
Hi cherylad, Well, I've never grown caladium myself but I do know that you need to make sure the tubers don't become too dry over winter. There's a good video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUTi2MduzA0 that you might find helpful. Art
Thanks Carolyn for the info... and thanks for the link Art. I'm not sure I could find a suitable place to keep the tubers. It was suggested to keep them in an area that is around 55F. The only place that might stay that cool inside the house would be in a closed up closet. The laundry room doesn't get AC/Heat... so it would get too cold out there. Same with the garage. So... I'm left with a closet. I think I may divide it up. Save a tuber AND try to keep the other as a houseplant. A coworker said her's survived like that.
Update time. I got lazy and did nothing with the Caladium. Just left it in it's pot all winter. It had leaves on it until around the end of December. I gave it a little water here and there after that. It stayed inside where it's heated (we keep the thermostat around 75). I set the pot back outside a couple of weeks ago. And no sign of life... yet. Guess time will tell if my laziness killed it or not.
Don't give up on them yet unless you dig up the root and see it has disappeared or rotted. They are tropical and require really warm soil to start sprouting. It's only mid-March and although it has been really warm it probably isn't what the Caladium consider really warm.
You're right Toni. Not that warm at all. Even going down to the mid40s tonight. I must learn some patience when dealing with flowers/plants!
Yeah, our weather has been so spring like since mid-January that I find myself impatient with some of the summer plants that haven't awakened up yet. But, the Coneflowers started showing up this week, now I have to wait to see if the dwarf Hibiscus I got on the sale table and planted last October will come back this year. And I planted some Rudbeckia a couple of weeks ago and have been wondering if I should knock on the soil above them to wake them up, but I know it will probably be next month before they break ground.
Just an update... today I noticed brand new growth in the pot with the Caladium! Updated from April 15, 2012... it's doing well! Caladium survived ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden )
