One of my all time favourite plants is the Caladium.
I have heard some people call caladiums garish, with their vibrant leaf colours, but I adore them.
I usually grow my caladiums in a shady spot in the garden, but I do keep a few in pots that I can bring inside during the warmer months, as it’s one of the best plants to have indoors during the heat.
Caladiums are known for their beautiful leaves which appear in the warmer months from corms. The older and fuller in the pot or garden, the better the leaf colour, so try not to split your caladiums too often.
Their foliage is absolutely amazing and constantly changing, plus they get bigger and better every year. Their leaves can range in size from about 10cm to about 50cm and the colour can range from transparent, pink, through to dark vibrant red with splashes of green. There are so many colour combinations I don’t think I could ever collect them all … I do plan on trying though!
To gift a Caladium means you are gifting the recipient joy and delight in their lives and this is exactly what caladiums do for me, bring me joy and delight.
As soon as they start to pop up from underground and show their foliage off, I bring the pots inside. They will survive inside in a well lit area and I find the darker the spot the less colour the foliage gets. They also don’t like cold houses, so try to find a warmer spot.
They adore the heat and humidity and they don’t require a lot of water, about once a week during the really hot times and the ones in the garden get watered and treated the same as all other plants.
I use them all throughout the house at this time of year to add colour to a sometimes solely green landscape.
When the cooler weather approaches and they start to die down, I put the pot back outside in a warm shady spot and leave it alone until it pops up again next year.
If you are growing your Caladiums in the ground, I don’t ever pull them up when they die down. I find the older they get, the better they look. As soon as the nights start to warm up, these beauties will pop up from underground to surprise you with their colours and then as the nights start to get too cold they will slowly disappear again....
I try to fertilise my Caladiums in August, just before it starts to get warm, with Organic Link. Through their growing season, I alternate liquid fertilising them with Silica and Potash and Triple Boost.
I love the way caladiums can instantly lift my mood with their tropical feel and I think they add a colourful, magical touch to your garden.
Caladiums are available at Trevallan from November to March