Sunday 20 July 2014

CALADIUM: When & Where to Plant, How to Overwinter




Caladium bicolor (Angel Wings/Elephant Ears)

SHADE/PART SHADE

This plant is from the family Araceae which also includes Calla Lily, Peace Lily, Dieffenbachia, Taro, and Philodendron. It is native to Central and South America and grows from a corms.



WHEN/WHERE/HOW TO PLANT: While Caladium corms (and plants) may now be available in nurseries, it is advisable to keep them indoors until temperatures are consistently at 20 degrees Celsius (or warmer) – or you can start them indoors (just be sure to harden them off before moving them outside). If you have purchased corms, keep them in your bedroom closet until you're ready to plant them outside (as opposed to storing them in an unheated garage), and above all do not store them in your fridge!!

Caladium requires consistently moist (not wet), humus-rich soil. Plant the corms shallowly in warm soil (1 – 2” below the soil surface) in a part shade to shady location.. It is important to note that Caladium are a tropical plant and will not tolerate cold soil. Plant the corm with the knobby side up, and to assure you that you planted it the right-side up, Caladium does root from the top of the corm.

With Caladium, it is better to err on the side of planting too late as opposed to too early! Do not allow the soil to dry out – these plants are NOT drought-tolerant! Also be advised that all parts of this plant are poisonous, so be sure to keep away from young children and pets. Apparently Caladiums are virtually pest-free as pests apparently avoid them.

FALL/WINTER CARE: When the nights start to fall below 10 degrees Celsius (but long before the risk of frost), gently remove the plant from the garden with a spade. DO NOT pull the leaves off the plant or remove the soil from the corm. Put the entire plant in a dry and cool place for the leaves to die back. In about 3 to 4 weeks the leaves will have withered/died back and at this point you can use a fine brush to gently remove the soil from the corm. Cut the leaves back to 1/2” above the corm – CUT! DO NOT PULL THEM OFF! The dormant eyes (buds) which will produce next year's leaves are located at the swollen point where the petioles (stems) are attached to the corm. If you damage these eyes (buds) you can (in worst case) destroy the corm.

Store the corm in a warm room (15 degrees Celsius) on a bed of fine vermiculite, wood shavings (rabbit bedding), or dry peat moss sphagnum. Do not moisten the 'bedding' material – leave it dry. The corms overwinter best if the humidity in the storage room is 75% RH, otherwise they dehydrate easily and harden-up. This will reduce the quality of the corm and it will take longer to sprout the following year. Mind you, most homeowners have a hard time achieving this type of humid environment, and thus most gardeners accept that their corms will dry out. Compared to buying new corms, the results of overwintering Caladium corms can be quite excellent.

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