How to grow Caladium bulbs indoors: From choice of plant, soil, fertilizer to re-pot time

Caladiums are plants that offer great beauty and excitement to any setting, outdoors or indoors. Tropical plants with a South American origin, Caladiums thrive only if they are grown in a simulated tropical setting. Plants of dark shades, borders and flower beds, caladiums brighten up any indoors. Growing caladiums indoors is not as difficult as growing it outdoors, yet there are a few hiccups you may face along the way.

Versatility of Caladiums: Caladiums are versatile when it comes to colors. Their large, arrow-shaped or lance-shaped leaves allure the eye while their brilliant colors lit up any dark corner. There are various kinds of cultivars around – Fanny Munson,     Pink Beauty, White Queen, Red Flash, Candidum etc. and much more. You need to choose the caladium variety which fits your growing zone. If it is indoors, choose depending on where you are going to keep your caladium containers. See to it that the color, tone and setting of the room complements the caladium’s beautiful leaves.

Caladium Flowers: Caladiums are less known for their flowers. They are popular only for their leaves. Caladium flowers – greenish white in color – are generally plucked off as they are said to drain the energy of the tuber. The leaves, however, are nourished and grow from 12 to 24 inches long.

Planting Time: Ideal caladium planting time is spring or early summer. You can either buy fully grown caladium plants or yet to be cultivated tubers. Buying tubers saves money. When you opt to buy tubers, go for firm, large tubers that look healthy.

Planting Tubers: Plant the tubers you have bought in an 8-inch pot and cover them with one inch of potting soil. Plant three tubers in a pot and then water them. See to it that the pot’s soil is not soggy or wet. Just keep it moist.

Sunlight, Water, Humidity: Strictly, no direct sunlight. Bright filtered sunlight is ideal. Keep the pot in shade to avoid drying up of tubers. Water in such a way that the soil inside the pot is moist enough for tubers to take root. Keep the humidity high as these are tropical plants. Make sure the tubers do not stand in water.

Temperature: Ideal temperature for caladiums is a room temperature of 65-75 degrees F. However, if you plan to plant the tubers outdoors, you should check if the night temperatures are higher than 60 degrees.

Fertilizer: Fertilize once a month. An all-purpose soluble houseplant fertilizer like 10-10-10 will do. If you want to retain certain colors in certain caladium varieties, you need to fertilize them less. So, check with an expert before fertilizing your caladium plant.

Repot: When propagation happens and tubers divide into tubercles, you need to repot your caladiums to a container. If you had planted the tuber upside down to facilitate growth, when you repot it, you need to plant it right way up.

Other nuances: Remove flowers on tubers as they will drain the energy of the caladiums. Remove dead leaves that emerge during dormancy period of tubers. Steer clear of aphids and spider mites.

Removal of caladiums during Fall: Caladiums survive only from winter to winter. After 6 to 8 months of summer, you can remove the caladium bulbs and store them in dry materials like peat moss or vermiculite if you intend to re-plant them the following Spring. While storing in such a way, keep the room temperature above 50 F as too much of cold can rot the tubers.