Planting Caladium bulbs: From Rooting to Watering to Storing

Caladiums are spectacular plants that can adorn any shaded garden or dark indoors. Colorful and vibrant, they are gorgeous plants which attract the eye with their heart-shaped or lance-shaped leaves and tissue-paper like texture. Growing caladiums are easy, but planting them can be a bit difficult. Once well planted, the caladium tuber grows almost on its own when given the adequate water, moisture and fertilizer.

Rooting Caladium bulbs: Caladiums are originally plants of the Amazon basin. They are tropical plants which survive only in warm and moist conditions. Rooting happens only if the soil is warm and moist, not if it is wet or excessively moist. When you buy Caladium bulbs from nurseries or plant centers, you need to first let the tubers take root and then, grow them in the proper way. Rooting is slow unless the soil is warm. Experienced gardeners use soil heating cables in a glass covered box to get quick results.

The tubers are irregularly shaped and need to be activated from their dormant states. To get the tubers started, you need to plant them topside down in damp moss or coarse leaf mold. The tubers are placed upside down because roots come from the top of the crown and only such a placement would make the tubers active very quickly. Once you have placed the tubers, check from time to time to see how rooting is happening inside the soil. Remove the tubers once the roots are an inch long. Be careful while removing as you can hurt the new roots. Now, plant the tubers in a rich soil with good humus. Keep the soil warm and moist to help the tuber germinate further.

Watering Caladium bulbs: Watering is an important phase in the growth of Caladium bulbs. Caladiums grow only when provided with adequate water. However, you need to check if the soil is not wet or soggy. Do not place your garden sprinkler nearby your caladiums. Also, supply your caladiums with liquid fertilizer high in nitrogen once a month. Once the bulbs break ground, watering them will be easier as you need to water only if the leaves droop or show signs of thirst.

Storing Caladium bulbs: Caladium bulbs bloom from frost to frost. They cannot survive winters and hence need to be removed and stored in warm temperatures for re-plantation the next Spring. When you remove the bulbs, use a trowel to dig along the sides of the plant and then, use your gloved-hand to reach the base of the bulb and remove it carefully. Remove any dry leaves on the bulb and place in warm temperature above 50 degrees. For better results, you can keep in some dry material like peat moss.