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Gulf
Coast Research |
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| Wimauma Campus |
CALADIUM RESEARCH |
Plant City Campus |
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Caladiums make fantastic pot, hanging basket and container plants. Their beautiful leaves and tropical appearance provide a refreshing diversity for consumers. Plant types range from the large fancy-leaf types (Fig. 1) to the short strap-leaf types (Fig. 2). Some fancy-leaf types are sold as dwarf cultivars since they are much shorter plants but have broad leaves (Fig. 3). By choosing the right cultivar and container size or shape, many combinations and effects can be achieved. 
 Tuber and pot sizes: Caladium tubers are sold based on tuber diameter: Mammoth, greater or equal to 3 ½ inches; Jumbo, 2 ½ to 3 ½ inches; No. 1, 1 to 1 ½ inches; and No. 2, 1 to 1 ½ inches. In general, two No. 1s or one Jumbo tuber is used for a 6-inch pot; one No. 1 or two No. 2 tubers are used for 4-inch pots. In larger containers, such as 10-ich hanging baskets or gallon containers, mammoth tubers or six No. 1s are required to produce a full pot.  g
too deep or large wound. A large nail to“puncture” the main eye also will work.
The nail can be pushed through a cork so that only ¼- ½ inch point
protrudes. This prevents the nail
from making too deep of a wound.
There are some cultivars which
can be produced in 4 or 6-inch pots without de-eyeing .
For example, ‘Candidum Junior’, ‘Florida Moonlight’, ‘Frieda Hemple’, ‘Rosebud’, ‘Tom-Tom’, and ‘Lord Derby’ fancy-leaved
cultivars and ‘Florida Sweetheart’, ‘Florida White
Planting tubers:
Tubers should be planted upright (sprouts up, see Fig. 6), with 1 to 2
inches of soil covering the top of the tuber. Soil and fertilization:
The growing medium must have good soil moisture retention properties,
and caladiums thrive in soils with a low pH (5.5 – 6.2).
Thus, high percentage peat soils are generally used for caladiums. Caladiums are considered “light feeders”, but do respond to low levels of fertilizer. When caladiums begin to sprout, a complete fertilizer solution can be applied at a low rate (200 ppm Nitrogen from a 10-10-15 plus micros, for example). Caladiums prefer a high ratio of potassium. Plants should not be fertilized at every watering, but rather once weekly (full sun) or bi-weekly (shade) after leaves have fully expanded. For commercial operations, caladiums should not be put on a constant liquid feed and thus must be isolated from other bedding plants requiring constant fertilization. Over-fertilization will cause “greening” of white cultivars. Irrigation:
Caladiums grow best with high soil moisture.
Of course the soil should have good drainage and adequate air spaces, but
caladiums prefer constant moisture. Withholding
water is used as a practice to slow growth, reduce plant size, or “harden”
some plants, but this can be dangerous with caladiums.
If plants are allowed to wilt, dormancy can be induced resulting in leaf
drop, slow recovery, or cessation of growth even if irrigation is resumed. Light: Caladiums are generally produced in greenhouses with shade to provide light levels of 2500 to 3000 foot-candles. In Southern states, caladiums can be produced in shade houses with 30 to 50% shade cloth. There are cultivars that can be grown in full sun; for example, fancy-leaved cultivars ‘Aaron’, ‘Candidum Jr.’, ‘Carolyn Whorton’, ‘Florida Elise’, ‘Florida Fantasy’, ‘Pink Cloud’, ‘Red Flash’ and strap-leaved cultivars ‘Florida Red Ruffles’, ‘Florida Irish Lace’, ‘Florida White Ruffles’, and ‘Florida Sweetheart’ and ‘Pink Gem’. |
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Ruffles’, and
‘Florida Red Ruffles’ strap-leaved cultivars make excellent pot plants
without de-eyeing. The University
of Florida’s breeding program has been developing cultivars that have more
leaves and are more compact so that de-eyeing is not necessary.