Garden Tips Newsletter
Early Start for Caladiums
April 13, 2009
It is really difficult in spring to be patient. The weather is bright and balmy and spring flowers are bursting out all over the place. It is tempting to hurry summer along and begin planting warm weather plants such as caladiums. But soil temperatures are still surprisingly cool, particularly in the northern half of the state. These tropical natives prefer a much toastier environment.
If you jump the gun before the ground warms to around 70 degrees the bulbs will just sit there dormant in the damp, cold garden soil and probably rot. Tucked under only a few inches of soil, they easily become damaged or lost in your early spring gardening frenzy. To prevent this disaster you can start your caladiums indoors. It is not hard to do. Just follow the steps below to protect your investment in this heat loving foliage plant.
1. Get an empty undivided flat. You can purchase these or you may just ask a nurseryman to give you an old flat that you can easily disinfect in a bleach solution at home. Fill the flat with moist potting soil to a depth of 1 and 1/2 inches.
2. Put the tubers, buds up, on the soil. Place them close together, but not touching. Cover with additional soil, and put the flat in a warm location. I place mine on top of my water heater or sometimes on top of the refrigerator until the leaves begin to emerge; then I move them to a medium light area like an eastern window with filtered light. It may take about 3 weeks for the roots to emerge and foliage to begin to appear.
3. As soon as danger of frost has passed and the ground has warmed, you can then transplant these outdoors. Gently lift and separate the tubers from the flat. When transplanting into the garden remember that caladiums only need a few inches of soil cover so don’t bury them too deep.
Another tip: If you would rather your caladiums have fuller, but smaller foliage rather than just one or two large leaves per tuber, you can take a sharp knife and cut out the large center leaf bud of each tuber before you plant into the flat. This will encourage development of side buds that will result in more, but typically smaller leaves per tuber.
Lelia Scott Kelly, Ph.D., writes Garden Tips weekly and is a Horticulture Specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. Her office is in the North Mississippi Research & Extension Center, Verona.