Over-wintering Caladiums

Hi. This was my first year growing caladiums and I just love them. I want to try to keep them over the winter to plant again next year. I dug them up on Sunday and they have been lying on some newspaper in my kitchen ever since. What is the procedure for storing the bulbs and then planting them outside next year? Do I clean them? With water or a dry brush? Where and how can I store them? We have a semi-furnished basement, but it has no windows and is usually around 55-60 degrees over the winter (we don't bother to heat it most of the time). Can anybody give me a clue? I've never tried over wintering plants before, but I just can't accept these beauties are annuals around here! Thanks!

--Steph

Preparing them for winter storage isn't the hard part- just treat them like glads or other "lift & store" type bulbs. With the dirt still on, let them dry naturally, then shake off the dried dirt and store in either paper bags, peat moss, etc., in a dark, relatively humid spot for the winter with . Keep 'em loose, they don't do well packed close together. If the roots are too much, you can trim them back a bit. But don't scrub 'em clean. The hard part is that they need to be warm, like 70 degrees. (Though there is disagreement about that, some sites say 50s to 60s will be ok.) Either way, those temps with the right humidity is tough to swing in places where it snows & you have dry indoor heat. Most caladiums are grown in FL.

Sometimes they'll get wounds from being lifted and mold starts and rots them. Maybe you could fool around with dried fungicide, but I've never tried that.

The next hard part is getting them going again the following spring. The soil has to be consistently warm. Like 70 degrees all the time. A heat mat would probably help alot. And then you still have to be really careful with the watering- they rot easily. So use a superfast draining potting soil. Maybe even use those taller pots to keep the perched water table completely away from the corm.

Caladiums are tough to keep going year after year. I can't tell you how many I've killed at one point in the process or another! I've never been entirely successful. Either they get dried out (or rot!) in storage, or they get too wet & rot in the spring. Or they just don't wake up. Or they wake up, but never really take off. Since they're like other bulbs and need to store energy the previous season, maybe they didn't get enough time in the sun in my short season. They are tropicals, and may just need more sun & time than they get in my latitude.

Not to dissuade you. You might find the right combination. But they're not easy to keep going like other bulbs.

Good luck!

Thanks a lot Nedweenie! I'll give it a whirl. This year was pretty much an experiment. My husband and I loved the color when they finally came up. I think our soil was a little too cool outdoors for them to really take off during the summer. I think whether I use "reused" bulbs or new bulbs, I'll have to start them indoors. For me they just might be worth the effort since they bring color in shady areas all season. Can't say that about most plants! Thanks a lot for the advice!

Over the years I have developed a two year and out program for caladiums. Because we had time this year I dug and looked at my bulbs. None were much larger than a five cent piece. This was their second growing season wherein they produced much smaller leaves.
.........I will repurchase them every other year. The first winter I just park them in a cool dark and dry basement room pot and all. We move them out as soon as nights stay above fifty degrees. That may be a bit early but we never lost any doing it that way.