Oh, yes, I've been breeding other aroids since the late 1970s. I started with Alocasia, then expanded into the big 'tree" Philodendrons. In the last 5 years or so I've started doing Anthuriums, especially the large ones that have some cold resistance (not actual hardiness). Then I started Caladiums and last year I began with Typhoniums due to some hybrids done by a friend. His were very pretty but small - I saw them being large, so I went ahead and did the necessary crosses. This year I should have red spotted, silver veined, red spots plus silver veins, and two different leaf shapes (palmate and somewhat heart-shaped).
See my work here:
http://aroidiaresearch.org
Too bad we don't have a forum just for caladiums
LariAnn,
I am fascinated by your work with caladiums! So interesting! The photos you posted are gorgeous. I especially love "Pink American Thai". Will there be a time in the near future that you will be willing to sell/trade/share? I would just love to try some of those in my garden. I live in Jacksonville and have caladium here for quite a few years. I couldn't believe it this year when they started popping up in February. I usually don't see them until April, so that was fun. I've grown just about every variety in my yard and the best was a few years ago when at end of season, CaladiumBulbs4Less sold 200+ bulbs in a large Flat Rate box on eBay for $19.99. They were mixed bulbs and I really boosted my caladium when I purchased two of those boxes. Haven't seen that deal since, LOL!
I would love to hear more about your actual pollination, seed collecting and germination routine. Do you ever have seeds to sell/trade/share? I would love to know more. This is so interesting!
Carol
LariAnn, where did you buy/acquire your Thai caladiums?
Marcia (or is it Cathy?)
I'm eager to hear how your purchase from McClure & Zimmerman works out. With regard to fertilizing, my routine is to use less fertilizer, dilute more and use it MORE often. I fertilize very, very weakly about once a week for plants in the ground. I add an extremely dilute fertilizer to every watering for potted plants.
Carol
Carol,
I got my Thais from a local wholesale nursery that got theirs from a tissue culture lab. I'm due to check in with them and see if they have anything new I can add to my breeding collection.
I've learned some things about Caladium pollination that are not mentioned anywhere on the internet. In fact, some of the information out there is not exactly accurate. As far as seeds go, Caladium seeds are so tiny I don't think they would survive shipping. Germination is the easiest part. I wrote an article about the procedures I used prior to about a year ago, when i learned some new information. My Dave's Garden article about Caladium breeding is at:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/869/
LariAnn
LariAnn, do the Thai Caladiums need more humidity than the others?
I would love to see a forum dedicated to caladiums!!!
LariAnn, You're doing some great work!! I'm working with a professor at Oklahoma State University in regards to crossing some of the different Thai's with the domestic varieties we grow. It's exciting and I'm looking forward to seeing some results soon!!
cathy166 - I have about 50 different Thai's in my collection and they're doing great. They're in the same environment as all my others.
Bill
Bill, LariAnn is terrific. All the bulbs you sent to me in March are doing well, poking their sprouts of the containers. I admire your work, too.
Marcia
Ummmm, I'm thinking that I absolutely must have that Pink American Thai and Moon Mystique.............we need a drool icon...
Time and money permitting, I'll be selecting a few of my best Caladiums for placing into tissue culture. The Pink American Thai and Moon Mystique will be up there high on the list, along with a few others I haven't shown pictures of yet. One that is still small is a translucent white and a few others have translucent colors - I call them my "stained glass" Caladiums.
LariAnn
LariAnn, I have been following you for a long time. I bookmarked your stained glass caladiums at least 4-5 years ago! Read every word of how you pollinate your caladiums. Will probably be asking for more help!
Carol
Carol, thanks for your support!
The newest I've learned about pollinating Caladiums is that 1) Caladium blooms are fragrant when ready to pollinate or when shedding pollen and 2) Optimum time for pollination is early evening (8 to 10 PM). This is when the bloom first opens. If you don't do it then, you have to do it a day or two before the bloom opens. The morning following the evening the bloom first opens is too late.
LariAnn
You know, the more I look at your photos, the more I love all of them. Early on, I liked Pink American Thai but now I also think that Easter Confetti is especially gorgeous!
Carol
I grow mine in pots outside. Although they don't make it through our winters. This is one of my favorite plants. Along with my Alocasias, Colocasias, and Philodendrens.
LariAnn, are your experimental caladium all in pots? Or are you carrying out your work with caladium in the ground? I'm thinking they must all be in a greenhouse or shadehouse?
Carol
Carol,
They are all in pots so I can move them around if necessary. The few that I have planted in the ground are in Air-Pots for ease of removal when dormant and to prevent escapees. All new hybrid seedlings are kept in greenhouses for at least one year after germination to give me control over conditions such as temperature and moisture levels.
LariAnn
Love this spotty pink one with a dark grey/blue leaf hue I scored at HD last year. LariAnn, did you ID it for us last summer as one you've used for breeding? Pretty sure I tagged it but the tag is lost. It's got three flowers (one's over, two coming). Pardon the hard water spots on the leaves . .
This one disappeared abruptly once the nights cooled last fall, but some of my white ones - Candidum and White Christmas - kept a few leaves right through winter. Guess they don't really need a dormant period like other bulbs? They're all coming on like gangbusters now.
Can't wait to see the Stained Glass varieties. They sound wonderful. Pink American Thai and Easter Confetti are fabulous, too.
DyzzyPyxxy,
The spotty pink one with dark grey/blue leaf is called "Jungle Rain" - it was the first Thai Caladium that I did crosses with using Western Caladiums. The Moon Mystique is one of the progeny of my first cross with that plant. This year I have selfed the Jungle Rain in order to determine the parentage. This will show me the dominant parentage in the progeny - there may be something in the previous parents that i might be able to use in other crosses. In the past I've discovered some interesting "previous parents" showing up in F2 or F3 crosses. In case you don't know about things like that, "F2" means "filial generation 2" and "F3" means "filial generation 3".
I have a variant or sport of the Jungle Rain that is hot speckled pink with black veins. I'm still waiting for that one to bloom so I can do my thing . . .
LariAnn
Ooo, that hot pink/black veins sounds really cool. Lots of scope for combinations with these interesting Thai crosses, huh?
Thanks for the ID on Jungle Rain!
This pot was another score on the markdown rack at Lowe's. There are obviously two different varieties in here, but the black one really catches my eye. Could it be the one you're calling "Black Thai" ? It's really almost completely black, with just a few red flashes on the leaf edges. It's not terribly vigorous, but considering how sad it looked when I got it, it's coming along!
Elaine
This message was edited Apr 19, 2012 12:10 PM
I'm really impressed. I've never seen caladium plants at our Lowe's (colder hardiness zone). Lowe's is about 30 miles away, so I don't go often, but this store takes good care of their plants.
So I had to settle for this one I found at Lowe's...the leaf on the right has about a 10 in. leaf span...
I already had most of the ones they were offering. I'm hoping they get some of the Tai's in. I've been hearing reports that they may be hardy indeed for my zone.
I ordered 3 Thai "hot Lips" and 1 Thai "Dark Chocolate." They arrived around the end of March in 2 separate orders from McClure & Zimmerman around the end of March. They were in pots that are about 4" in diameter and 3 inches high in a very loose soil. They each had a leaf that was about 1-1.5 inches long. I figured that since the shipping temp was a bit questionable, I would treat them with kid gloves. I left them in their little pots and kept them moist (and warm) with fluorescent lighting. The existing leaf on each subsequently dried up, and now 3 of the 4 have new growth.
So, do I take them out and repot or wait for their new growth to fill out some? They are in a very loose soil.
Any ideas?
Marcia
Marcia,
With small plants such as you have, I would wait a bit for their new growth to fill out some. I'm fortunate in that I have two full grown Hot Lips (one bloomed and I crossed a Western Caladium with it) and a full grown Dark Chocolate (of course, I crossed Westerns with it this year as well as last year). You should also consider giving your plants a weak fertilization of Miracle Gro at least once per week (1 tbs per 5 gallons water, equivalent). I also add Superthrive to all my soluble fertilizer mixes. With that loose soil, be sure they don't dry out between waterings.
Mjsponies,
The Thais might not survive in the ground in your area - they are pretty intolerant of cold weather (even soil temps in the 50s or 40s). That's one reason I'm mixing them up with the hardier or more durable Western Caladiums. My Thaibrids are better suited to the same conditions that the familiar Caladiums tolerate.
LariAnn
Aroidia Research
Thank you, LariAnn
If you would like a chuckle, picture a chubby lady who planted many, many caladium bulbs indoors in March. Now that the weather is warmer, I have taken them outdoors. However, when the weather forecast is for a cool night, I run outside and stuff all the caladiums into the car for protection. When it stays colc and rainy, they ride around with me all day, some heat one, of course.
Update!!
Carol, my McClure & Zimmerman plants arrived, and with lots of attention, they all seem to be growing, even the one that looked dead. They arrived with foliage that was not more than an inch long, and the new leaves they are producing are about six inches long.
LariAnn, I planted three Hilo Beauty things, which I thought were bulbs with one Miss Muffett Caladium. Miss Muffett, which is still indoors, is doing well, with no sign of the Hilo Beauties. When a plant grows from tissue culture, do you plant the material as a bulb, keep it very moist and warm as Caladiums? The material I planted looked like a little log, about 2.5 inches long if memory serves. They were approximately 3/8 of an inch in diameter, a little thicker towards the center. Since they did not sprout, I chose to leave them inside where there was little variation in temperature and consistent light conditions. On the plus side, I love Miss Muffett.
Marcia
Marcia,
As far as I know, I've never gotten a TC plant in bulb form before. Every TC plant I've gotten has been a growing plant. The "logs", IMHO, are corms of the Hilo Beauty. I would keep them moist (not wet) and warm and see if they sprout - they should, eventually.
I love Miss Muffett, too,
LariAnn
Went out of town for a week, and came back to a big, black bud on my Black Thai. This winter I'm definitely going to have to split up these two, the white one is suffering a bit from being crowded in with the black one. The latest leaf on the black one has green and red "stained glass" effects.
Jungle Rain has some white spots on it now, too. It might be getting too much light . . ?
Elaine
Despite their formerly unwholesome appearance, all four seem to be doing well, producing a much larger leaf. I keep Caladiums in containers of all sorts, and I think I will keep the TCs indoors where they are under my constant control. I put a few drops of liquid MG in a quart of water, and spray the surface to keep it damp. If and when they show more promise, they will be moved into the same container.
The plants that are outdoors seem to be doing well, starting to fill out and some have giant leaves (Brandywine). LariAnn, the Gingerlands and Miss Muffetts and I guess some of the others are sending up their spikes. Since I do not breed, is it appropriate to remove them as they start to grow?
As it has taken quite a while to warm up here (at night), the Caladium containers have been mostly in sun, which does affect their coloring. At this point Fannie Munson and Brandywine are in full color, and White Queen is quite red. They will change when I move them below the shade tree and to the east side of the house that only gets morning sun. They still get a good spectrum of light even in the shade, but the direct sun can burn their leaves. It takes forever for the soil in the shaded areas to warm, and thus they usually rot if not in containers.
I'm pretty jealous of you Floridians. The large stores like HD an Lowe's do not sell many Caladiums up north, and I've yet to see a Thai any place but online. I think this is the first year I've seen bulbs at Costco, and yes, I snatched them up as soon as I saw them.
I scored what I'm pretty sure is a Miss Muffet pic 1, and another NoID Caladium - pics 2, 3, and 4 at Lowe's on Monday.
Anybody got a clue what the one with the huge pink, and smaller green and red leaves is?
Dyzzy, 2, 3 and 4 look like my White Queen when it is in the sun. If you keep it in the shade, the pink part may stay more white. It starts out with the red veining. Don't be fooled by the name.
Marcia
Thanks, Marcia. I've searched a bunch of sites and White Queen was my choice as the closest, even though it basically has no white at the moment. I'll find it a spot in the shade and see what happens.
Just went back and read Lari Ann's article on Caladium breeding. I'm going to try pollenating that plant's flower, if I can get some pollen from the flower on my black one. It's open now, but we've had so much rain today I can't see any pollen. Hope it's not all washed away.
So what d'you think we'll get by crossing (what might be) White Queen with (what might be) Black Thai?
Anything is worth a try. I have never done that, and I know the window of pollination is small, but LariAnn does have lots of good reading on it. The only others I grow that look anything like that are Zantedeschias (calla lilies), and their blooms last quite a while and are recognizable as flowers.
I'm guessing the seeds are a fine powder. I hope you can encourage them to be open at the same time. I look forward to the offspring and your experience. Have you done other breeding? Truth is, some things are just fun to try!
Never done it before, just want to give it a shot since I do seem to have two flowers at the right stage now. The black one is already open, but I can't see any pollen. Letting it dry out and will try . . The colored one is not open yet, but Lari Ann's article says if it's already open it's too late to pollenate. Seems counter-intuitive to me. How the heck do these plants "do it" in nature then? But, she's the authority and I'm going with what she says to do.
Will report on any results in a week or two!
Elaine
dyzzypyxxy,
Pic #1 is Miss Muffet
Pic #2 looks like an immature White Queen- the red bleeds out of the veins and the leaf will have the pinkish hue to it. The leaves will turn more white as the plant matures
Pic #3 &4 is Arno Nehrling
Bill
Yay, Bill!
Wonderful, thank you, Bill!
So the Queen is in the same pot with Arno, and they're all crowded together on one side of the pot, too. Do I separate them, or just leave well enough alone until winter, and pry them apart then?
That's up to you really. I'd leave them alone if it was me...
Here's some of my Arno
That's a really pretty one, looks like it's in some sun in the first picture, too.
A few words about Caladium breeding. Caladium blooms open initially in the early evening of the day. At that time, they are warm and also fragrant. That is the very best time to pollinate them. If you wait until the next day, the bloom will still be open but will no longer be receptive to pollen. The evening of that day, the pollen will drop. So you see the pollinators are going to be evening or nighttime insects as that is the time when all the action happens at these flowers. I found that if you pollinate a day or two before the bloom actually opens (you have to cut open the lower part of the spathe to gain access to the female flowers), you can get success that way, but if you don't do it the evening the bloom first opens (i.e. wait until the next day), you are too late.
Caladium seeds are about the size of a pinhead, but are not powdery at all. They come in white berries that are loved by ants. Be warned - the ants will steal the ripe berries if you don't protect them somehow.
Hope this helps,
LariAnn