Caladiums did really well for me last year in deep shade, and I love all the different colors you can get.
I see that it's much cheaper to order bulbs now rather than live plants in the spring.
I checked out the Watchdog, but I'm still not sure where I should purchase the bulbs from. Where do you order your caladiums and elephant ears from?
Also, do you pot them up indoors first to get them started? Thanks!
Mid-At, where do you order your caladium bulbs from?
I haven't ordered them by mail ever. Got my "Little Miss Muffet's" from a local nursery, and I see that Brent and Becky's has a nice selection this spring. They are good to order from. Also, other people from DG told me about a Bill's here in DG market that has the corms. Someone is sure to have some pics of theirt orders for you. I haven't looked at Bill's this year yet.
Thanks, Foxnfirefly!
I was concerned about Bill's site after reading the reviews from last year. I'll check out Brent and Becky's.
I see that Brent & Becky have a great selection this year, and while I haven't ordered caladiums from them, everything else I've gotten from them has been first class.
I have ordered from Bill's co-ops for about the last three or four years, and have been very pleased with his responsiveness, selection, prices and the quality of the corms has been excellent. When he's run out of #1 grade, he sends double amounts of #2 grade corms. I haven't read any recent reviews on Watchdog, so I can't comment on that, but I haven't had any problems.
Re: deep shade - I think you'll be surprised by how well most of the newer varieties of caladium will do in less than deep shade, even sunlight. I plant mine in pots before putting them in their final destinations, and it's a warm spot, in full afternoon sun, and I have no sunburned leaves at all. So you can put them almost anywhere! ;-)
Good luck - it's sure nice to be thinking about summer plants right now!
Bill is awesome!
Extra % thru 2/12/12
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1237041/
Here's a pic from 2 years ago I didn't do them last year
Not sure if I will do caladiums this year. But if I did, what I hear about Bill makes that my go to.
Good to know they can take some sun. The last ones I had were large leaf with pink, in a pot by the mailbox (no bees to scare the mail lady) and they did well, shade all day but some hot late day sun.
There's a really charming picture of Little Miss Muffets on his site, from someone in DG who placed in the photo contest with it.
ss yes people do start them inside first- they do like to be warm.
Very easy to start indoors, I bought a plastic kitty litter box just to start them inside, doesn't need to be a deep container
Bill, Is great I highly recommend him. There were quite a few problems last year but Bill still came thru as far as I am concerned. The crops were not good so we didn't get the Grade #1 bulbs of some varieties we ordered so he doubled the order on those bulbs with twice as many of the smaller bulbs. The shipping was a bit later due to weather issues. We also had the order shorted in shipping so he sent me an extra #5 lb box of bulbs as an apology. There really were issues last year but I have no complaint with the service I got from him to fix the problems.
Thanks, Holly! That's a gorgeous picture.
I heard from quite a few people on another forum and Bill himself, and I felt comfortable enough to order from there. I'm looking forward to April!
I plant quite a few caladiums really love them and they aren't real common in our area.
Wow, those copper-colored pots are perfect for showing off the caladiums! Do you remember where you got them from?
They are big heavy pottery, I picked them up at a local nursery during an end of season sale.
Here's the photo Bill used with my permission. The caladium is Miss Muffet.
His bulbs are fantastic and I grow them every year. I simply couldn't be happier with them.
The summer heat wave kept me inside most of the days but Carolyn Whorton (the caladium) never faded or showed any distress from full and constant sunshine.
Bill has categories for sun or shade. They all grow fine in shade but there are varieties that can take sun.
Oh pirl. those pictures are heavenly. I am hoping that they will help brighten up a semi shaded area this summer.
They will, Marie. Before I used caladiums I had coleus and daylilies, which I still love, by the little girl statue but it never had the WOW impact that caladiums do.
where do you get your statues, I am on the hunt for some. I do have a guy down the road that carries a lot of cement( concrete) statues, just have to get hubby to bring the truck...lol
The little girl came from Winterthur but last I checked they don't carry her anymore. We bought it in '92 or '93. We also bought Undine (daughter of Neptune) from the same place. Love the face.
I saw a similar one to Undine recently. I'll try and find it since I didn't bookmark the link.
http://www.designtoscano.com/product/garden+statues/classic+garden+statues/le+printemps+and+le+etoile+wall+sculptures+-+ng302819.do?sortby=bestSellers
They are cast and made of resin. Note the first price is for two but they're $45.00 each plus shipping.
Better photo of Undine.
pirl- Kudos on the photo placement! Glad you chimed in to let us know it is yours. And thanks for that website link.
I saw this company before. A friend sent me their link. I just kinda think they are high in price .
You're welcome, Sally. The sale with the discount goes through 2/12.
This display had just three leftover caladiums. I doubt three petunias would look as good or have the same impact.
Marie - Toscano does seem expensive for outdoor art. I've never bought anything from them so I can't speak of the quality.
pirl-your "Little Miss Muffet's" are gorgeous!! They have so many leaves. Mine didn't get that lush because I was growing them in deep shade and I think they preferred a little more sun to get that golden "freckled" look. Mine had a red central vein. The one that appeared in B&B's catalog looked like a whitevein. I agree that they can steal the show from some petunias.
Anyone looking for garden statues should come to Falls Church. There are a number of nurseries with a selection for various tastes. Merrifield's and Betty's Azalea Ranch have fun statuaries. But sometimes you can evebn find things at your supermarket, heh, heh. I got a nifty red fox of resin a few years back from Giant Foods store.
Thank you. I've only had Miss Muffet's with the red in them, never with a white vein but then I never have grown them in total shade as you mentioned.
We do have one place, not quite "local" for statuary, but they're all the very heavy cement and at my age I just can't deal with things that heavy. I really prefer the resin though the little girl's hat has chipped and the hem of her dress is showing wear but she's no kid anymore.
I can understand about the heavy cement statuettes, but I like them since they don't blow over and the dog can't knock them down. My resin fox gets knocked over all the time. I see that you are in NY, so you probably have to put your statuettes in the garage for winter to protect them from the elements. We have a cement gargoyle named "Floyd" (after one on the Washington Cathedral) that got cracked from snow and ice. He needs repair and a sealant to hold together. Anyway, he'd look good with "Thai Beauty" caladium 'cuz he's painted black.
For safety we do put all garden art away for the winter.
Thai Beauty is the only caladium, from Stained Glassworks, that didn't thrive for me. I wish you luck.