Caladiums!

Now is the time to think of summer and caladiums, not snow!

Bill is back and his offer to DG people is 15% off if you use the code he provides. All orders must be placed by 2/12 to take advantage of the offer.

http://www.caladiumbulbs4less.com/

Bill's caladiums are wonderful and I've grown them for years. To me they are better than annuals since they give color until frost and don't require any deadheading/cutting back/or lifting. I love them in containers. Pictured here is Florida Sweetheart in a hanging basket along with some begonias.

This year I'm trying some in the Asiatic lily field to hopefully hide the stems after the lilies have bloomed.

Ok, Ok Ok, you got me. I ordered some the other day. I think I will put them where I removed a small Jm tree in the back corner.

Pirl I love the plants but I also really love the basket itself. It's so hard to find pretty baskets. Where did you get it?

Marie---your yard/garden looks beautiful.

This message was edited Jan 23, 2012 2:48 PM

pirl, this is a very timely post for me. I just posted a question on a regional forum about where to buy caladium bulbs. I was concerned about ordering from Bill, as it seems there were some unhappy customers last year. But the other places didn't have as many choices, or they were almost twice as expensive.

I'm glad to hear you've had such great experiences with this site over the years. Do you have any favorite caladiums or specific recommendations? I'll be growing them in pots and hanging baskets in semi-shade and deep shade areas.

Marie - that is such a beautiful area!

Kosk - I bought it at Home Depot a few years ago. It has a "thing" on the bottom so during the winter it can't sit flat on a saucer so it sits atop an empty plastic container.

ssgardener - Bill had a rough time last year with his "help". This year will be better. Go back and look at the reviews and you'll see a few people who posted only gave one review in their time at DG. That immediately makes them suspect in my mind. Their one and only review (including the competition) and it's a negative???

I trust Bill completely and wouldn't have ordered 10 packages of caladiums if I didn't totally trust him.

Since they all thrive in shade I'll list my favorites as they come to mind:

Gingerland - was still looking great in early November. Can't ask for more than that!
Miss Muffet - lovely colors, beautiful accent, great in containers.
White Wing - I adore it in a container!
Carolyn Whorton - our heat wave never bothered it at all and never faded a single leaf in hot sunshine.
Florida Sweetheart - can't be beat in a hanging basket and if you use three or four you will still have plenty of leftovers to do another two containers or baskets.
Freida Hemple - gorgeous red - really red! Nice green edge - easy to work with when it comes to matching or contrasting plants. I'll add a photo.

This year I'll be trying the "mammoth" bulbs and can't wait to take photos.

I'm also trying Lance Whorton and Pink Illusion and Pink Gem - all new to me but I have the perfect spots for all of them.

Sorry! It posted twice.

This message was edited Jan 23, 2012 7:02 PM

Thats ok, it so pretty to look at.

Here's White Wing in a container at the bottom of the old kitchen steps.

Put 3 pot Lilies in those pots for some height, color and flower and later the Caladium leaves will cover theLily stalks.

Precisely why I ordered your lilies and Bill's caladiums, Bert. I'll be using the caladiums to hide the stems in my main Asiatic lily field.

White Ruffles is a good one too.

That's nice, Dale, and reminds me a lot of White Wing.

Sorry I didn't order Stardust! It's so lovely in the shade. The white dots give the illusion of sun coming through. There's always next year...

http://www.caladiumbulbs4less.com/servlet/the-596/10-Grade-%231-Stardust/Detail

I just placed an order using the discount code, but the code didn't work. It showed up as a DG member discount, but no money was discounted. Has anyone else tried using this code?

I got White Wing, Frieda Hemple, Gingerland, and Florida Red Ruffle. I hope the discount goes through.

Write to Bill to make sure. He will honor the discount, believe me.

Please post photos of Red Ruffles. It's one I haven't tried yet but it was tempting - so many were tempting!

Nevermind!

I just realized it's because the 15% discount was applied before shipping. This really is a great deal!

Pirl, I hope to take pictures of everything and post it, even if I have to borrow a camera. :-)

Great. I'm glad you figured it out.

Back in '06, and before that, I used to buy from other online places and (don't shudder) at Home Depot. I took comparison photos one year of Bill's versus Home Depot - no contest. The pitiful ones from Home Depot are on the step with the scissors but all others are from Bill. The difference is amazing!

Those red leafed ones are gorgeous!

Thanks! That was Red Flash: http://www.caladiumbulbs4less.com/servlet/the-12/10-Grade-%231-Red/Detail

That was the fastest one to grow that I've ever had. Just a few weeks after planting it looked like this with the afternoon sun providing the back lighting. That was just the first two leaves!

Here's the difference between caladiums that are fancy (like Red Flash) compared to the "strap" leaves of Gingerland, Florida Sweetheart, etc. They all have a place in the garden.

Pirl, in the HD comparison pic, how many of Bill's bulbs are planted in one pot? I'm trying to see how many I need to plant for that full look.

I've never put more than four to a pot. With HD I used the entire bag for that small pot.

Remember that with strap leaved caladiums you'll have more leaves than with the fancy (huge) leaved. Each one has its own merits.

I placed my order on the 23rd and have not heard a word about shipping or anything from Bill. Just that they got my order. When should I expect something.
I get worried when I pay for something but done get a response back.

Send him an Email and ask him. He obviously got your order, responded and now we all wait until it's time to ship - May to June for many of us. I don't start mine inside so mid May is fine for me to plant them where I want them.

He may work on orders on Sundays when he has more peace and quiet.

Marie, I had the same question and found this info in his site:

Q: Can I request a specific date for shipping?
A: Absolutely!!, Either call us on our Toll Free number or send us an email and we will be more then happy to accommodate your request.
We ship according to Zones. As low temperatures warm up we ship further and further North.
We can not be held responsible for bulbs shipped before our recommended date!!

Q: What about shipping Caladiums, when should I expect shipping?
A: We will begin shipping on or about March 1st depending on weather conditions. We'll most likely begin shipping within the State of Florida about mid to the end of Feb.
We will ship your bulbs as soon as we can safely do so. We watch the temperatures very closely and you can be assured we will get your order shipped as quickly as possible. If your low temperatures are still consistently below 50 degrees we will delay shipping your order until your low temperatures are at least 50 degrees or the real high 40's for at least three days straight.

I just got an Dmail from Bill, He told me all this. I am happy that he got in touch with me to let me know all is well.

He's a good guy and has a great product. Glad he reads DG!

It is just that when you send money to pay in full and you don't get any kind of response besides, Oh I got your money, you kinda worry about your money. I have another site I need to contact about shipment that is paid in full. Not that I am expecting it now just let me know what is going on.

I have orders in at two lily places, Bill's caladiums and one other place that sells annuals. All I ever get is confirmation, no updates. Then comes the notice of shipment. It's been the same story in the past with perennials, roses, coleuses, etc.

Hi ladies,

I also ordered from Bill. I already received my caladiums. (2 BIG boxes) But I live in the Florida panhandle. I think I'm going to wait until later to plant my bulbs, though. Tonight is getting down to 42. I would prefer the night temperatures to stay above 50 before I plant.

Marie you will be so impressed with your caladiums. These are some of Bill's I grew in the past:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1043481/
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1108281/

So I'm all ready go for 'Round 3'!!! Yeah for Caladiums. They last and last and last. You'll just love them!!

This message was edited Mar 5, 2012 11:42 AM

Pirl...your caladiums from last year are gorgeous!! :D Are you going to do potted again this year?

Can't wait to receive them. I placed an order, too. Excited!

Great photos and great work, Pamela. I will be potting many while others will be planted in gardens. Like you, I just love caladium with hosta.

Kosk - hard to believe anything could make your gardens more beautiful so I'm anxious to see how you use them.

Nice picture of Gingerland & Hosta! So pretty. :)

Very pretty leaves! Now I want them too.

Pirl---I'm planning to plant the caladiums in this bed in the front of the house (north side of house, shade bed). I am in a continuous war with very invasive goutweed here. There are 10 or so hostas mixed in there, which get lost in the goutweed foliage. I think the pink from the caladiums will really perk up this mostly uniformly green bed. (I also have pink astilbes and foxgloves in there---pic taken in May last year, so not much going on in it yet.). I think the caladiums will be the perfect addition. I really struggle with this bed, bc it has poor drainage in winter so lots of things rot, and the goutweed is impossible to get rid of. I'm also going to add a Salix 'Mt. Aso' here (pink pussy willows) and some ligularia 'Little Rocket'.

Thanks Pamela and dreamjourney. I do love caladium.

Kosk - Your home is picture perfect and I'm sure your plans for the caladium, and other shade lovers, will brighten the area. Goutweed is one nasty weed that I've fought and won but it took many days of spraying Round Up to kill it. You'd have to remove all good plants in order to do the job but it took quite a few sprayings (every other day) to eradicate it and allow the lilies to shine.

That is a really amazing before and after! very pretty. I love the new groundcover succulents. Love it! I dug out that entire bed 2 or 3 years ago, down about 12 inches or more, and had every bit of soil hauled off to the dump. Then I filled it with new soil, and planted the hostas, etc. Unfortunately, the goutweed came back even more aggressively than before, so I guess it goes down very deep. I thought I had it all, but the project was so muddy I guess it was hard to really tell. I am going to try a little bit of round-up this week on some of the growth coming up. I've decided to mostly just coexist with it. But I try and dig out a lot of it at the base of my plants. And this will be the first time I use some round up on it. I try and avoid using that at all costs, but I'm going to just do a little bit here and there. I put in some pulmonaria in that bed last year, and it is coming up really really nicely right now---and seems to be repelling the goutweed a bit, so I may add some more of that, too.

(It's also kind of funny how many compliments I get on the goutweed from visitors!)

That's so true. People always complimented mine as well and one said I'd regret it if I killed it but that's not so.

If you use nursery pots (upside down) to cover the good plants it will help. Many times I thought I had it out in two other areas but I obviously never got all of it. Finally I did resort to the RU and it did work.

Digging it out is a form of self-torture and it doesn't work.

Pirl, those caladiums are beauties! I've never grown any but would like to try some this year. Do you dig the bulbs up in late fall and store them somewhere until Spring? Will they be okay in an unheated garage, in a net like bag or do you overwinter them in a pot?
They do well in all shade or part sun?