Caladium - Winter Storage

Hello,
I was at Lowes today and saw a huge closeout sale on caladiums. They are 75% off and will only be about .75 cents a piece. My question is, Could I buy them and store the tubers for next season?

I live in Zone 6B, 7A. Are they difficult to store? Or should they just be classified as annuals in my area?

Thanks,
Jared

Store them dry and warm (not below 70F). They will likely store ok. I store caladium every year. They are easy to grow especially if you can give them warmth after planting. Pull tubers from ground in fall before temperatures drop to 40F at nights.

Hi Jared. I'd be afraid the tubers would die if they go a whole year without growing and recharging. I think I would pot them up and grow them in containers this year and store them in the pots of dry soil for winter. Then you'd be ready to just start watering and fertilizing in late winter and have a great head-start for next season. Be sure to squeeze each tuber and make sure they're not soft and make sure they're not shriveled and dried out either. They've been on a shelf for several months now and a lot of times Lowes employees don't know the differece between a live or dead bulb, so I always check them out well. Happy bargain shopping! I'm off to check out the clearance shelf at our Lowes today to, Neal.

Well they are not actually bulbs right now. They are potted plants that are on the clearance rack. I thought I could maybe buy them, let them die and then dig up the tubers and replant the tubers next spring. I know what your talking about the people at Lowes. They are not very smart when it comes to plants. It seems like everytime I go to lowes, the plants look even worse than the last time I went.

One thing I did read was that the calidiums tubers are grown best over one-seaons growth. Should I propagate the tubers at the end of the season? Is this what I would have to do to get new tubers each season?

Thanks!