Caladium Help!!!

My sister gave me a lot of Caladium bulbs and I don't want to loose any of them. The leaves are starting to die down and I want to know when do I dig them for storage? Any tips, pointers, LOL anything will greatly help me...The ones I left in the ground from HD year before all rotted.....TIA...Lauri

This message was edited Oct 7, 2006 2:38 PM

lauri, that is basically the problem with caladiums in our warm weather. My return rate is 40% at best, but they are so cheap, I am willing to buy more to fill in the gaps and also to skip the work involved in digging up.

Lauri,

If the plants are starting to die off, go ahead and dig them up and lay them out and allow the bulbs to cure for about a week or so. Trim off any excess growth. You can then put them in a paper bag filled w/ Spagnum Moss and keep them in a cool(not cold) place until you're ready to re-plant in the spring. Storing bulbs from one season to the next is very tricky and the bulbs will dry out if they're not stored properly.

Bill

Thanks voss and Bill...I'm going to try and save them but may end up and buying more to fill in...Lauri

Lauri, I live in a much colder climate (zone 6) but I have had great success overwintering my caladiums. I just dug some of them today, in fact. After drying them in a dark airy shed for a week or two, I store them in plastic Walmart-type sacks, loosely tied (I don't bother with any packing material). I place the sacks in a shallow cardbox box and put them in a closet to keep them at 60 - 70 degrees for the winter. A cool bedroom is okay, maybe you can slide them under the bed. If you keep them too cold, they can go in to a permanent dormancy. I restart them in late March in my greenhouse.
The main thing I have learned is that certain varieties are much more desirable for keeping from year to year than others. One of the very best is 'Aaron', followed by 'Rosebud' in my experience.
Good luck!
Toxi

Glad you asked that question Lauri...I needed answers too...I hate to loose any....lol... all that trouble we had finding the eye....some of mine I think was planted upside down...but they survived...

I was wondering this as well, mine are still in the ground. I was wondering if I should wait until the first frost to dig them up. I have EE in ground as well.

I leave my EEs in the ground til hard frost kills the tops. But I dig my caladiums earlier, for 2 reasons:
They are usually going dormant from cool spells several weeks before frost and this makes the leaves yellow and floppy. They can even disappear entirely and then you find yourself just guessing where the bulbs are.
The second reason is that low soil temps could trigger that "permanent dormancy" I spoke of earlier.

Hi Toxie...how do you store yours??Seems like everything I do...I always loose a few.. :o((

Guess I better dig them up tonight as we are to get a frost tonight. Shoot, and i was off fro 3 days and didn't do it.

Hope you got all yours dug............had to do mine as we are having snow and high winds....Need to know how others are storing theirs....

Digging up your Caladium bulbs:

If you're in a northern state and intend on storing your bulbs so you can re-plant them next spring, you need to get the bulbs dug up now. Waiting much longer isn't going to be good for the bulbs. Caladium bulbs DO NOT like cold weather. If the bulbs are allowed to freeze, you will have to replace them. After letting the bulbs cure for about a week or so, store them in a plastic bag filled w/ Sphnagum Moss and keep them in a cool(60-70 degrees) location and you should be able to plant them in the spring without any problem.

Elephant Ears should be dug up as well.

Bill

Bill--
I've heard if you break the caladium bulb masses up into the individual bulbs they will grow better next year. Is this true? I want to try to save some White Wing's just to see how it works.
Debbie

Well, we sure did get frost, and FREEZE. It was 27 degrees this morning here (weatherman said it would be 31). The EEs, cannas, and annuals were all black and limp.
I had already dug the caladiums, thank goodness.
Hope everyone had their houseplants taken in.