Enhance your summer landscape with the exotic elegance of Caladiums! They are known for their amazing foliage with outstanding combinations of color and texture. Caladiums are wonderful summer annuals and a great choice for your Texas garden. They are heat-loving tropical plants that can be grown inside or outdoors.
Great for shadier gardens, the options are endless with the many different Caladium varieties available. Find the ideal design and color scheme that suits your style the best! When selecting your favorite, think about where you will be planting or displaying them. The amount of sun exposure in that area will help you determine if you should use Fancy Leaf or Strap Leaf Caladiums.
Differences Between Strap Leaf and Fancy Leaf Caladiums
Fancy Leaf Caladiums are great for filling the shady areas of your landscape. They are extremely versatile and perform well as bedding plants and in container gardens. Growing Fancy Leaf Caladiums on your patios or around your outdoor gathering spaces can feel like a tropical escape. Plus, you can even grow them indoors for a lush green accent.
Growing Strap Leaf Caladiums is a bit different. Unlike the Fancy Leaf varieties, Strap Leaf Caladiums can tolerate more sun throughout the day. The foliage tends to be a little smaller with pointed tips. They will not grow as tall as Fancy Leaf Caladiums, but will have a wider spread. Choose a planting location that gets no more than 6 hours of sun per day.
How to Plant Caladiums
For outdoor Caladium planting, try mass plantings for a unique Caladium design idea, or use it as an accent to stand out among your other flowers and foliage. They perform best when planted in the spring and summer because they require heat and humidity to thrive.
Caladium soil requirements are important to maintain the health of your plants. They need loose, well-draining soil that is rich in organic material. Use Calloway’s Premium Flowerbed Garden Soil to provide optimal conditions for continued growth. It includes water-saving ingredients like expanded shale, coconut coir, and earthworm castings for added moisture control, along with composted pine bark, composted rice hulls, sphagnum peat moss, and more, to help your flowerbeds perform their best.
Slight acidity in the soil is also key for successful Caladium planting. Top off your garden beds with Calloway’s Premium Organic Pine Bark Mulch. It is the ideal mulch for plants and shrubs that prefer an acidic environment.
For a stylish display, try planting your Caladiums in gorgeous pottery. You can create a beautiful display on your porch or patio, and you can re-use the pottery with other plants throughout the year. Planting them in containers is the best way to control sun exposure for Caladiums, and you can easily move them indoors during the cooler months.
When you are growing Caladiums in a container garden, use Calloway’s Premium Container Potting Soil for your gardening success. Our Premium Potting Soil is a high-quality blend of organic materials that provides an optimal growing environment for your plants.
Caring for Caladiums
Watering is an important first step in proper Caladium care. Water as needed to keep the soil evenly moist but avoid overwatering and standing water that can cause rot. You will know when your plant is thirsty if the top of the soil is dry to the touch.
Feed your plants with Calloway’s Premium Tropical Plant Food, as directed. It is an ideal Caladium fertilizer that will produce more beautiful foliage. Our 15-5-10 special formula contains a controlled-release nitrogen, Fx Iron®, calcium, and other key components to help your tropical plants have healthier growth.
Shop with Ease
At Calloway’s and Cornelius, we have everything you need for your summer garden! Visit us today and explore our entire collection of heat-tolerant flowers, lush foliage, stately trees and shrubs, stylish pottery, potting soil, and so much more! Shop one of our 28 neighborhood stores, serving our loyal customers for over 35 years.
Have questions? Ask our Texas Certified Nursery Professionals; they are here to help!
