The names Buntblatt and Buntwurz already suggest it: Caladium is a decorative foliage plant with colorful and patterned foliage.
But it doesn't stop with a single colorful plant, because numerous varieties of the caladium (Caladium) are known in a wide variety of colors. You can find out how to plant and care for the decorative bulbous plant here.
Caladium: flower, origin and properties
The caladiums are a genus of plants within the aroid family (Araceae), which includes 14 species. The Caladium species are native to Central and South America, where they grow in tropical regions. The indoor plants we know are usually hybrids that have been bred from different species. These are also known as elephant ear, stained leaf or bun and are particularly popular because of their colorful and patterned leaves. These are heart or arrow shaped and can be green, red, pink or silvery, spotted or solid. The leaves grow up to 20 cm in size and are sometimes so heavy that the long petioles snap off. The thin stems spring directly from an underground tuber. This sprout tuber serves as an outlasting organ. In winter all leaves die off and only the tuber is overwintered so that leaves can sprout again next year. The perennial, herbaceous plant is usually about 60 cm tall. In nature, caladia form a spadix flower surrounded by a bract. Compared to the patterned leaves, it is rather inconspicuous and unspectacular. Caladium-Indoor plants usually do not flower at all.
The most beautiful variegated leaf types and varieties
There are now countless Caladium varieties available on the market, which differ in color and pattern. Originally, Caladium bicolor was mainly used for breeding, but now several other species are included. For this reason, the species name is usually not mentioned at all. We have a small selection of more exciting onesSorts put together for you:
- Caladium 'White Queen': Has whitish leaves with a green margin, with the central vein and some main veins being a strong pink colour.
- Caladium 'Strawberry Star': Has white leaves with green veins and small pink dots.
- Caladium 'Miss Muffet': With light green leaves adorned with pink dots.
- Caladium 'Pink Symphony': Has bright pink leaves with green veins.
- Caladium 'Valentina': Has red leaves with dark green veining.
- Caladium 'Baret': Has bicolored leaves of red and green with white speckles.
Planting caladia: location, soil and co.
When it comes to the right location for Caladium, the first thing to decide is the variety. The lighter the color of the leaf, the brighter the place. Direct sunlight, on the other hand, is not beneficial for any of the varieties, but can lead to damage and greening of the leaves, so that the leaf pattern is lost. A temperature of 18 to 25 °C is ideal during the growing season. In addition, a high level of humidity should be ensured, which can be achieved, for example, by filling expanded clay and water in the Kaladie saucer. A loose soil that stores moisture well but drains excess water well, such as our Plantura organic universal soil, is suitable as a substrate. It offers the tuber a slightly acidic pH range that is ideal for caladiums. The nutrients contained in our biological soil also supply the caladium reliably for at least the first 3 months.
Under the substrate, on the bottom of the pot, a drainage layer should definitely be laid. This can consist of coarse materials such as stones, shards of pottery or expanded clay and ensures that the irrigation water drains well out of the pot so that it does not become blockedwaterlogging is coming. Waterlogging will otherwise lead to rot all too quickly in the bun and kill the tuber.
The planting process is different depending on whether you have decided on a sprouted plant or a tuber. Emerged Caladium plants are placed in a pot with a drainage layer and good quality soil in the location described above. However, if you want to plant a Caladium bulb, proceed as follows:
- Plant your caladium in fresh substrate in March
- Remove old soil from the tuber
- Bake in lukewarm water for 1 - 2 hours
- Turn the tuber the right way round: Below it is rather flat and smooth, above it is more structured with sleeping eyes
- Prepare pot with drainage holes and drainage layer
- Fill two thirds with soil
- Place the bulb right side up
- Cover with substrate
- Water well at the end
Tip: You can also plant the tuber a little flatter, but upside down. This will make the leaf stalks shorter and result in a bushier, more compact plant.
The pot with the tuber is now best placed in a warm place at 25 to 27 °C and the soil is kept well moist. Also stretch cling film or a plastic bag over the pot and air the whole thing once a day to prevent mold from forming. When the first leaves appear, the foil is completely removed. This usually takes 2 to 4 weeks. Then the young plant is placed in a cooler place at around 21 °C. You can pinch off the top of the first shoots so that the plant can branch better.
Tip: In summer Caladium can also be placed outside in a shady place. Even planting out is then possible, but the plant must be dug up again in autumn and brought indoors, as is the case with dahlias (Dahlia).
Caladium care: The most important measures
Watering is the main part of Caladium care. Caladiums have a moderate to high water requirement, so the substrate should always be slightly moist. It is best to pour directly into the ground and remove the running water from the saucer after about 15 minutes. Slightly acidic, lime-free water is well suitedWater like rainwater.
Tip: Do not water with hard, hard tap water, as this can increase the pH value in the root area. Caladium then reacts to too high pH values with the inability to absorb magnesium. This creates a nutrient deficiency as a result of the wrong irrigation water.
In the growing season, i.e. between spring and autumn, the caladium should be supplied with liquid fertilizer every 2 weeks. A liquid fertilizer for ornamental foliage plants, such as our Plantura organic indoor and green plant fertilizer, is suitable for this. It is simply mixed into the irrigation water and applied with the can. The nutrients are readily available and can be absorbed by the plant. Do not choose a nitrogen-rich fertilizer as this can cause the leaves to turn green.
Towards the end of the growing season, around September or October, Caladium, begins to stop growing, because only the bulb and not the leaves survive the winter. At first only small leaves are formed before they all die off and the time has come to overwinter the tuber. New leaves will sprout from it in the spring. Caladiums tend to fall prey to root rot in winter. They should therefore be overwintered properly as described below.
Why is my sakura drooping? If Caladium droops, it may be due to lack of water. Check that the substrate is dry to the touch. In this case, the caladium and pot are immersed in warm water until no more air bubbles rise. After that, the soil must drain well. In this way, the water supply is secured for the time being. It should be watered more regularly in the future. Another cause is cold drafts. If the caladia is by a drafty window, it is best to find a more sheltered location.
Propagation
The time in spring, when the variegated tuber is planted again and brought to sprout, is used to multiply Caladium. To do this, the tuber is divided into several small tubers when it is large enough. Each section must have at least one sleeping eye, i.e. a bud. Carefully cut apart the mother bulb with a sharp knife. To prevent mold from forming at the interfaces, these are coated with charcoal and dried at room temperature for a week. Then plant the tubers as described aboveseparate pots.
Very vigorous tubers also form secondary tubers which can be removed when they are big enough.
Winter Caladium
The correct hibernation of the variegated leaf is crucial so that fresh leaves will sprout again next spring. When overwintering Caladium, however, it is not the whole plant that is important, just the tuber. Hibernation of the tuber is absolutely necessary for its survival. However, the rest phase does not occur by itself, but must be actively brought about. The conditions at the natural site are imitated. Winter dormancy begins around September or October. From this point on, the stained leaf care is gradually phased out: Fertilization is no longer used and the watering frequency is reduced, so that the substrate dries up in between. The watering intervals become longer and longer until the leaves that are still preserved begin to dry up and die off. When all the leaves are dry, they can be removed. The soil should now be completely dry. Now the tuber is dug up, thoroughly cleaned, dusted with some charcoal powder and dried for about 2 weeks before being stored in a box with a substrate such as pure expanded clay or sand over the winter. The storage temperature is around 20 °C. Occasionally the substrate may be sprayed with water to prevent the tuber from drying out completely.
Alternatively, the tuber can also be overwintered in its pot - however, this makes the appearance of fungal pathogens on the tuber more likely. It is very important to ensure that the substrate is almost completely dry.
Winterization of Caladium
After overwintering, the tubers are put back into the ground in March. As described above, after a two-hour water bath, the tubers are placed in a pot with a drainage layer and soil, and then placed at 25-27°C and high humidity until they sprout.
Is the stained leaf poisonous?
Like many other houseplants from the arum family, the variegated leaf contains calcium oxalate crystals, which can cause irritation and swelling on skin contact. Eating parts of the plant also causes diarrhea and vomiting. Caladium is therefore toxic to cats, dogs and other animals, so fallen leaves in particular are best disposed of quickly.
To whom only a littleIf space is available, you can alternatively look around at the mosaic plant (Fittonia albivenis). Here, too, there are numerous varieties with colorfully patterned leaves, all of which are easy to care for, but are significantly smaller than the variegated leaf.