Thai Caladium

I have always liked caladiums. They are easy to grow and suffer from few problems. With varying shades of white, pink, red and green, some truly are eye-catching. Who needs flowers when you have foliage like this? Everyone is familiar with the American cultivars, with a few such as White Christmas quite notorious. In recent years Thai cultivars have become available. They were supposedly kept a secret from Western horticulture for a substantial number of years. Some are considerably unique, others are unbelievably beautiful. However, many of these cultivars are not as hardy as their American counterparts.        

I got this Thai cultivar a couple of months ago. It had small rounded leaves. Only recently have the leaves gotten bigger and more elongated, and might I add more beautiful. It appears to be one of the more vigorous Thai cultivars.

All caladiums basically require the same care. Shade or semi-shade is best unless it is a variety that can take full sun. Fertilize lightly as these plants are very sensitive to over-fertilization. Adequate water is needed for the leaves to remain at their best and to prevent the plant from going dormant prematurely. Most of these plants do go dormant at sometime or the other, lasting from a couple of weeks to months on end. They would be almost perfect if not for this trait!