Caladium
Caladium bicolor · Araceae Popular
Paper-thin, heart-shaped leaves in mixtures of white, pink, red and green, veined and splashed, from early summer until the first cool nights.
- Size
- 20 in tall, 20 in wide
- Zones
- 9 to 11
- Light
- Part sun to shade
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves
- Pets
- Toxic (moderate)
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around caladium
The planner designed this bed around caladium when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 9, part shade. It chose the other plants from the 238 that suit those conditions, and says below why caladium stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Green-and-gold × 16, yellow
- 2 Bleeding heart 'King of Hearts' × 5, pink
- 3 Northern sea oats × 5, tan
- 4 Formosa toad lily × 3, purple
- 5 Korean feather reed grass × 1, pink
- 6 Hellebore 'Pink Frost' × 3, pink
- 7 Caladium × 1, variegated leaves
- 8 Hardy cyclamen × 10, white
Why this plant
- The only plant grown for its leaves. Leaf lasts all season, where a flower lasts a few weeks.
Why here
- In the middle. At 20 in it is the step between bleeding heart 'King of Hearts' (12 in) in front and northern sea oats (3½ ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
- One plant. Three or more is usual for a plant of this kind, and reads better.
- Bold leaf against fine. Bleeding heart 'King of Hearts' is beside it: the strongest contrast of leaf there is.
Why now
- Here for its leaves, spring to frost. They cover the six weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 4 of the 6 groups (67%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Neither end outweighs the other: the visual weight is split 44 to 56, left to right. Cool colours (pink and purple) with yellow as the warm note, and tan and white to calm things between them.
The planner's own design check: 9 Excellent, 6 Good, 2 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Northern sea oats spreads aggressively. Each plant's details say more.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where caladium goes in a border
At 20 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium short (18 to 24 in).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
Colour for deep shade without a single flower. A tropical tuber, lifted or treated as an annual wherever the soil cools below 15 degrees. Do not plant it out until the nights are warm.
- Colour in deep shade
- Summer containers
- Tropical bedding
What to plant with caladium
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Hosta: grows up in time to hide its dying leaves; spires rising out of its mound; happy in the same moist soil.
- Japanese holly fern.
- Cast iron plant.
Questions about caladium
Does caladium need sun or shade?
Caladium grows in part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun), part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning) and shade (less than 2 hours of direct sun, or bright dappled light). It is one of the few that also put up with deep shade.
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and plenty of water.
What zones does caladium grow in?
USDA zones 9 to 11. It is hardy to zone 9, which means it survives winter nights down to about 30 °F (−1 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
How far apart should caladium be planted?
16 in (40 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 20 in (50 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 20 in (50 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many caladium plants do I need?
At 16 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 7 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 8 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 21 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is caladium poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: moderate toxicity to people, dogs, cats and horses. All parts contain needle-like crystals that cause burning and swelling of the mouth and throat if chewed.
Rated from NC State Extension and the ASPCA. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.
Do deer eat caladium?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
What can I plant to hide caladium's leaves after it flowers?
A bulb's leaves have to be left to yellow for about six weeks after flowering, to feed next year's flowers. Plant it among perennials that come up late and spread wide, and they grow over the leaves as they fade:
- Hosta 'Patriot': 20 in tall and 3 ft wide, in flower mid July to early August.
- Blue false indigo: 4 ft tall and 4 ft wide, in flower late May to mid June.
- Peony 'Karl Rosenfield': 3 ft tall and 3 ft wide, in flower late May to mid June.
What does caladium look like in winter?
Caladium is underground: it dies back after flowering and waits as a bulb until spring. Mark where it is, so a fork does not find it first.
In these guides
- Plants for deep shade
- Garden plants toxic to cats
- Garden plants toxic to dogs
- Plants with purple and burgundy leaves
Zone guides: Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Bulb
- Size
- 20 in (50 cm) tall, 20 in (50 cm) wide
- Plant
- 16 in (40 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium short (18 to 24 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- None: grown for its foliage
- Leaves
- Bold texture, herbaceous; variegated, red, green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 9 to 11
- Light
- Part sun, part shade, shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- High
- Feeding
- Moderate, in spring
- Family
- Araceae
- Comes from
- Central and South America
- Stands up to
- Deep shade
Checked against NC State Extension and ASPCA poison lists. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.