Planting caladiums in Spring

Spring has sprung! I LOVE caladiums and have collected quite a couple of different varieties over the past year. They’ve all been living the dormant life in a dark cupboard over Winter, but now it’s finally ‘planting caladiums’ time!

It’s a really simple process to do, so here’s a quick run down of how I potted mine up:

Step 1: Gather your bulbs

I was lazy and let my caladiums go dormant in the same pot they were planted in during Summer. So I removed the bulbs and chuck out the old soil so that I can use the same pots again.

Step 2: Prep your bulbs

‘Cleaning‘ your bulbs is an important step because it helps prevent rot and encourages new growth. I gently removed any old roots and soil from each bulb and gave them a quick rinse.

In doing so, I saw quite a few new growth points starting to develop on the bulbs, which is encouraging to see after the long, dreary winter!

Step 3: Position your bulbs

Caladiums need a well-draining soil mix, so I made one which includes lots of perlite and bark. I’ve recently done a post on making your own potting mixes, so feel free to check it out here if you’d like to learn more!)

When potting bulbs up, they also need to placed about 3-5cms below the surface of your pot. I filled half my pot with soil and evenly spaced the bulbs on top, making sure that any growth points were positioned upwards.

Step 4: Give them sun!

Once all the bulbs were in, I filled the rest of the pot with my soil mix and placed the pots in a bright, sunny spot. It’s been 3 weeks and I’ve yet to see any growth, but my fingers and toes are crossed that some shoots pop up soon!

Planting caladiums is such fun and oh so rewarding.