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Norcross, GA

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I want to add color to my shady front yard. Can I plant caladium bulbs now? If so, when will I see the plants come up?

How long will they stay colorful? Must I dig up the bulbs when it gets cold? If so, that's too much trouble. What else could I use for some lively color? I think I'll probably put out some impatiens, but they seem to require a lot of water for them to look nice all summer. Any other ideas? Now I have hostas, hellebores (just 3 small ones planted last fall), 3 pretty heucheras but I think I'll buy some more, some ferns and azaleas but the azaleas have lost their blooms for the year. I really need color but have very little sun.

8 Comments

Walter Reeves Decatur, GA

Caladiums are an excellent choice for color but it will take a few weeks for them to sprout and have leaves. If you have a small area to plant, buying full-grown plants makes sense.
It's too much trouble to try to save bulbs from year to year. Winter will freeze the bulbs that remain after summer.

on Apr 13, 2012 · Like 1
Douglas Hunt New Smyrna Beach, FL

Coleus will give you a nice jolt of color in a shady spot as well.

on Apr 14, 2012 · Like 2
Jackie W Sebastian, FL

Agree, Coleus is a very good choice for color and other than watering every few days they are low maintenance.

on Apr 15, 2012 · Like 0
Sharron W Memphis, TN

You really can't beat caladiums for their beautiful colors, if you don't want to dig them how about planting them in pots that you can into a garage or such so they don't freeze. I love having mine in pots, I can keep them on the front porch until it gets hot and then move them under my tree in front of the house for the rest of the summer...I think pots sitting around in the midst of ground planted perennials and shrubs are really beautiful...like a "surprise" burst of color....My ...»
caladiums took quite a while to come up....about five weeks after I planted them...but then they grew overnight and now they are blooming!

on May 29, 2012 · Like 0
Sharron W Memphis, TN

Also there is a plant called spotted lungwort that has a pretty delicate looking flower and what about primroses?

on May 29, 2012 · Like 0
Sharron W Memphis, TN

These plants have five blooms between them and although the flower is not that spectacular, it IS interesting looking and kind of reminds me of a calla lilly when fully unrolled...I really just wanted folks that have never seen these plants bloom , to know that they DO!
on May 29, 2012 · Like 0
Walter Reeves Decatur, GA

And they remind you of a calla bloom because they both belong to the same plant family.
Just for vocabulary fun, this type bloom is called a spathe and the little finger-like thingy in the middle is called a spadix.

on May 30, 2012 · Like 1
Sharron W Memphis, TN

@Walter Wow Thanks, I had no idea they were in th same family! Frankly until I had some bloom several years ago I didn't have any idea that they did bloom...and initally thought if was a malformed leaf...LOL since then I've had them bloom several times...but not every time... My father in law gave me these bulbs the summer before he passed so I've tried hard to keep them thriving...I like the green and white the best...

on May 30, 2012 · Like 0