In my early gardening efforts, I didn’t appreciate what caladiums could do in the garden. I thought they were boring. But over the last few years, oh wow! I’m still learning, as I am with everything in life, but I’m loving the variety that they bring.

In my Zone 8 garden, these tropicals usually come back yearly, so I don’t have to take them up in the fall to store the tubers over winter. However, they haven’t been predictably dependable. I’m always surprised when they re-appear in the late spring. But I still buy new tubers to try new varieties and fill in some blank spaces.

The bed at the back wall of the house gets quite a bit of south sun every day, but these caladiums have done well here. Most are shade plants, but some newer varieties can tolerate some sun. The main white arrow-shaped caladiums in the top photo are called either White Pearl or White Wing. They’ve been here several years and they are multiplying. I’ve added the two other varieties on either side with a bit more color. I bought them in small, unlabeled pots from a sale table, so I don’t know the names.

These are Fannie Munson caladiums. Unfortunately, they like regular water and the clay pot dries out quickly. On the other hand, they’re in the shade, so they’re surviving pretty well.

These are huge White Christmas leaves. I planted one tuber here several years ago. It hasn’t multiplied, but it comes back every year and brightens up this spot.

One of my favorite varieties is Miss Muffett. I love the lime green edges with the deep maroon centers and splotches.

I showed this bed last week in the #1PlaceIn12Months post. These reddish-pink caladiums up front are supposed to be Fanny Munson, but they look different from the ones I bought for the pot I’ve already shown here. Some of these pink leaves are almost transparent. The white and green ones in the back are White Christmas, but they aren’t as big as the one I showed above. Maybe they’ll grow as they mature.

Finally, this bed by the patio has more Miss Muffett toward the back and Marie Moir at the front. I didn’t realize Marie would be so much bigger than the small ones behind them. I can’t switch them now. It’s a mistake I’ll have to live with. I love the Marie Moir too because they’re white caladiums with hot pink splotches and green veins.

The final photo collage makes number seven, but it doesn’t count because they aren’t caladiums. The leaves shown above are heart-shaped, but the first picture is a gigantic elephant ear, and the other is a hardy begonia. It just shows that shapes and textures complement other things in the garden.

See? So much variety! I had a blog post a couple of years ago on caladiums. I didn’t take the time to look up the names then, but I had pretty good detailed pictures of the plants. I have a few different varieties now and don’t have some shown in July 2020. So if you’re interested:

https://dottieloveladyrogers.com/2020/07/25/in-the-details-six-on-saturday/

Blessings for your week! And shalom, Dottie