Do you wish to assign your garden or home with heart-shaped plants? Well, Caladium varieties would be the ones with their white, pink, red and green foliage.
Get to know more about each of the twelve varieties of Caladium that fits your requirements, space, and lifestyle.
Table of Contents Show
Two Main Types of Caladium
Caladium bicolor, a native of the Brazilian tropics, has two different types dividing the varieties under subheadings.
It includes Fancy Leaf Caladium Plant and Strap Leaf Caladium Plant, having a significant difference in the meeting point of the stem and the leaf.
List of Caladium Varieties You will Love
Some of the popular varieties of Caladium with the different types they fall under are mentioned in the table below.
Fancy Leaf | Strap Leaf |
---|---|
Aaron | Florida Sweetheart |
Candidum | Gingerland |
Carolyn Whorton | Miss Muffet |
Fannie Munson | Pink Gem |
Frieda Hemple | Pink Symphony |
June Bride | Postman Joyner |
Pink Beauty | Red Frill |
Red Flash | White Wing |
Heart of Jesus | Florida Red Ruffles |
Moonlight | Candyland |
Strawberry Star | Lindenii |
Bombshell | Thai Beauty |
1. Aaron ‘Fancy-Leaved Caladium’
Aaron Caladium is a perfect houseplant for new plant parents as it is low-maintenance.
It has a white center with dark green edges and can grow to a height of 24 inches and spread to 24 inches.
The variety grows in full to half shade and can withstand direct light. Any soil is fine for Aaron Caladium as long it is moist and warm throughout.
2. Candidum ‘Fancy-Leaved Caladium’
Caladium Candidum has the most fancy-looking leaves and lies in the Fancy leaved category, whereas Candidum Jr falls under Strap Leaved.
Daily misting and watering will also help evade snails or slugs from the Candidum Caladium.
Direct sunlight can burn the leaves, so keep them under half or full shade. Given the optimum condition, it will grow between 12 to 18 inches and expand over 11 to 17 inches.
3. Carolyn Whorton ‘Fancy-Leaved Caladium’
Carolyn Whorton Caladium is an excellent plant to liven up your interior throughout the season.
Carolyn Whorton Caladium stands at 20 inches and needs warm soil to flourish well.
However, it can stand sunlight and grows well in containers even with partial light.
4. Fannie Munson ‘Fancy-Leaved Caladium’
Fannie Munson is a fancy-leaf Caladium plant with a lovely flamingo pink middle with dark green-edged leaves.
The leaves are sensitive to light due to the translucent leaves that cause them to burn and dry out, resulting in dull color and shapeless leaves.
Despite its alluring beauty, Fannie Munson Caladium is not an annual plant.
Extra care must be provided to sustain itself during the cold season though it can tolerate temperatures of 7ºC.
5. Florida Sweetheart ‘Strap-Leaved Caladium’
The wavy elongated leaves attaining a height of 18 inches set Florida Sweetheart apart from other Caladiums.
Its rosy-pink center with a green border makes it a beautiful display in your home.
Though it is not an annual plant, it can sustain itself for a year. You have to ensure extra care is provided in the winter.
6. Freida Hemple ‘Fancy-Leaved Caladium’
Freida Hemple is a beautiful Caladium plant with flashy leaves with a bold dark red center and green margins that can reach up to 6-18 inches long.
It flourishes well in shady areas, indoors and outdoors, with high heat and humidity and can attain a medium height of 12-20 inches.
However, it is a high-maintenance Caladium plant. Therefore, you have to dedicate your time by putting in the effort to ensure its healthy growth.
Warning!! When tending to Freida Hemple, do wear a glove. It can cause skin irritation when in contact.
7. Gingerland ‘Strap-Leaved Caladium’
If you are looking for a plant that does not take up much space, then Gingerland Caladium is perfect for you.
Gingerland is a medium-sized Caladium plant with a creamy white center and reddish-pink flecks with green borders, giving a pop of color to your area.
Another good thing about Gingerland Caladium is that it is sun tolerant. You can place it under direct light, but note that too much can scorch the leaves.
So, check once in a while that your plant is not dried by watering it regularly and placing it in shady places.
8. June Bride ‘Fancy-Leaved Caladium’
June Bride Caladium is a dainty Caladium plant fitting it just right indoors without taking up much space as it grows to 12-24 inches tall and 10-12 inches wide.
The color of the leaves turns from green to entirely white with pale green margins, creating a vivid atmosphere.
The good thing about this beauty is that it is low maintenance and is free from common pests and diseases. However, do look out for snails and slugs during the wet season.
9. Miss Muffet ‘Strap-Leaved Caladium’
Another Caladium beauty is Miss Muffet, a visually stunning perennial strap leaf Caladium whose color lasts throughout the seasons.
Miss Muffet Caladium has green leaves with a tiny reddish-pink center and dark pink freckles that can attain a height of 10-14 inches.
The leaves look stunning in the full shade. It does grow well under light, but regular watering is required to prevent dehydration.
Furthermore, daily misting can ensure proper growth as it is a tropical plant and thrives in high humidity.
10. Pink Beauty ‘Fancy-Leaved Caladium’
True to its name, Pink Beauty is a remarkable Caladium plant that can fit your landscape, pots, and planters.
Place Pink Beauty Caladium under partial or complete shade to get the actual display.
11. Pink Gem ‘Strap-Leaved Caladium’
The Pink Gem Caladium is a treasure you can grow outdoors or in a container indoors. Either way, it is sure to enrich your house.
Pink Gem is a glorious Caladium plant with ruffled leaves, blushed pinkish-white middle, and rich red veins with green edges.
The texture is rough and needs to be placed under shady areas. If planted outdoors, water it regularly to prevent it from drying.
12. Pink Symphony ‘Strap-Leaved Caladium’
The heart-shaped leaves and 14 inches tall height make Pink Symphony Caladium an attractive houseplant.
The leaves are slender and pale pink with green margins adding a soft touch of shade, and are ideal for lightening up dull rooms.
Therefore, regular misting will allow your Pink Symphony Caladium to grow appropriately and display its fabulous beauty.
Some More Caladium Varieties
The variety list of Caladium does not end here, as there are more to add to your indoors.
Name | Size | Features |
---|---|---|
Candidium Junior Caladium | Height: 10 inches Spread: 14 inches | Heart-shaped paper-thin translucent white leaves with a thin veining of green and white |
Pretty Pink Caladium | Height: 14-16 inches Spread: 12 inches | Heart shaped, white leaves with bright pink veins |
White Christmas Caladium | Height: 22 inches Spread: 22 inches | Heart-shaped, white colored leaves with distinct dark green capillaries and shades of olive green |
Mesmerized Caladium | Height: 10-14 inches Spread: 12-16 inches | Heart shaped ,lime and dark green border with contrasting colors in green, chartreuse and orange-red |
Rosebud Caladium | Height: 12-24 inches Spread: 12-24 inches | Heart shaped, eye-catching, bright-green foliage with pink centers and medium green margins |
White Queen Caladium | Height: 18-24 inches Spread: 18-24 inches | Heart shaped, striking large white leaves with bleeding rose and pink veins |
Carousel Caladium | Height: 12-18 inches Spread: 12-18 inches | Wedge-shaped with vibrant white foliage with red veins and green margins color |
Lemon Blush Caladium | Height: 18-24 inches Spread: 10-14 inches | Heart shaped, lemony-green leaves with a hot pink center and Veins with chartreuse green color |
Raspberry Moon Caladium | Height: 18-24 inches Spread: 10-14 inches | Heart shaped, vibrant light green background with dark green and raspberry pink to red splotches |
Caladium Varieties: Plant Care
Caring techniques for Caladiums of both types are more or less the same. Therefore, all kinds of Caladium can be planted and cared for similarly.
You can grow Caladiums quickly as summer bulbs indoors as long as you do it with proper care and management.
- Provide 1-2 hours of direct sunlight for the light-loving variety with at least 4 hours of indirect bright light.
- Caladiums love humidity of 50% or above. So maintain it by installing a humidifier.
- Water the plant weekly during warmer days and reduce it to once every 4-6 weeks in winter. Bottom watering is more effective for Caladiums.
- Maintain the day temperature around 70-75ºF and around 60-65ºF during the night and avoid heating and cooling vents.
- Use a peat moss-based, slightly acidic (5.5-6.5 pH) potting mix that retains moisture and allows good drainage.
- During the growing period, use a high-nitrogen liquid fertilizer every two weeks and cease in winter.
- Repotting the Caladium every 2-3 years will boost healthy growth.
- Meanwhile, try to protect them from pests like Aphids, Mealybugs, Mites, and Thrips by spraying neem oil and insecticidal soaps.
- Also, Caladiums show symptoms like dry yellow tips, brown spots, and curling with rotting of roots when under the attack of fungus.
- You might have to prune the damaged leaves every two or three weeks and use a copper fungicide to diminish the effect.
However, use gardening gloves, as all varieties of Caladium are toxic. So better keep it away from teh reach of pets.
Final Thought
With a wide choice of Caladium, it can be tough to decide. Better yet, you can always switch up on the varieties of Caladium.
Also, you can multiply the number of Caladium if you have a rare variety by using its tuber as a means of propagation.