Caladium
Caladium bicolor
Family Araceae
Caladium paints the shade in colors flowers can't hold: heart-shaped leaves splashed white, pink and red like watercolor, glowing all summer long. In the dark corner where blooms give up, one drift of caladiums reads as a flower bed in full cry — no flowers required.
It behaves beautifully in company: a tidy 1-to-2.5-foot plant for containers, tropical bedding, or a bright room indoors, and deer leave it alone. The leaves are for looking, not nibbling — keep pets and toddlers to admiring distance. Give a shaded porch pot a handful of tubers and watch the corner turn tropical.
Part Shade to Shade
Moderate water
Fast in heat growth
Deer-resistant
From the print shop
Growing caladium? Hang it.
Our Plant Library collection carries caladium — Caladium bicolor, print Nº 83, “Caladium.”
526 designsfrom $12.99white or black backgroundmatte poster, unframed
Will it thrive where you are?
Enter your ZIP — we look up your USDA hardiness zone (2023 map) and check it against what caladium actually needs.
Life cyclePerennial zones 9–11, annual elsewhereCaladium · Common problems
Common caladium problems
Pests
2 problems on file
Diseases
1 problem on file
- Tuber Rot if stored cold/damp
Caladium · Growing & propagation
Growing caladium
- Light
- Part Shade to Shade
Sun-types exist
- Water
- Moderate
Evenly moist in growth
Soil- Rich, humusy · pH 5.5 - 6.5
Fertilizer- Monthly in season
Pruning- Frost/dormancy → lift tubers, store dry at 60°F+ (they rot below 55°F)
Remove tired leaves; that's it.
Spacing- 8-12 in
How to plant & propagate caladium
- Propagate
- Offsets, division, or bulbils
Caladium · Calculators & field guides
A little help in the garden.
Caladium · Yearly calendar
The caladium year, month by month
No fixed season calendar for caladium — its care follows conditions, not the calendar.
Caladium · Ecology & uses
Ecology & uses
Caladium bicolor
Caladium in the garden system
- Herbaceous layer bulb
Habitat- Woodland
- Moisture
- Facultative / average
- Deer
- Resistant
A safer unfenced choice
Origin- Introduced
What caladium is grown for
⚠ Toxic if eatenToxic to cats/dogs and kids (calcium oxalate)
Use- Shade color
- Use
- Containers
- Use
- Tropical bedding
Edibility, identification, and traditional-use notes here are general reference — not medical or veterinary advice, and not a claim that any plant treats or prevents anything. Medicinal ratings record how strongly a plant features in herbal tradition, nothing more. Never eat or dose a plant you have not positively identified. More on how to use this library.
Caladium · Varieties & cultivars
Choosing a caladium variety
'White Christmas'; 'Red Flash'; 'Miss Muffet'; sun-tolerant 'Florida' series
Sources & plant identity
Know what you’re growing.
See where the knowledge comes from.
Caladium
Caladium bicolor
The plant, at a glance.
- Botanical name
- Caladium bicolor
- Plant family
- Araceae
- Growth habit
- Bulb · Tender Perennial
- Origin
- Introduced
- USDA plant symbol
- CABI11
- Invasive risk
- Low
Hardiness, size and timing vary with your cultivar, soil and climate.
Rooted in research.
University extension research, brought together with hands-on growing experience at Story Thyme Farms.
for Caladium
Research from these sources
Publisher marks identify sources, not sponsorship or endorsement.
Questions
Caladium questions, answered straight.
Do deer eat caladium?
Rarely — caladium is considered deer-resistant, which makes it one of the safer unfenced choices in deer country. Hungry deer in a hard winter test every rule, but it's a low-risk pick.
Is caladium safe for kids and pets?
No — treat it as toxic if eaten. Toxic to cats/dogs and kids (calcium oxalate) Site it accordingly if children or pets roam the garden. This is general reference, not medical or veterinary advice — call a vet or poison control if something has actually been eaten.
How do you propagate caladium?
Offsets, division, or bulbils.
Elsewhere
Where caladium sits in the library.
Sunflower
Zinnia
Peony
Daylily