If you’ve ever thought about caladiums for use in containers, you are part of a trend sweeping the country. Whether they are used as the only plant in the container or part of a mixed container design, they will create drama in containers from late spring through frost.

The past few years I have been growing a lot of Heart to Heart caladiums. Both son James and I have had the Twist 'n Plant augers revved up on our cordless drills while magically creating the perfect planting holes for the jumbo bulbs in landscape beds.

While the augers would certainly work in containers, you will have the best results with potting mixes, which allows for easy hand trowel work. So, plan on buying enough bulbs for the beds and to simply drop a few in your containers for some of the greatest joy you have had in making new combinations.

For a couple of years I have had more bulbs than I thought I could use and planted a bulb in each of a couple of dozen old quart containers. Just as in the beds and mixed containers, they popped up with their beautiful leaves. I grew them for a few weeks and suddenly I had places to plant them all over the landscape and even in containers that needed some added dazzle.

Planting a quart container grown caladium is just like planting a Supertunia petunia or Superbena verbena. One planting was in a container with Solenia begonias. I had not thought about the begonias lasting in our area until frost, but they did.

They also kindly told me to move the container from the scorching hot summer patio to the wall where they would just get a few hours of morning sun. As I moved it to its new location, I gave the begonia a new partner, Heart to Heart Flatter Me caladiums. They were exotically perfect until frost.

The first year I got Heart to Heart Burning Heart caladiums with rusty red leaves. They too were not originally planned for containers but turned the whole landscape into a tropical rain forest-like jungle. You absolutely must try Heart to Heart Burning Heart caladiums.

Master Gardener, Andrea Owens Schnapp in Walton County, Florida, is an arborist who has gone rogue when it comes to herbaceous horticulture. She has reached celebrity status for her dramatic containers.

She recently posted a photo of a glazed ceramic container that had Heart to Heart Heart and Soul caladiums, a strap leaf selection. The picture itself will take away any misconceptions you might have had that strap leaf types can’t compete with the beauty of fancy leaf varieties. There are more leaves than you can count.

Andrea chooses medium sized bulbs and will plant 10-12 bulbs in each container. She selects a premium grade potting soil and mixes in controlled release fertilizer granules before planting.

If you haven’t planted caladium bulbs, it is quite simple. There are 29 varieties of Heart to Heart caladiums so make sure you choose a variety for the sun if that is your location. Wait until the soil has warmed and then place the bulbs with pointed ends up about two inches below the soil surface.

Growing in containers is so much fun and promises to make you feel like you have garnered the green thumb. Keep the containers moist and feed them with a diluted water-soluble fertilizer every two to three weeks.

Andrea likes to save her bulbs and will dig up once the weather has cooled. She lets them dry for a week and then stores them in an empty terracotta pot inside a warm potting shed. She will de-eye these bulbs prior to planting in the spring.

The bell is ringing so to speak for sourcing your Heart to Heart caladium bulbs or transplants that will make this the prettiest garden ever.

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(Norman Winter, horticulturist, garden speaker and author of “Tough-as-Nails Flowers for the South” and “Captivating Combinations: Color and Style in the Garden.” Follow him on Facebook @NormanWinterTheGardenGuy.)

(NOTE TO EDITORS: Norman Winter receives complimentary plants to review from the companies he covers.)

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