I looked at one of my photos the other night and thought "Holy wow!" I leaned over to the couch and said to my bride, Jan, "Look at this."

She said much the same but asked, "Where is that garden?"

Delightfully, I said, "In your backyard!"

The picture was clear evidence that the Heart to Heart caladiums faced the onslaught of extreme summer temperatures and persevered with incredible beauty.

They did more than whip summer’s ears back; a bunch took old man winter down, and I am not talking about me. For the first time in my life, I had a bunch of caladiums return from winter. I am in zone 8 and will always tell everyone, caladiums are annuals in our area. I don’t dig and store in a cool dry place during the winter.

But much to my surprise I had over a dozen Heart to Heart Dawn to Dusk and a half dozen Heart to Heart Raspberry Moon show up for an encore performance. I am amazed is all I can say.

Since I have discovered Heart to Heart Burning Heart caladiums with deep red leaves, I have been using those and building on color coordination throughout the garden with other caladiums that had some distinctive red. An example is Heart to Heart Flatter Me and Heart to Heart Clowning Around. I’ll always treasure those two.

This year I chose Heart to Heart Splash of Wine as the main course, so to speak. I was expecting it to be greatly subdued from those gaudy saturated colors in years past. But when I looked at my photos, they took my breath away. Sure, I knew I was looking at beauty or I would not have shot the photos.

If you have ever had the opportunity to traipse around a tropical forest, you would expect to find something like Heart to Heart Splash of Wine. Caladiums are native to Central and South America, especially Brazil, and there is no doubt Splash of Wine would be right at home.

To me it is a tall variety. I have several over 21 inches in height. But it is the way it presents itself that is so special. Some caladiums hang their leaves like elephant ears. Splash of Wine leaves seem to face upward and thus create a layered umbrella look. This is made even more special by the different color intensities from top to ground level. Your first thought is that leaf age or light level determines this but a closer examination makes you realize it is just probably happenstance.

Heart to Heart Splash of Wine is an award winning selection. By awards we are talking two years a Director’s Select at Penn State and Highlight Plant at North Carolina State. It is a fancy leaf type that is white with green margins and main veins. The real dazzle comes from irregular splashes of cranberry red as well as some appearance resembling cranberry blushing. The latter may be what gives them the various intensities of light.

I planted jumbo bulbs using the Twist ‘n Plant auger that I attach to a cordless drill. This has forever changed my outlook when it comes to bulb planting; it is lightning fast and so easy. Heart to Heart caladium bulbs also take the guesswork out of planting. Each bulb has been painted with white, meaning this side up. No thinking or decision making. Drill the hole, plant white side up and cover with soil.

There are a lot of misconceptions about caladiums, like they are wimps and can’t take the heat. Then there are those gardeners who can’t imagine that they can take full sun. Not all can take full sun but you will be surprised how many can and the tags tell you! Heart to Heart caladiums will have you winning the summer battle of the triple digit heat.

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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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