Caladiums 101: Everything you need to know
Caladiums, commonly known as Heart of Jesus and Angel wings originate in South America, making them plants that grow well in Singapore as they are grown in the same tropic region!
They grow under the forest canopy, reaching up to 80cm in diameter in the bright shade of forest clearings instead of the harsh, direct sunlight of the canopies. Much like in their native environment, they grow best in acidic soils rich in organic matter with heavy watering. An interesting fact about the plant is that they are from the family, Araceae (commonly known as aroids). This is the same family as more famous plants such as Elephant ears, Yams and even Devil’s ivy!
Image of a Caladium Thai Beauty from us!
Caladiums and their cousins produce a flower called a spadix, being characterised by having a modified leaf known as the spathe enclosing the flower cluster. The flowers of plants of this family are known to be true flowers, meaning both the male and female parts of the flower are present on the flower. The way the plant is propagated in this genus is through tubers, making them plants that are easy to multiply and cultivate for your home garden.
They come in a myriad of green, pink, red and white with some having bluish hues. Aside from the fact that they are easy to grow, this vast array of colours they come in make them popular with gardeners. Caladiums make for lovely centrepieces as their colored leaves are as vibrant as the flowers of other plants. In our opinion, this makes them more reliable than plants that need to grow flowers to breathe colour into your plant collection or garden. While its colours make it beautiful, its petioles make this beauty fragile. The leaves grow on long, slender petioles that snap easily so it is best to keep caladiums away from the elements or any hapless animal or people that may break them.
Caladiums are a great beginner plant to start your journey into the world of aroids. They are inexpensive compared to their larger, more popular cousins such as Monsteras and Philodendrons. However, their vibrant colours more than make up for their small size and are very forgiving plants to care for!