Flamboyant foliage is the hallmark of the Caladium. They are originally from the Brazilian jungles and are now grown as house and garden plants for their bright and colourful foliage as they add decor to any area in the garden.
Caladium have many species and the most popular is the Fancy Leaf varieties which have heart-shaped leaves usually with riots of red, pink, white and green splotches. Now they have dwarf varieties too. I saw the above photo shown by a friend in Kedah, his pot of caladium is displayed at the bottom of the staircase of his kampung house, a caladium bicolor (dwarf). The last time I was at the nursery, it was sold at a steep price for a very small pot. But the above photo is encouraging me to ignore the cost and spur me to buy the plant anyway!
The above are my own caladium, pink Rosebud Fancy Leaf variety, if Im not mistaken. They really add colour to my small pond where I planted them in a built-in container attached to the pond. I find them easy to grow without any fuss - no fertilizer and leave the rain to water them (when Im in my LAZY mood!)...haha...
I dont have to buy my caladium....just look at this, they just grow out of nowhere, out of the thick grass cover in one corner of my garden!
.....so all I have to do, is dig them out and plant them in pots!
a hanging pot of caladium just transfered from the ground 2 weeks ago
But so far, I haven't seen their flowers, if they have any in the first place. Anyway, caladiums dont need flowers to be showy. Just look at their bright and colourful foliage....good enough to attract attention and add colour to any boring little garden!
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12 comments:
huh, caladium goes by many names. But kakdah makes it so simple, that every colourful caladium is "keladi batik" to her..... We used to have these somewhere in the garden, but i cant see them anywhere now... Your arrange potted caladium on top of concrete blocks so well....
~bangchik
Oh yes They are beautiful! I love having their colourful foliage in the garden. I have one that looks like yours (the one with red marking). The heart-shaped leaves make them look adorable also. Sometimes their leaves suddenly dissapear ;-)
when i was kid..this cladium were everywhere esp in the longkang..now i couldnt see it nywhere except in the nursery..sigh!
Bangchik..caladium does look a bit like batik becos of its white splotches. The first photo is my friend's potted caladium, too bad he's so far in Kedah. I would've loved to have that type of caladium which is a dwarf version.
Stephanie...yes caladium is an added decor in a garden and its a no fuss type of plant.Dissapearing leaves? well, have to watch out for snails, caladium is poisonous to us human but maybe a delicious food for snails and other pests.
Salam Waliz...caladium thrives well in moist not soggy soil so thats why you can find them sprouting near the longkangs or under s shady tree like mine.Nowadays anything pretty and worth selling even near the road sides, will find their way into nurseries! Thanks for dropping by..
I have caladium in my house too! I kept it far in shady place and out of my son's reach as it's poisonous plant!
Anyway Caladium don't need flowers i guess! It's really beautiful by itself!
what a lovely Caladium plant you have.
I had few varieties too but after sometime they dissappeared.
Then I realised that they too have rhizomes "ubi" and that they go dormant. After sometime they spring back to life.
I still haven't discovered their secret yet, regardless they are truly a colourful plant to keep.
Malar..yes every part of caladium is poisonous, its good that you know which plants are harmful so you can keep them of reach esp to unsuspecting children who love to play 'masak2'
Thanks James..they certainly have beautiful foliage but dont plant them in water-logged soil, their rhizomes will rot fast
Who needs blossoms with foliage that attractive? What is masak2?
Rosey..yes you right!'masak' a Malay word meaning cooking, so when kids play 'masak2', they are role-playing as mommy, daddy and baby. When they pretend to cook as mommy does, they will take garden plants, flowers, fruits, seeds as vegetables so its dangerous if your plants are poisonous and within thier reach..
Caladiums are so beautiful. I love them. My next target plant to have in my garden.
Yes they are beautiful on their own even without flowers..
I love Caladiium. Nice looking plants there.
Cher
Goldenray Yorkies
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