A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 Caladium leaves dying

What did I do. They are falling over and touching the ground and then shriveling up and dying. Not that there aren't plenty left there are and they appear to be healthy. Is this just what the plant does? I've never had one before, I bet you could guess that. Should I cut the dead ones off? I'm clueless please help.

hi,I tried caladiums acouple of times,not with much luck,they do go dormant after a while and need a rest period,I had a very hard time getting them to sproud again and after 2 years I sadly had them all killed of,I really love the leafs.not sure if I will try again.Bye

Caladiums tend not to last very long. Tbe more direct sun and evenly moist soiil they get, te better they do.

Trim off the floppy leaf stems.

Thanks Will,

I cut off the droppy leaves. It's still producing new leaves. They are comming in completely green. Does that mean it is getting to much sun? It couldn't get to hot in the house for a tropical plant could it? It was mid 80's today and I am still dripping wet.

These have only been planted since early April so they are only 3 months old. I hope they don't want their rest period already.

All I have fertilizer wise is the house plant general miracle grow water soluable stuff is that ok?

I've never had luck with 'em. They are a house plant, really. They don't like changes in weather, drafts, etc.

It's too bad there wasn't some simple solution for them 'cause they are such lovely plants.I like the ones with the red in the leaf.

I hope I didn't give the wrong impression. I have about 6 bulbs in a 30" planter and it is nice and full. But some leaves bent over and I didn't know why? I thought it might have been a symptom of something I did wrong so I wanted to check. The most recent leaves have come in small and from what I've read that would indicate lack of water. But when I increase the water I get the bent stems. And they are comming in mostly green which is suppose to mean they are in a sunny location for them. So I'm just trying to figure out what to do to make them happy. They would probably be happiest if I would just leave them alone lol. I have a tendency to baby plants to death. I'm hoping to add the red ones to the mix next year. This year I have the white only.

Small leaves, lack of color, and bent stems all can be caused by inadequate light. Your Caladium should really be in a sunny window.

Even so, some of the older leaves will always be flopping over no matter what you do. In addition, because most Caladiums are hybrids they often revert to all green.

Dormancy shouldn't occur until the fall.

Most people discard this plant after it stops producing colorful leaves. It is hard to keep it looking good for a long time.

That's hard to hear Will. I have to say I will probably have an attack of stubborn and try. At least knowing that they are characteristics of the plant I won't feel quite as bad. Thankyou for the information.