Caladium Bulbs Mushy

Caladiums are winter hardy to usda zone 9 meaning that they should be able to survive the winter outdoors.

Caladium bulbs mushy. I transplanted all the plants into pots promix about 2 or 3 weeks ago. Never poke a tool into the center as you may damage the bulbs. But i need your professional caladium opinion. I noticed that the bulbs were all mushy and were like a chutney when i lightly pressed them they just feel apart.

In usda zones 8 and lower winter care for. The bulbs seemed heavy for their size but they didn t seem mushy. All bulbs were stored in peat in either cardboard boxes or pots. Also i have some other caladium bulbs on the ground what should.

They were kept in a semi heated shed. There didn t appear to be any soft or mushy bulbs but i can t help but wonder if i did the right thing by planting them. They ll be better to be a little on the dry side if the ground is cool else they ll rot. Iam wondering what happened.

Caladiums grow from tubers that look like bulbs and if the tubers are injured in storage the plants can be stunted. Here s what i ll cover. The leaves will begin to lose color as the soil temperature falls below 55 degrees f. They also may not sprout as long as the soil temperatures are below 60 degrees.

Shake off all dust and allow the bulbs to dry in shade. Department of agriculture plant hardiness zones 9 and 10 they may actually do better when the tubers are removed from the wet cold soil and stored in a cool dry place through the winter. A bad bulb will be soft and mushy. I haven t had time to email or call caladium world or much less get on dg.

Caladium bulbs are described as tender perennials that can be stricken down at the first frost. The best thing to do is loosen up the soil from the sides and then dig for the bulbs with your hands. Winter care of caladium bulbs. At that time remove the bulbs from the garden and prepare them for overwintering indoors.

Even in these areas though a heavy mulching of 3 inches 7 5 cm is the recommended winter care for caladiums to keep them from dying in the colder temperatures. Dry the caladium bulbs indoors at room temperature. I basically only turned the heat on when we had a cold snap and the temps were dropping below freezing. Carefully stock tubers in a garage or porch at temperatures between 60 and 90 degrees fahrenheit 15 to 32 c.

Caladiums caladium bicolor are tropical foliage plants that grow from swollen roots known as tubers. Though caladiums may be left in the garden and grown as perennials in u s. I haven t had lots of experience with caladium but the bulbs i ve had before were certainly not like. Caladium corms don t look like much when they re dormant.

In addition folks in regions that are warm and frost free but very rainy in winter often dig up and store caladiums to prevent them from rotting in perpetually wet ground. Also caladiums multiply as they grow so one bulb may have now formed ten hence richer the soil better the bulbs.