When Do You Plant Caladium Bulbs In Louisiana

If you live in zones 8 or less you will need to spend some time around the time of first frost digging caladiums up and store them for the winter.

When do you plant caladium bulbs in louisiana. You can buy caladium bulbs now and plant them directly into the garden. If the soil is sandy mix in some peat moss to improve moisture retention. Mulch around the planting and keep moist throughout the season. Gardeners sometimes have a hard time deciding which end is up when planting caladium tubers.

Now is a great time to purchase and plant caladium tubers botanically they are tubers rather than bulbs. Caladiums are also available from mail order nurseries on the internet. If you need to dig and divide louisiana irises acanthus easter lilies and calla lilies this month and in september. Caladium bulbs are sold in various size grades based on the diameter of the bulb.

One of the best known and popular summer bulbs is the caladium which is grown for its colorful foliage rather than flowers. Generally the larger the bulb you purchase the better the performance as the bulb is the source of energy reserve for the plant therefore the larger. If you are in usda hardiness zones 9 or higher you can leave your caladium bulbs in the ground year round as they can survive the winters in these areas once established. Do a search using the words caladium bulbs for sale.

Some bulbs like crocosmia do best divided every year or two while others like agapanthus prefer to be left alone. Bulb size tips planting separations by bulb size yup it s true. Let me know if you have any questions. Plant the bulbs in a deep enough hole so that the bulbs are covered with 2 of soil.

Plant the top of the bulb 1 1 2 to 2 inches below the surface with the eyes up. If you like use a felt tipped pen to mark the top while it is easy to see where the leaves were removed to save yourself confusion next spring. Once you know what to. If you haven t grown caladiums consider making this the year that you learn first hand about these wonderful plants.

Adding some organic matter or blood and bone fertiliser along with the caladium bulb is a good idea. Tubers that you may have accidentally damaged when digging can be saved if they have healed well and feel solid. April is a great time to plant them. You will find caladium bulbs at your local nurseries and garden centers.

Water the bulb in. You can mulch the area around the bulb to retain moisture in the soil and prevent weed growth. Fertilize every six weeks with a 6 6 6 type fertilizer or slow release type fertilizer. While most of us concentrate on our favorite flowers often varieties that bloom for a short portions of the season we often have yet to embrace foliage plants that provide a brilliant show for months.

Bigger bulbs yield more foliage go figure. Plant caladium tubers or started plants in shady areas this month. Planting caladiums is very easy.