Lifting Caladium - What to do about the ROOTS?

Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)

20 years ago

When you lift caladium, what do you do about the roots and when? Everything I have read says that after you lift caladium bulbs in the fall, lay them out to dry for about two weeks. The leaves should be left on and allowed to dry and fall off on their own, as the bulbs absorb nutrients from the leaves. However, I have never seen any mention of what to do about the caladium *roots*. Should I leave them on as well and allow them to dry with the bulbs before applying fungicide and storing for the winter? Will they fall off? Or will I need to then cut them off? Or should the roots be cut off right after lifting?

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Comments (6)

ARUM
20 years ago
LEAVE the roots on. More food for the bulb. :) Arum
jaxfl_dude
20 years ago
Granted Iam a newbie pretty much, but I live in the same town and I just leave my caladiums in the ground. So far I haven't had a problem. They always seem to be the last to come up and the first to drop down in fall though. But they have always come back....
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Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
Original Author
20 years ago
I agree. A lot of other folks from the Jacksonville area have written the same thing. Problem is, my caladium are planted around an oak tree, smack in the center of my front yard. I can't leave that bed full of tired, straggly caladium leaves for the whole winter. I live in one of those neighborhoods where - believe me - the pressure is on to have the front yard looking fresh and good all year-round. So I lift my caladium in the winter, even though they don't have to be lifted, so I can plant winter annuals in that front bed.
jaxfl_dude
20 years ago
Ok I see where your coming from. Some of those Home Owners Associations can be a pain in the neck about that stuff. Fortunatly I bought an older home off Ft. Caroline without a HOA and don't have to worry about all those covenants and restrictions. But I guess the opposite side of the coin would be that there is nothing stopping my neighbor from painting his house neon pink if he wanted...Luckily my neighbors are cool though.
Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
Original Author
20 years ago
Oh, you are SO right. If I could do it over, I would not buy this house. So many of these HOA think all their crazy actions help to maintain/raise the value of homes in the neighborhood. In reality, if word gets out that you have a picky, trivial, unreasonable board, it will LOWER the value of your home. Who would want to live in such an area? Trust me, NO ONE would buy my home if they knew the president of the HOA lives next door and is one nosey, unreasonable, crazy lady.
ARUM
20 years ago
Sorry, my advice was for those who live in the North, I always forget to look for the zone! :) Arum