My caladiums, new and old, pooped out early this year, too, it seemed. Only a few left. Oh well. I've assumed it's the heat, as I haven't let them dry out.

Mine are starting to go, too.

Hi
I'm having similar results this year . Odddly even the evergreens are asleep already lol Though they don't seem to be evergreen they do start up earlier and stay in growth longer than the regulars ... Usually lol I keep all mine in pots so I can move them out of the way when dormant
Only thing I dislike about caladiums along with some gingers gary

My caladiums are doing the same. They've had some problem because the red bay that shaded them died about 2 months ago from laural wilt. Can I pull the caladiums out of the ground and store them for the winter? Haven't done that before, but they will need to be in a different location next spring. Any suggestions??

Impatience are short lived, so they might just be at the end of their cycle.

I'm thinking maybe it was the combination of the intense heat and the almost daily thunderstorms!??? I know the sunpatiens are goners this year. Have some cuttings coming along but even those are struggling.
Just hope thle caladium bulbs will show up again next year. Had a spectacular(if short-lived) show alternating them with the sunpatiens under a newly planted Sylvester palm in the front yard. They grew like crazy and I got lots of compliments but 90% are gone now and only 2 sunpatiens have survivedl Sigh!!!

Not sure if this is the cause, but, there's a powdery mildew disease that's going across the country killing off Inpatients.

Its so bad that some nurseries, including the big box stores were no longer selling them this year. The HD by my place hasn't had any in months.

I was just at Lowe's this AM and they still have plenty of sunpatiens but not the regular impatiens. Thought I read somewhere that the sunpatiens was a cross between New Guinea and regular impatiens and wasn't prone or as prone to that mildew. Wonder if I could spray them with fungicides to prevent them from rotting off in the future?

Mine are done.......came in early, left early.......very rude.......looking forward to their return......lots of shady color......!

This is my own opinion .
The nurseries have stopped using peat and perlite
and are now only using coir.
They say "is a natural fibre extracted from the husk of coconut."
I have found when it gets wet, it gets heavy and water logged and the plants can't breathe.
When It dries, it turns back into a hard brick, breaking off all the little roots.
With the caladiums, they stayed water logged and rot.
Same with the inpatiens.
Every plant I buy now seems to be planted in this stuff.
But I buy the plant anyway, but as soon as I get home, I remove all the "coir" even from the roots, throw it in the trash and put the plant in my own soil or potting mix.
None of it goes in my yard!
I haven't lost a plant to any fungus since I stated switching out the soil.

As for digging them up Beachlilly. They advise the home owner to plant them at least in pots. I bought 100 bulbs a couple of years ago. Planted 60+ of them. The rest stayed in the paper bags and into the storage shed. They were all dried up or molded the next spring..............cheryl

Cheryl, that is interesting info. I have a plant I bought that has continued to decline no matter what I do. I think it is in the coir. I am going to transplant it today and see if that helps any. Thanks for your idea.