I had no idea there were that many mural painting down there. I have seen a couple when driving through and there very well done.

Glenn, the murals that we saw were very nice but we did not take the tour for them to understand the meaning and the history. We are planning to take a trip again just for that and when the town is not so busy with the festival.

Silvia

Oh Silvia, that is amazing! What gorgeous murals! You're getting very good at creating videos. Would you mind if I share this one with my Reddit Florida Gardening group? They would love it too, and it could get you some visits and likes, and maybe some subscribers. :)

I'm shocked that 98% of all caladium bulbs come from Lake Placid! I'll definitely put it on my list of places to visit once I get my van. I'm amazed at the caladiums growing out in the full sun like that, but I guess if they're only growing them for the bulbs, the leaves getting burned isn't a big deal. On the other hand, I have one caladium that came up in a sunny spot, and it seems fine. Maybe if they're planted in the sun to begin with, they acclimate to it?

Did you bring any new babies home?

Deb, thank you! And yes, you should visit Lake Placid in your future, it is worth it. And you can share the videos with anybody you like, that is why they are on the web and of course the more the merrier.:)

I learned a lot about caladiums while we were there, things that were new to me. We saw a short film before going on the bus tour and to answer some of your questions, the owner of one of the farms said that they take full sun but they look better and more vibrant when in shade.

We were at the festival at around 10 am and it was crowded and they already run out of some varieties but we did get some nice ones that will look good at my garden and they are already planted!

Silvia

Silvia, yes, I noticed that the caladium that came up in the sun was sort of sun-bleached, while my ones in shade were much more colorful.

Can't wait to see your new babies when they come up!

Deb, I bought different varieties of red because they will look better around the oak trees in the front yard.

Next spring, I will buy different varieties of white and pink for the backyard.

They look so pretty in floral arrangements!

Silvia

Love your video! What a great trip! Every year, the Festival is on my calendar; I think about it... ponder whether or not I should go... but it is such a long trip from Jax. Maybe some year it will work out!

I'm also a fan of caladiums. The majority of these bulbs have been here for several years. (I fill in the holes every year with a few bulbs where I've lost a couple to squirrels or rot.)

Carol in Jacksonville

Wow ! Carol, you have such a well taken care garden, it looks professional landscaped. It reminds me of some of the nice looking caladium yards that I saw.

And yes, for us living in Florida caladium bulbs are the way to go, they do well in this weather and they look pretty!

Silvia

When I went to the 2016 festival, I asked someone [in the beautiful outdoor pool at this wonderful hotel ( http://innonthelakes.com/ ] ) where their tour bus had gone, and found one of the places in my car. They had a little sales room with labeled/pictured bulbs in bins -- fill paper bag(s) for a very low price. No one else was there (vs. bus tour) so I could take my time and be out of the sun. My kind of shopping!

Irma, the bulbs for sale from one of the farms were cheap, &5 a bag and you could pick any variety that were shown in the pictures, except the ones that they run out. The paper bags I think had a dozen but I really did not count them when I planted them. One of the most informative things were the short movie that we saw before getting in the bus. The bus was also interesting because you could ask any question about the caladium world. We even took home the local newspaper and I learned even more about the history of the town, the caladiums, the family farms, etc.

When driving through Sebring and the entrance of the town there were a lot of stands and caladium vendors but I did not stop to look there....

June, you have some pretty patch of caladiums, nice variety!

The bulbs that I bought from the farm were really taken care of, in the short movie we saw how they process to sell them, making sure they have a good size and no nematodes. They explained how they fumigate the land also.