Caladium

Season note

Keep soil evenly moist during active growth; reduce watering as the plant goes dormant in cooler months, letting the tuber rest.

Overwatering signs

Tuber rot, mushy stems

Underwatering signs

Wilting, drooping leaves

Light level

bright indirect to full shade

Best rooms

Soil

Well-draining, loamy potting mix

Humidity

Prefers high humidity (75%+)

Fertilizer

Balanced fertilizer during growing season

Temperature range

18°C – 29°C

Caladium, botanically Caladium bicolor, is native to tropical Central and South America, with the earliest documented specimens collected in the Amazon River Basin region of Brazil; the genus as a whole spans from Honduras and Panama through northern South America into Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, and Peru. It belongs to the arum family, Araceae, and the species has a genuinely long documented history in Western horticulture — ornamental specimens were already established in European gardens by the 1700s, and deliberate breeding for improved leaf color, pattern, and vigor was well underway by the 1800s, a breeding effort that has continued essentially without pause into the present day.

The plant's defining ornamental feature is its large, paper-thin, arrow- or heart-shaped leaves, which emerge directly from an underground tuber on long petioles and display an extraordinary range of color patterns combining white, pink, red, and green in bold zones, mottling, and vein-following patterns — a visual diversity so striking that caladium has become one of the most commercially significant foliage plants specifically bred for pattern variety, with countless named cultivars now available. Florida in particular has become a major center of commercial caladium production, where growers have specifically bred for improved leaf thickness and sun tolerance, producing certified, exceptional-quality tubers that supply much of the global market; well-known cultivars from this breeding tradition include 'Aaron', 'Florida Sweetheart', and 'Red Flash', each offering a distinct color combination within the broader caladium color palette. The species is also sometimes called angel wings or, in some regions, heart of Jesus, common names reflecting the distinctive shape of its foliage, and it typically reaches a modest 30 to 80 centimetres in both height and spread at full growth, making it a manageable size for pots, containers, and mixed garden beds alike rather than a plant demanding significant dedicated space.