White Caladium Bulbs in Florida

Garden White

• “Garden White” caladium is a vigorous variety of fancy-leafed caladium that is well suited to sunny landscapes. In spring it is one of the earliest sprouting white caladiums with the largest leaves at nearly 13 inches long and 7 inches wide. It grows to a height of roughly 26 inches. It does well in large containers and produces nearly three times as many leaves when tubers are de-eyed prior to planting.

Florida Moonlight

• “Florida Moonlight” is a large, fancy-leaved cultivar with white primary veins against white leaves. It is one of the most vigorous varieties when grown in the landscape in shady to part-sun locations. It grows to about 21 inches tall with leaves approximately 11 inches long and 8 inches wide. It does well in hanging baskets or as a potted plant without de-eyeing the tubers.

White Butterfly

• “White Butterfly” is a high-performing plant in the landscape that produces more than 30 lance-shaped leaves per plant. Its leaves are slightly ruffled, bright white with green margins and white veins. The plant is a dwarf variety that reaches about 11 inches tall. It also does well in pots without de-eyeing, but de-eyeing produces an even higher quality plant. It performs best in partial shade.

Strawberry Star

• “Strawberry Star” is a good choice if a little color is desired on an otherwise white caladium. Its fancy leaves have a white face, green primary veins and red dots splashed throughout the leaves, giving it a hint of color. In the landscape it reaches nearly 15 inches tall, but only about half that in a pot. Leaves are about 9 inches long and 6 inches wide when grown in the ground or a pot. It was developed for its sun tolerance.

De-Eyeing

• An “eye” is simply a sprout on the tuber that looks similar to an eye on a potato. When de-eyeing a caladium tuber, only the dominant eye is removed, and caution must be exercised to not remove the smaller buds surrounding it. The purpose for de-eyeing a plant is to produce more leaves, but it also results in a smaller plant in most cultivars.

Tuber Size

• Caladiums grow from tubers, which are sometimes called bulbs. Match tuber diameter to pot size when planting in containers. Mammoth-size tubers are 3 1/2 inches in diameter or larger; one will fill a 10-inch hanging pot. Jumbos are 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 inches; one will fill a 6-inch pot. A No. 1 is 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches and will fill a 4-inch pot.