Q.What Do You Do With Potted Caladiums After They Die Back in the Tropics?
I live in Hawaii and have all the different kinds of caladiums in pots. They have all died back now and I would like to know if I remove the tubers and dry them out for a while or do I just leave them in the pots?
Even in locations where Caladiums may be left in the ground, the tubers seem to perform better when dug and protected from wet winter soils. Water should be gradually withheld as the leaves naturally start to yellow in fall, then the tubers dug, cleaned of soil, and left to dry in semishade for about 10 days. The tubers should be dusted with an insecticide-fungicide prior to being stored in dry peat moss or vermiculite at temperatures between 50 to 60-degrees F. This helps prevent rot.