Caladiums

The official beginning having begun, upon surveying the potted containers for success and for potential as if starting from here and seeing blank spots now and failures upcoming I realized to match anything close to what I saw at Wade's I still need to squeeze some things in there tall and colorful varied something already mature and grown or something that grows fast.

One of the elements that works very well in combinations is the large red dinner plate size coleus. Two of those combine very nicely. I'd like to have more, I bought what I saw and I'd buy more if saw them. Those were started from seed too, but all those started from seeds were planted and drowned by rain. Of the mature plants, one is dark red and the other dark red with green trim. Both complete their own container combination.

The location gets good direct sun. Most of the day in shade. A full sun plant will not thrive, nor will a full shade plant. Color needn't be from flowers.

Red coleus ↑.

Container fail, needs more tall stuff. The elephant ear now a dot in the center late to develop is in the same family as caladium ↓.

Caladiums are tropical heart-shaped foliage plants that prefer shade and grow from rhizome type corm or bulb. They die back each year and the bulbs kept moist but inactive over winter then replanted in spring in locations where frost will kill them. They're inexpensive enough to be treated as annuals. There is a very broad range of sizes and colors and patterns and tolerances to sun available, there is a thick-leaf and thin-leaf variety, one type much more tolerant to sun. 

Different varieties grow to different sizes. Apparently, different sizes grow from the same type depending on the size of its bulb. That is, the bulbs of the same species are offered at different sizes at different prices at this site. It is the best that I found with little research, usually about $1.25 or so per bulb sold in packs of 10 with discounts for more.

But then shipping is outrageous. The cost of 10 bulbs. And you go, maybe I had just look around at nurseries and buy whatever I see there. And then you think all that driving around is worth something. Then come to find out they're shipping priority and you'll have them in days and it makes it sort of worth having so many extra. With thirty bulbs, I can probably give some away. This is my order.

Dig their eyes out.

Nice as this man is, that is what he tells us to do and so I will. These look familiar. I already planted dozens but they haven't come up yet. It'll be a surprise when they do.