Colored Leaves

One foliage which gives so much charm and color in the garden is the caladium, Caladium bicolor. They are planted for the beauty of their leaves and not necessarily for the blooms. In our hot tropics they come alive during the rainy season, but lay dormant under the ground during the dry season, leafless and sleeping. 

My caladiums are the old varieties, from friends, from old residential locations, or requested from some big clumps found anywhere in the country. In fact, once while I was in a garden show in a public area, I saw a very small caladium sprout on the roadside which i got and nurtured till it grows bigger and now already lovely.

 The above variety has normally very long petioles, so i planted it in shallow plastic container and nutrientless soil. I wanted it to be a bit nutrient deprived so it will get stunted, and hopefully not produce very long petioles. And there it is now, according to my wish, stunted with short petioles. This is just starting to grow, so it will be lovelier in a few weeks.

This variety also have very long petioles and wide leaves. The disadvantage of long petioles is the tendency to droop when there is water shortage. A strong sun is enough to wilt them, so i guess short petioles will be better. I planted this in an area with much eroded topsoil. The rock is basically calcareous or rich in limestone, so to get nutrients the plant has to crack the crevices. Again, my wish is granted, their petioles are shorter with narrower leaves.

are they not lovely?

 The above are of two varieties just starting to send off leaves. Can you see the rose as their muse!

 A month of rains without much intense sunshine propel this variety to produce more leaves. The intense red center and dark green margins make this a favorite.

 The above is not producing much leaves yet as it shares a small space with the Sansevieria. But this variety has comparatively shorter petioles and narrower leaves. I actually love this one.

 The oldest variety of them all, which could be the mother of most caladium hybrids. It has produced a lot of corms in the property, because i see a lot of volunteers anywhere. Sometimes i uproot them for a nicer spot.

 I have been a little guilty with this one. The first leaf is not yet ready to unfurl, but i don't have much time as I am leaving already for the city. Two days are not enough for it to totally open, so i helped it tenderly to open, so I can peep into its leaf design. It is not planted there purposely, so I don't know its exact patterns.

 The above is the forcedly opened leaf, but it still cling to its own curl.

So with force from my stronger hands, i pried it to open, although the margins are still adamant to follow me. I can now observe that its pattern is different from those which are already there with us, and i love it. This is actually just the first leaf to grow. It has a leathery almost transparent center, with totally absent chlorophyll, and just spread along the margins. 

You might disagree with me with the above photo. Yes you are right it is not a Caladium, even if their leaf shapes are the same. They are of the same family, but this is a taro or Colocasia esculenta.