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[SG] Some suggestions on Caladiums

 I've enjoyed them in our yard for about 6 years now. We could get them
from Lowes (a southern megamart) for $0.18 a bulb last year. They are
mostly true to type, but I've never found an ugly one. :-)
 They were only available in packages here this year. I understand last
winter was terrible for the caladium fields in south Florida.
 After not getting around to digging them several years in a row, I now
grow them in 10" to 16" pots, in shady and partly sunny areas. I can
remember to grab a half dozen pots and bring them in a lot easier. Not
getting around to saving 50 beautiful white ones (White Christmas) that
I've had for 3 years was the final straw.
 We top out at 95-97 degrees maybe 5-10 times a summer. They *really* like
it hot. Anything under 75 seems to send them into dormancy or leave them
there.
 After bringing them in for the winter, they get moderate water until they
begin to go dormant, then maybe once a month at most, or several times a
month with a just glass full. Just enought to keep them barely moist.
 In other years I've stored them in moist sand in 3gal plastic pots. They
prefer 55 to 60 degrees for storage, not much lower. These beauties are
extremely tropical in their desires.

 Hope this helps,

Matt Trahan  <matttrahan@ecsu.campus.mci.net>
USDA zone 8, AHS heat zone 7, Sunset zone 31, northeastern N.C.
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