Caladium 'Florida Sweetheart'
Caladium bicolor 'Florida Sweetheart' · Florida Sweetheart Caladium
UK price
£5 to £25
Estimate
Price by size
- Sold, 90 days
- 0
- Middle half
- -
- Last sold
- -
- On record
- 0
Cutting/cormNone
7cmNone
12cmNone
MatureNone
- Sale
- Typical
- Middle half
- Estimate
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About Caladium 'Florida Sweetheart'
Florida Sweetheart carries a bold rose-pink centre bleeding into a green margin across a broad, heart-shaped blade, one of many named cultivars to emerge from the University of Florida's long-running Caladium breeding programme, prized for sun tolerance as much as colour. Like the rest of the bicolor cultivar family it is fully deciduous, dying back to its tuber each year.
Origin
Caladium bicolor is native to South America; 'Florida Sweetheart' is a cultivated selection developed by the University of Florida's Caladium breeding programme, not a wild locality form.
Classification
- Genus
- Caladium
- Family
- Araceae
- Type
- Cultivar
- Growth habit
- Tuberous, seasonal: dies back to a dormant tuber each year
- Form of
- Caladium bicolor
Morphology
- Leaf shape
- Broad cordateHeart-shaped foliage, featuring a rounded notch (sinus) where the leaf stem attaches. (heart-shaped)
- Leaf length
- 18-30 cm
- Leaf width
- 12-22 cm
- Petiole colour
- Green to pink-tinted
- Venation
- Prominent primary veins
- Texture
- Thin, papery
- Variegation
- Bold rose-pink centre bleeding into a green margin
- Growth habit
- Clump of leaves from a below-ground tuber; dormant in winter
Recent UK sales
No UK eBay sales recorded for this plant yet.
For sale in the UK
Before you buy
- If buying a dormant tuber, check it is firm and plump, not soft, shrivelled or mouldy
- Confirm whether you are buying a live growing plant (in leaf) or a dormant out-of-season tuber
- Established leafy plants should show firm, unblemished foliage without scorch marks
Caladium 'Florida Sweetheart' care
- Substrate
- Light, free-draining mix: 50% potting compost, 30% perlite, 20% coco coir.
- Watering
- Keep evenly moist throughout active growth; stop watering almost entirely once the foliage dies back for dormancy.
- Humidity
- 55-75% preferred during active growth for the largest leaves.
- Feeding
- Balanced liquid fertiliser at half strength every 2-3 weeks during active growth; none during dormancy.
- Repotting
- Repot the dormant tuber into fresh substrate each spring when new growth begins.
Common problems
Tuber rot over winter
Cause: Substrate kept too wet during dormancy
Fix: Keep the dormant tuber nearly dry and store in a cool, frost-free spot until spring
No regrowth in spring
Cause: Tuber temperature too low, or tuber was damaged/rotted
Fix: Ensure the tuber is kept above roughly 18°C once you want it to resprout, and check it is still firm before replanting
Scorched or bleached leaves
Cause: Direct hot sun
Fix: Move to bright indirect light or light shade; most Caladium foliage scorches in direct summer sun
Gear for this plant
- Flowers of Sulphur, 99.99% PurityDusted onto a fresh corm or rhizome cut to guard against rot before repotting.
- Precision Bonsai Pruning Scissors, 200mmFine-bladed snips for clean node cuts when taking a cutting.
- Digital PAR/PPFD Light MeterMeasures usable light at leaf height in µmol/m²/s, rather than relying on the eye's sense of brightness.
- Digital Hygrometer & ThermometerLCD humidity and temperature gauge for checking a grow spot against a plant's target range.
How to propagate Caladium 'Florida Sweetheart'
- Methods
- Tuber division. Step-by-step guide
- Difficulty
- Easy. Forgiving of missed waterings, average home humidity, and imperfect light. A solid pick for beginners or low-fuss collections.
- Time to establish
- 6-10 weeks from tuber to full leaf
- True from cuttings
- Yes. Cuttings keep the cultivar's character.
- Notes
- Divide dormant tubers so each section retains at least one visible growth eye, then pot up as growth resumes in spring.