Caladium bicolor - Heart of Jesus leaves are 1-2, 13-37 cm long, 9-26 cm broad, chartaceous, usually with small, irregular whitish or pinkish spots...
Caladium bicolor, also called as Heart of Jesus, Alocasia rex, Alocasia roezlii, Arum bicolor, Arum pellucidum, Arum pulchrum, Arum vermitoxicum, Caladium albopunctatissimum, Caladium amabile, Caladium amoenum, Caladium appunianum, Caladium argyrospilum, Caladium auritum, Caladium baraquinii, Caladium barilletii, Caladium barraquinii, Caladium brongniartii, Caladium camoensii, Caladium cannaertii, Caladium chantinii, Caladium chelsonii, Caladium concolor, Caladium connaertii, Caladium curwadlii, Caladium devosianum, Caladium discolor, Caladium duchartrei, Caladium dussii, Caladium eckhartii, Caladium enkeanum, Caladium firmulum, Caladium formosum, Caladium gaerdtii, Caladium griseoargenteum, Caladium haageanum, Caladium hardii, Caladium hendersonii, Caladium hortulanum, Caladium houbyanum, Caladium houlletii, Caladium jacquinii, Caladium ketteleri, Caladium kochii, Caladium kramerianum, Caladium laucheanum, Caladium leopoldii, Caladium lilliputianum, Caladium lilliputiense, Caladium lindenii, Caladium macrophyllum, Caladium marginatum, Caladium marmoratum, Caladium martersteigianum, Caladium medioradiatum, Caladium mirabile, Caladium mooreanum, Caladium neumannii, Caladium ottonis, Caladium pallidinervium, Caladium pallidum, Caladium pellucidum, Caladium perrieri, Caladium pictum, Caladium punctatissimum, Caladium punctatum, Caladium purdieanum, Caladium pusillum, Caladium regale, Caladium reichenbachianum, Caladium rougieri, Caladium rubellum, Caladium rubricaule, Caladium rubrovenium, Caladium sagittifolium, Caladium sanguinolentum, Caladium schaelleri, Caladium sieboldii, Caladium sororium, Caladium splendens, Caladium splendidens, Caladium spruceanum, Caladium stangeanum, Caladium surinamense, Caladium thelemannii, Caladium thripedestum, Caladium vandenheckei, Caladium vellozianum, Caladium verschaffeltii, Caladium wagneri, Caladium wightii, Cyrtospadix bicolor, Xanthosoma sylvestre, is a species in the genus Caladium. This species was described by Étienne Pierre Ventenat in 1800.
DESCRIPTION OF CALADIUM BICOLOR - HEART OF JESUS
Caladium bicolor is native to Central America to Argentina. It is found growing in river banks, swampy areas of riparian forests, woodland, savanna, shrubland, native grassland, wetlands (inland) of Argentina Northwest, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panamá, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela at elevations of 30-2300 meters above sea level.
It is a glabrous, erect acaulescent herb with a fleshy corm at base, forming clumps up to 0.8 m tall. The leaves are 1-2, 13-37 cm long, 9-26 cm broad, chartaceous, usually with small, irregular whitish or pinkish spots, or variegated along secondary veins, less often completely green, glaucous beneath, the apex acute or shortly acuminate, the base peltate, cordate, the margins more or less wavy. The petioles are erect, 35-55 cm long, sheathing, white at the very base, usually with purple stripes.
Heart of Jesus blooms in spring to autumn from the axillary, ascending, solitary inflorescence with cylindrical, green, usually with purple stripes, 17–27 cm long peduncle and a spathe in a cone-shaped envelope, green base and white extremity, up to 14 cm long and 5 cm wide. The flowers are unisexual, lacking tepals. Fruit in the form of orangish berries.
CALADIUM BICOLOR - HEART OF JESUS CARE
Cultural information should only be used as a guide, and should be to be adapted to suit you. Your physical location; where you grow your plants, how much time you have to devote to their care, and many other factors, will need to be taken into account. Only then can you decide on the cultural methods that best suit you and your plants.
Light:
Caladium bicolor grows well and has best leaf color with between 2500 to 5000 foot-candles. For best results, plant them in a semi-shaded location. From 40 to 60 percent shade is considered ideal. Lower light intensities cause stretched petioles, large leaves, and weak plants. Light intensities that are too high cause bleached leaf color or necrotic leaf margins.
In tropical and subtropical areas they can be grown in a sheltered spot in the garden. In cooler areas they are suitable for indoors or a glasshouse.
Temperature:
Daytime temperatures should be kept in a range of 21-32 °C (24-26 °C is best) and a nighttime temperature of at least 18 °C. The average daily temperature should be in the mid-21 °C. Never expose the plant to lower temperatures. Temperatures below 15 °C can cause damage to plants and temperatures below 2 °C can kill the plants. Symptoms of low-temperature injury include slow emergence, stunted growth, small leaves, rot, and greening of the leaves on white cultivars. Many growers in northern climates use steam pipes or heated benches to give the plant bottom heat.
Humidity:
Heart of Jesus need the humidity level of at least 50%. Keeping the humidity high in a heated home may be done with misting and by placing a saucer filled with pebbles and water under the container. The evaporation will moisten the ambient air and provide the humidity necessary for your Caladium. Keep your plant away from heating vents which will blow dry air and drafty windows or doors.
Substrate and growing media:
Caladium bicolor should be planted in a potting media that is high in peat or organic matter with a high waterholding capacity. Many growers use pure peat moss amended to correct pH and fertility. However, many commercial peat-lite media also work well. Other growers plant the tubers in Jiffy pots to be transplanted later.
Tubers should be planted 2 to 3 inches deep because roots will emerge from the upper side of the tuber. The media used should have a pH of 5.5 to 6.5 and an electrical conductivity level of 1.2 to 1.5 (2:1 extraction method). Water the tubers well soon after potting.
Watering:
Although Heart of Jesus enjoy warm weather, they don’t tolerate dry conditions. In beds and borders, water plants weekly during dry weather. To help conserve soil moisture, apply a 5cm layer of mulch around the plants. The plant in containers should be checked regularly and watered when the potting soil begins to dry out.
Even indoors, the plant will enter dormancy after a few months in leaf. When their leaves start to die back, stop watering. Allow the plant to rest and resume watering once new growth starts.
Fertilizer:
Fertilize Caladium bicolor regularly with a soluble fertilizer to promote strong foliage growth. They prefer a 2-2-3 or 1-1-1 ratio of N-P-K. One of the biggest problems in caladium production is overfertilization. Caladiums should not be put on a constant liquid fertilizer program. They are nitrogen sensitive and a high nitrogen fertilizer is discouraged. Symptoms of overfertilization include stretching of petiols, poor leaf color, and greening and brown spots on white-leaf cultivars.
Pruning:
Prune dead or decaying leaves from the plants by snipping off the stems at the soil line. You can also remove the flower buds as they start to appear. You can also prune off dead foliage after the plant dies back and you’ve removed the corms from the ground or potting mix.
Winter period:
In the autumn when nights are cool, the plant will fade. If the tubers are to be kept over the winter in temperate areas, they must be brought in before the first frost (or before soil temperatures drop below 13 °C). Lift any tubers in the ground, remove most of the soil, and allow to dry for a week in a warm, shady spot before cutting off the leaves and storing in dry sphagnum moss or a mesh bag under mild conditions (13-15 °C) for up to 5 months. Tubers in containers can be brought inside and left undisturbed in the pots for the winter. Allow the growing medium to dry out as the leaves die back. The containers can be kept in bright or dark conditions, but the temperature should never be below 13 °C. Begin watering again when new growth appears in the spring.
Pests and diseases:
Heart of Jesus are generally pest and disease free, but problems can occur. Aphids, thrips, mealy bugs, two-spotted spider mites, and white flies can be problems. Emulsifiable concentrates should be avoided on caladiums.
Propagation:
Caladium bicolor can be propagated by seed, tissue culture, or tubers. Seed production requires a long production time and results in seedling variability, therefore it is only used in breeding. Tissue culture is not often used because it is costly. Nearly all caladium production is done from tubers. Tuber propagation is usually conducted in the spring. Cut the tuber into pieces that contain at least one eye or knob; allow the cut pieces to dry for a few days to callous over before planting.
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