Angel-wings or fancy-leaved caladia are members of the Araceae or aroid family, a family known best for its unique and/or colorful foliage. Caladia are native to the open forests of Central and tropical South America where they are usually found growing along the banks of streams. They are plants of wet and dry season habitats producing leaves when moisture is abundant and going dormant (resting) when soils dry. ("Caladium Vent." Paul M. Resslar PhD, Virginia Wesleyan College, Oct 1999)
The caladium's leaves and spathe-covered inflorescence arise from a tuber, a subterranean, shortened stem. Commercially, the tubers are graded according to size; the smallest available are around 2.5 centimeters (1 inch), the largest are greater than 11 cm. (4.5 inches). It is a case of 'you get what you pay for'—several small tubers planted together do not produce the full beautiful plant of a single large tuber.
The tuber has an apical bud that allowed to grow will produce four or five large leaves. But if the apical bud is removed, secondary dormant buds will begin growing and the tuber will produce numerous, slightly smaller leaves. The overall effect is a fuller plant. True tropicals, caladia do not tolerate cool soil temperatures. The tubers are damaged at 65 degrees F (18 C); they should be kept no lower than 70 degrees (21 C) and they must be allowed dormancy for around two months.
According to Robert A. DeFilipps, Shirley L. Maina and Juliette Crepin, Europe was introduced to the caladium in 1704 when Caladium bicolor (Aiton) Ventenat was sent to the Amsterdam Botanic Garden from Surinam. The red and green leaves were an instant hit—gardeners have created around 1500 named varieties or hybrids. ("Medicinal Plants of the Guianas (Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana)", Department of Botany, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution) With few pedigrees known, the modern fancy-leaved caladium is difficult to classify. Some taxonomists consider them varieties of Caladium bicolor; others feel that with parentage uncertain, the plants should be considered Caladium X hortulanum Birdsey reflecting a hybrid status.
Highlands County, Florida produces most of the fancy-leaved caladia for the horticultural trade. The industry was a bit serendipitous and a lot of hard work. Dr. Henry Nehrling, an ornithologist, was infatuated with tropical plants. He moved from Wisconsin to Central Florida in 1893. Maintaining correspondence with plant collectors around the world, he was able to establish a garden with thousands of tropicals including over a thousand caladia. Although his first garden was destroyed by the freeze of 1917, his caladia were discovered to grow very well in the organic soils around Lake Istokpoga. The city of Lake Placid holds a Caladium Festival every August to celebrate the industry.
The Florida Cooperative Extension Service of the University of Florida has an excellent circular, "Caladiums as Potted and Landscape Plants". To learn more about cultivating fancy-leaved caladia, click on the link: http://facultystaff.vwc.edu/~presslar/greenhouse/caladium/xhortulanum/ufces-1060.pdf
