Caladium 'Carolyn Whorton' is a tender perennial, summer flowering bulb, grown for its dramatic, long-lasting foliage that adds stunning color and texture to the garden, early summer into fall. A fancy leaved variety, 'Carolyn Whorton' has large, heart-shaped pink leaves with dark green margins and red veining.
Caladium 'Carolyn Whorton' has a clumping habit and is shown to best effect when grouped or massed. It performs well in beds, borders, and containers, outdoors or indoors. It's also an excellent option for an underplanting.
Extremely easy to grow, caladiums are tropical plants that thrive in warm temperatures with high humidity. Natives of South America, caladiums grow naturally on the shady floor of rainforests and along riverbeds. So, 'Carolyn Whorton' will grow best in shady to dappled shade, or half sun, half shade locations in the garden with warm, fertile, organically rich, consistently moist, well-draining loamy soil, having an acidic pH. However, 'Carolyn Whorton' is more sun tolerant than most, but afternoon shade is recommended to avoid leaf scorch. It is also heat tolerant and deer resistant. The plant benefits from monthly fertilization.
In Zones 9-10, caladiums are perennial; In Zones 3-8, they can be grown as annuals, or the tubers can be dug up in fall before the first frost, brought indoors, and stored in a cool dry location for winter. Caladium bulbs can be started indoors and transplanted into the garden after the last frost, once the soil has warmed to around 65° to 70°F. Planting caladiums in cold soil will stunt their growth.
