Well it's November and my caladium are sleepy but they put up these tiny leaves. So it's not like they are dormant yet. Do I just exercise patience at this point until they finally decide to stop putting up new shoots? Then what. I could use some help. This is my first year taking care of these kinds of plants and I've never had to care for a dormant tuber before.

* * * *

Hi Tammy,

Caladiums are somewhat difficult to maintain in the home environment. They must have lots of very bright light, although they need some protection from hot mid-day sun. They also require warm temps above 65 degrees (preferably 70 degrees) at all times and high humidity helps as well.

Finally, they have a 4-month dormant period (usually in winter) during which the leaves die back completely. For this reason, many people buy caladiums in the early summer and discard them in the fall as they go into dormancy. As the leaves die back in the fall, it is best to reduce watering until all leaves have withered. Then unpot the plant and store the tuber in dry peat moss in a cool (55 to 60 degrees) location for about 4 months or until new growth starts to emerge. Repot at that time.