Caladium Shopping

I've just finished placing my order from BiLL at Caladium Bulbs 4 Less, and wanted to remind anyone who is contemplating doing the same, that this ad expires at the end of the day today. I may have left some inventory for you to purchase! ^_^

Forgive me if I'm mistaken, since this is the first Classified Ad shopping I've done, but the info on that page says the ads run for 2 weeks, hence my reminder. He'll probably post another ad, but there may be some cultivars that are sold out.

Now to figure out what I can sell to pay for all the bulbs! LOL! Happily Dreaming of Spring on a Snowy Sunday..............Barb

DaylilyDiva, I ordered my Caladiums a few weeks ago. Boy he sure does have nice bulbs. I was only going to get a few more for at my Parents and Son's homes but could help getting a few of the new varieties for my self. Think I will do a few hanging baskets this year.

Holly,

He does indeed do some great bulbs, fantastic selection and high quality. I've had a family emergency for the last few weeks so I lost a lot of time, but got my order in today. I had caladiums all over the yard last year, and it was great..... Barb (who could also be called Caladium Crazy these days) ^_^

Updating this to add that I see there is a new posting in the Classifieds. Some cultivars are gone, but there's still a lot to choose from.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1073080/

You've reminded me to check that out, but I probably missed the winter blowout sale. I know there'll be something else later. They sure look tempting!!

Foxnfirefly, I don't think there was any sale better than this one. If you're referring to the co-op we've done with him in past years, that didn't happen this year, so I you haven't missed anything! ^_^

I'm honestly not getting a commission on this, but I do have to say that you won't be disappointed by the quality of his products. I was hesitant the first year I ordered, but not any more!

MY recommendation would be if you're tempted to try a few, you should do so. They are excellent both in pots and in the ground, and most of the varieties can actually take more sun than you would believe. Last year when I started mine in pots outside in the spring, they got full sun for most of the day, and not one got "burned".

Boy am I ever ready for SPRING!!!! Barb (hearing the snow word again in the weather forecasts...)

I feel the same way Barb, If you have never tried Caladiums before and want to brighten up a shady spot there isn't a better way. Plus you may end up with something just a little different than everyone else has. BiLL has the best prices and good service and wonderful bulbs. Holly

DITTO! Got a few myself and for this one and this one and this one oh and this one.

Glad y'all are as enthused as I am. I'm trying a few new varieties this year too. I'm sure last year that anyone giving directions in our neighborhood said "go past the house with all the caladiums out front and take a left..." LOL!

To illustrate how well they do in sun (as well as shade) I'm attaching a photo of one of my daylilies surrounded by pots of caladiums, all in full sun, on the patio last year. Having grown caladiums in the past that literally crisped and fried if they got much sun, this was a lovely surprise. I know this isn't unique to BiLL's offerings, more just caladiums in general today, but still, it's so nice that you can put them almost anywhere!

Barb

That sure looks nice. Last year I got a couple of those huge EE's they were really fun to grow. I put several large pots of Caladiums at my Parents house and they got a lot of nice comments from neighbors asking what they were and saying how nice they look. Just something a little different for our more northern climate. Holly

Beautiful photo Barb :)

I'm holding back on ordering any this year. The bulbs I received last year weren't as large as I expected :( In all fairness to Bill, I got my order in late (March?) so probably all the larger ones were already gone! Even though they looked nice by the end of the summer they took forever to grow. However, after seeing pictures of Holly's EEs last summer (Port Odora?) I'm having a hard time not ordering "anything" - I'd love to have a few of those growing by my pond!

I ordered from Bill when the ad first came out. Last year I ordered from the co-op, they arrived late but in time for my area. I potted them up and keep them warm in the house till the outside temp stabilized and they would be safe.
They grew to be lovely plants and I enjoyed them all summer. I bought some from a box store a long time ago and had no luck with those.
My only mistake last year was not fertilizing on a regular basis so the bulbs I tried to save might not grow this year.

I am not real good about fertilizing but Ric puts osmocote (sp?) in my potting soil. My bulbs have come back every year (knock on wood) so far. The one year I started them a little too early, I think, and the first leaves were a little floppy but then as more leaves came they were good and strong. I really liked those Port Odora EE and ordered 2 more bulbs this year. They did take a while to come up. The ground has to get warm enough and I planted them in the ground not in pots. I still have hopes of making leaf molds with them, maybe this year. Holly

I placed my order last week after holding off not even looking at the offerings, but I caved in.

Debbie, glad you like the photo - that daylily was a late-in-the-season acquisition called "Chesapeake Crablegs". My gardening friend and I couldn't resist! ^_^

Re: the smaller sizes of your bulbs... I'm guessing that by March last year, BiLL had sold out of most of his larger Grade #1 bulbs for the co-op hosted by shitzumom, and was sending #2 bulbs for some cultivars. I got some of them too, BUT if I recall correctly, he sent 2x the amount of the smaller bulbs. They grew just fine for me. If that's a concern for you, why don't you write to him and ask?

I've ordered a lot of my "must haves" plus a variety of new-to-me cultivars that I'm looking forward to trying. We got 4" of snow last night, and supposedly there's a lot more coming this weekend, so I'm enjoying thinking of green, growing things right now.

Looking forward to seeing you & Rick at Lewis Ginter!

Holly, I should try those EEs one of these years too... I've got a couple of wine barrel planters that would probably be good spots for them.


Jan, ladyg, and flowerjen, glad you ordered some - I don't think you'll be sorry. Caladiums have become my favorite "put it anywhere for a splash of color" plant, with no worries about deadheading, etc.

Barb

definitely not sorry. I got more this year than last - want to put in a different place which is bigger.

LOL, Jan, that's what I've done too - wound up ordering more every year!

Okay, I couldn't stand it any longer - passed on the Caladiums but after seeing pics of Holly's Port Odora EEs last year I've got to try them! Just wrote to Bill because I can't figure out how to get the special pricing offered in his Classified Ad? Maybe I just didn't go far enough in the check out but regardless I hope to hear from him so I can get my order in early this year!

Barb, I'll be looking forward to seeing you too at LG, it's always one of my favorite shows in the spring!

You have to send Bill an email with your order and then he sends an invoice, he takes Paypal which makes it simple.

Okey dokey, email has been sent so I should be hearing from him soon!

Debbie, flowerjen has already given you the right answer - you don't order from the web site, but directly from BiLL. Sorry I didn't make that clearer.

LG is also one of my favorite shows - well worth the drive south! I love Green Spring & Blandy too, but LG is nice because there are dining options right there.

Those of you who ordered from Bill, did you get a response back that your order was received? Just wondering.

I got an email for my paypal payment with confirmation. Can't remember if I got anything else. But I ordered pretty early. Holly

ladyg, I did - we had been discussing which varieties I wanted, and when I posted my order, he wrote right back asking for address and if I used PayPal, both of which I'd forgotten to let him know in the first messages.

Got the bill from him via PayPal, and have paid it, and have gotten confirmation that it's been paid.

Did you send him your order via e-mail (or D-mail), or his website/catalog? If you haven't heard back from him, send him an e-mail or D-mail to check.

Hope this helps..........Barb

Thanks, I just sent Bill another e-mail with my order info. If I don't hear anything by tomarrow night then something is wrong and not going through. I clicked on his e-mail link on the ad and sent it that way.

ladyg, that should work. It's not like BiLL to be out of touch for too long during this time of year.

Let us know! Barb, hunkering down, hoping all the dire snow forecasts for Friday & Saturday are WRONG

Chris, I'd be surprised if you haven't heard from Bill by now. I checked my email this morning and he had responded within 20 minutes :) I need to send him my shipping information but I'm having a hard time deciding whether I want to add anything else to my order. Barb, your enthusiasm is contagious!

Ohhh, sorry, Debbie, I just do like to share the info when I find someone who's so easy to do business with (hmmm, like YOU and Rick too!) and has such a great product. ^_^

Barb, I feel much the same way not just promoting bill's caladiums. I think he has such nice product at a good price. I am just an enthusiastic grower of Caladiums. I feel like I want to tell everyone about how pretty they are and easy to grow. What an interesting a unique display for gardens in any area. I just love them.
RCN just waving my EE's at you. LOL Holly

Doggone it, Holly! I'm sorely tempted now to add some EEs to my order... Does that one have a name?

I, too, have become a fan of Caladiums, and consider them an essential to the summer garden. The nice surprise has not only been how easy they are to grow, and how pretty they are, but also how sunfast they have become in recent years. I plant them everywhere!

Barb, getting ready to hunker down

Port Odora Elephant Ear , I ordered two of them last year and ordered two more for this year. I planted one over by my "small" rock pile. Liked the look so much that I'm going to put more over there next summer. They should give a real interesting look to the area behind my birdbath/pond. A bit hard to tell but there are several good sized spaces between those back rock and that is where I will plant them.

Thanks for the name - that's a very pretty leaf. Love the rock pile, and the idea of having them interplanted there. That will look great. How tall do they get?

Just to let you all know I got an e-mail from Bill, he had my original order just forgot to respond. He said he would have caught it when he reconciled his orders. So, all is well!

I don't remember how tall they were. I had them planted in the ground and I think they were waist high so maybe about 3ft. I can look at the pic and see if I can measure the rocks it was planted in front of. Maybe I can come up with a size tomorrow. Those are big rocks.

Bill added Caladiums to the co-op page of his website. Check it out if you want any. I've got so many from last year, I'll skip them this year. But he's got some great prices on Lilies on that co-op page.

Debbie, I am seriously considering getting some of those Port Odoras - love the ruffled edge. THANKS, Holly! ^_^

stormy... uh oh - a co-op page on his website? THAT could be trouble... Might have to take deep breaths before going to view it. LOL!

I don't know what she's talking about!! There's no mention of any co-op on the web site

biLL

lol, Bill, you should know.

Thanks, Bill. That's what I was thinking about.