Who said Friday the 13th is bad luck? No way!
Here's Bill's (Caladiumbulbs4less) link on Classified Ads. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1237032/ Offer is good only through February 12, 2012 and there's a 15% discount IF you use the promo code he gives on the link.
I've bought my caladiums from Bill for a few years now and they are big and provide lots of color in shade or sun (check which varities grow in sun). I love them in containers.
Thanks Pirl!!!!
You're very welcome, Jen.
Shock of shocks! I (foolishly) was comparing Bill's prices to that of a prominent catalogue and found this example (one of many):
Miss Muffet - Bill - 10 for $14.95, less 15% = $1.27 for each one.
Elsewhere - 3 for $11.95 (no discount) = $2.98 each.
What a bargain we DG people get!
Here's Miss Muffet:
I'm having trouble deciding which ones I want
ohh thanks for posting Pirl! (I was back home in NY the latter part of December due to my gram being ill - arrived at 4 degree's in Plattsburgh and thought...I need a winter coat again lol)
Tonight you'd need two coats! The wind is howling and I have no intentions of leaving the house. Hope your gram is feeling better now, rednyr.
The strap leaved varieties have shorter leaves but more of them.
The "fancy" leaved types are taller but don't have as many leaves as the strap.
Hard to notice the difference even when I know which are which.
I was thinking of an assortment so that I can have different colors.....I am getting confused by "jumbo", "mammoth", etc.
Would this be your first order with Bill?
Will they all be planted in shady spots - even light or dappled shade?
Last year I planted a typical package (not jumbo or mammoth) of caladiums in this area, and they grew tall with lots of large, beautiful leaves.
I have never ordered from Bill. I plan to use them as potted indoor/outdoor plants. I have a sunny front garden with a covered entryway and a very shady back patio. If they do well inside, I may leave them for indoor color. I haven't grown caladiams before, but love the foilage - especially the pink ones.
You might want to get a package or two for the sunny spots and then either more packages for a variety of pink colors for the back yard or just get that mixed package and see what you get. They love the heat.
Mixed colors: 25 caladiums for between $25.95 and $27.95 - http://www.caladiumbulbs4less.com/servlet/the-Lot-of-25-Bulbs/Categories Where else will you get that much color for a bit over a dollar for each one?
Sun tolerant: http://www.caladiumbulbs4less.com/servlet/the-Sun-Tolerant/Categories
Any leftovers can go in hanging baskets.
Thank you so much Pirl for the photos and the heads up for Bill's sale. I, too , have bought from Bill for years and you just can't beat his bulbs. Foolishly, I bought locally at a garden center a few years ago. Sad, bad choice. I'll stick with the best. Thanks again.
You're welcome, Debbie.
Since Bill always manages to pack at least one extra bulb to a package, I think I'll plant one fancy leaved variety in one pot and a strap leaved variety in a matching pot so we'll have photos for 2013 to show the differences.
Before Bill came along I did buy from big box stores and never was impressed. Now friends and neighbors credit me with a green thumb and it's only because of Bill's bulbs.
I love your hanging basket photo above. I've never tried putting any in hanging baskets, but that is a beauty. And the bottom photo is awesome too. What is the purple flower?
Thanks, Debbie. The purple one is verbena 'Homestead Purple', a perennial.
Lovel photo, Pirl.
I ordered from Bill sometime in October (first time), sorry I did not order Miss Muffet. I always start mine indoors as I've never had good luck starting outdoors (probably too cold). Love keeping them in pots so we can re-decorate. Have never de-eyed. Do you de-eye?
Thanks, Cathy. Your garden scene is lovely as well.
I've never de-eyed caladiums, maybe due to my shaky hands - I'd probably slash the entire bulb! I do know that de-eyeing does delay growth at the start and not every bulb is meant for that procedure.
If you try it please let us know how it worked for you and please take photos. Thank you.
Caladiums do want warm soil and air temperatures to grow and thrive. I plant them close to the same time as tomatoes.
Last year I planted these at the end of May and you can see the date on each of the photos:
6/26 there were a few in full leaf.
7/6 they were wonderful and if I had never gotten another leaf I'd have been fine with it.
By 7/22 it was astounding and all through the heat wave they remained fine, happy and healthy - all the way to frost.
Hard to ask much more of a bulb than months of color, no deadheading, no dividing, no lifting - all for about a dollar each!
Not sure what happened last year, but I tried to order from Bill and received absolutely no response. I followed up a month later, and still got no response -- I used the same e-mail that I had used the year before --
Anyway, I DO love Caladium, and would have loved his prices -- but am leary of trying to order from him again -- consequently, I had no caladium last year -
Here's a pic from the year before -- on a warm summer afternoon -
Dax, not too sure about last year, except that they lost almost half their crop (everyone did, not just Bill's).
Nice job with the caladiums, Dax. Please give Bill another chance. Gee whiz, he'd do it for you if the roles were reversed - LOL. Seriously, give it a try - here's the new Classified Ad:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1240521/
Yep - you're right, pirl -- I think I'll mosey on over -- Thanks - Dax :)
I ordered from Bill last year and was very pleased with my bulbs.
Unfortunately, the deer were even more pleased, so I'll have to pass this year.
Unless I actually put up the deer fencing I've been dreaming about!
Those deer are a big PITA. They will eat the caladiums if I put them in the front but not in the back gardens. They go around my Sum and Substance hosta to feast on the plantaginea hosta but they eat my friend's S & S down to nubs. She's only a mile away.
This is my sum & substance from last year. Your friend might recognize it!
WOW!! I've got them nibbling on my arborvitae right now, but have never had them eat caladium -- maybe because they are pretty close to the house and street -- the deer move quickly through those areas. Dax
Looks familiar!
Just a friendly reminder for caladium lovers that tomorrow is the end of Bill's 15% off to DG members.
Does anyone know how many bulbs you get in the collections? For instance, the Red White and Pink collection is $21.95, but how many bulbs do you get--one of each? I don't see the answer to my question on the site, and I've never bought caladium bulbs, so I don't know the going price. If nobody here knows, I'll send Bill an email.
Thanks!
Please let us know the answer. Emailing Bill is the best way to find out.
I just sent him a d-mail, so I'll post his answer when I get it.
Thanks.
OH, he said to click on the tab that says "Detailed Description" (after you click on the name of the collection) and it tells you how many bulbs are in that collection. If I clicked on it, my backwoods dialup connection is so slow that I may have thought it didn't work and gave up. LOL
This message was edited Feb 11, 2012 8:44 PM
I never even saw that feature!
I don't feel so bad, then. LOL
Every site takes some getting used to before we feel confident about what we're doing.
Will you be putting all the caladiums in the shade?
We have lots of deep shade here...do you think even the ones that say "sun tolerant" would still be at their best there?
I would think they'd do fine but please write to Bill to be 100% sure of it.
Okay, here is Bill's answer to the shade/sun tolerant question:
"ALL caladiums love the shade. Deep shade is going to make the caldiums get tall and leggy as I call it. A little morning sun(up until about 10:00-11:00) is the best condition for all of them.
If you were to take two pots of Red Flash(the most sun tolerant caladium) put one in full sun and the other in the shade, the one in the sun is going to look very nice but the one in the shade will be even nicer!!
Email me at CaladiumBulbs4Less@earthlink.net with any questions. If you'd like, post that in a forum for other folks to see....
I see my emails a 1000 times a day but I'm not on DG like I used to be. Don't hesitate to call me either!!!!"
Thanks. He really is a nice guy and very helpful.
I agree, and I thanked him for all his help in my PayPal message--I was happy to see that he takes PayPal. :)
I will send him a before/after pic of the bland, ugly spot that I plan to brighten up with the Red, white, and pink collection and the Miss Muffet. I'll post them here, too. Can't wait!
