Plant Care Library

Other Names:  Angel Wings

Description:

This sturdy, upright variety offers brilliant red leaves flecked in pink, framed by green edges; larger habit makes it a wonderful shade accent; a great patio container plant

Ornamental Features

Red Flash Caladium's attractive heart-shaped leaves remain red in color with distinctive forest green edges and tinges of pink throughout the season on a plant with a mounded habit of growth. The cherry red stems can be quite attractive.

Landscape Attributes

Red Flash Caladium is a dense herbaceous annual with a mounded form. Its relatively coarse texture can be used to stand it apart from other garden plants with finer foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and should not require much pruning, except when necessary, such as to remove dieback. Deer don't particularly care for this plant and will usually leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Red Flash Caladium is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• Container Planting
• Hanging Baskets

Planting & Growing

Red Flash Caladium will grow to be about 20 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 20 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 6 inches apart. Although it's not a true annual, this plant can be expected to behave as an annual in our climate if left outdoors over the winter, usually needing replacement the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.

This plant does best in partial shade to shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid. It can be propagated by multiplication of the underground bulbs; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Red Flash Caladium is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor containers and hanging baskets. It can be used either as 'filler' or as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, depending on the height and form of the other plants used in the container planting. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.