Plant Encyclopedia

Other Names:  Angel Wings, Elephant Ears

Description:

This stunning variety offers red leaves with scarlet red veins, framed by dark green edges; a wonderful shade landscape accent, and a great container plant, indoors or out

Ornamental Features

Frieda Hemple Caladium's attractive heart-shaped leaves remain red in color with distinctive scarlet veins and tinges of dark green throughout the season on a plant with a mounded habit of growth.

Landscape Attributes

Frieda Hemple 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.

Frieda Hemple Caladium is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting
• Hanging Baskets

Planting & Growing

Frieda Hemple Caladium will grow to be about 24 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 18 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.

Frieda Hemple 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. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.