Caladium bicolor 'Freckles'

Caladium 'Freckles' is grown for one thing: paper thin heart shaped leaves speckled and splashed in pink, cream and green, held on slender stems to about 60cm tall and 40cm wide. Caladium bicolor 'Freckles' is a South American tuber that does its best work in warm shade, where the light comes through the leaf rather than onto it. Massed under a tree or filling a pot on a shaded patio, it gives colour without a single flower.

Why you'll love it

• Colour that lasts all summer. The variegation is in the foliage, so there is no waiting for a flowering window and no deadheading.
• It actually wants shade. Part shade suits it, which makes it one of the few genuinely showy plants for a dim courtyard or a bed under established trees.
• Handles humidity and damp ground. It tolerates wet feet and thrives through a muggy summer that flattens most foliage plants.
• Neat and compact. At 60cm by 40cm it stays in scale in a border, a pot or an indoor position by a bright window.

Where it works best

Mass planting and borders. Plant 30cm apart for a solid drift of pattern. At that spacing the leaves overlap by midsummer and the bed reads as one block of colour rather than separate plants.

Pots, balconies and courtyards. A single tuber fills a 200mm pot, or group three in a wider bowl. Shaded balconies suit it because the leaves scorch in direct afternoon sun.

Indoors. It works as a seasonal indoor plant in bright indirect light, with the same watering as outdoors, and the same winter rest.

Growing Caladium 'Freckles' in Australia

Position and climate. Part shade, sheltered from wind that tears the thin leaves. It is at home in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate gardens. It is frost tender, so in cool temperate and Mediterranean areas grow it in a pot and bring it under cover for winter.

Soil. Rich, moisture holding soil with plenty of compost. Unlike most tubers it copes with damp ground, though a pot still needs a drainage hole.

Water and feed. Keep the soil consistently moist through the growing season and never let a potted plant dry right out. Liquid feed monthly from spring to late summer.

Winter dormancy. The tuber is deciduous. Leaves yellow and die back as the weather cools, which is normal, not failure. Stop watering, leave the tuber in place in warm gardens or lift and store it dry in cold ones, and growth restarts in spring.

What to expect when it arrives

It is sold in two pack sizes: 125mm pots in packs of ten, and 180mm pots in packs of six. Both are aimed at doing a whole bed or a run of pots at once, and the 180mm plants arrive with more leaves already up.

The leaves are thin and a little transit creasing or a torn edge is normal. New leaves push up within a few weeks in warm weather. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and a minimum order of $300 before delivery, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse companions in the tropical plant range.
• Compare other variegated foliage plants.
• Read our elephant ear plant care guide for the closely related aroids.

Common questions

Is it safe around cats and dogs?

No. Like other aroids the sap contains calcium oxalate crystals, which cause mouth irritation, drooling and vomiting if chewed. Keep it out of reach if your pet chews foliage.

My plant died back in winter. Is it dead?

Almost certainly not. The tuber goes dormant every year and loses all its leaves as temperatures drop. Hold the water back over winter and it will reshoot in spring.

How much sun can it take?

Part shade or bright indirect light. Morning sun is usually fine, but direct afternoon sun bleaches the pattern and burns the leaf edges within days.