There was frost on my car this morning at 4:30. Got all my potted stuff in. Will have to see what the bananas look like after work today. May just go ahead and start digging them anyways.

Cold enough to make mush of coleus, tomatoes and impatients. Petunias survived as did lettuce and radishes.

HARD freeze... 25 degrees!

It was 27ð here and froze most things. I haven't done the whole tour yet so don't know what survived. I haven't even gone inside the hoop house to check.

We were gone this week, down at Roaring River. It got down to 25F there, but when we got home to Joplin it had probably not gotten below 32F as the top leaves of my gourds and some of the top leaves of the elephant ears were frost damaged, but that was all. Impatiens weren't affected at all.

Almost everything away from the house including cannas, impatiens, tomatoes are toast. Cannas, impatiens and peppers next to the house are fine but EEs, caladiums and coleus are toast. Dug my caladiums yesterday. Will dig the EEs before the next freeze. Got plenty coleus cuttings and seeds. Passiflora (incarnata)looks untouched. News said 30F here. Didn't check my thermo.

Be careful of cold damage to your caladiums Taz. I damaged a few tubers one year by putting them out too early. They produced stumpy little plants. I dig mine while the nights are still 50*s. They are in the garage and will not go to sleep. Now I read that 50*s is too cold and I may be doing damage to them sitting in the garage. My favorite are 'Red Flash'

My favs are Rosebud but I had some others this year that I haven't seen before. I let the first frost kill the growth of those I have in ground then dig them usually unless the first frost is a substantial freeze. I also overwinter some in pots.
Rosebud

Carolyn Whorton

Unknown

I think I've got more pictures but haven't uploaded to photobucket yet.

The leaf patterns are beautiful. I wish I could overwinter them successfully. It is too late now but I saw some on sale. I would have bought them if I could overwinter them.

Helen, I've overwintered my caladiums for ages. I just pull them before hard frost, let the foilage fall off and store them in a cool place (could use your basement?) until Spring. When I see little pink nubs, it's time to plant them in a pan all together to sprout and show what colors they are. I may or may not transplant them by color. Then when it's warm enough I put them outside with plenty of leaf mold.

I have found that buying 25 to a bag yields small bulbs and never 25. I'd rather have the expenditure once for large bulbs and carry them over every winter. I bought four at Lowe's in Oct. which were potted and were 25 cents each!

Those photos showed fabulous color. Thanks for posting. Please show us those photos again in January, when the gardens are looking grim, okay? lol
Sunny

Helen all you need to do is dig them, cut all the foliage and roots off, let them air dry for 4-5 days inside if too cold out, then dust with sulfur and put them in a box. I pack them in vermiculite or milled peat to keep them dry and separated in case of any having fungus. Keeping them dry and in the dark are the most important things to keep them dormant until spring. You can pot them up before last frost but keep them inside and just moist until they have leaves. They don't really need much light to get them started.
I'll try to post more pics during the drab season.

I grew them before and saved some over winter. About half rotted and had blue mold. I did not keep them that dry (You are meaning dry as dust peat?) or dust with sulfur. I didn't cut the roots off either. I may try again. I used to have beautiful hostas but I was too greedy and kept buying them. I think I got the hosta virus. I still have some hostas but not like I did once under the walnut tree. Caladiums are pretty and if I could safely overwinter I would spring for some of the expensive ones.

I do both. Dust with sulfur and pack in dry peat or vermiculite depending on what I have. You can keep them from going dormant and alive all winter if you keep the temps above 60F, keep them moist but not wet and give them some light. Too wet and they rot, too dry and they go dormant. They are a bit touchy in winter. I think they have an internal clock and if they get too dry, too little light or too cold they shut down. In any event as long as you don't keep them too wet they can be brought back after a rest period.

Rosebud, really like your unnamed caladium. I like pink but the reason I like Red Flash so much is that they are big and make a big statement. I have four kinds that I ordered form Caladiums 4 Less a few year ago, they are in Florida. What I love about caladiums is the fuss people make because they are unusual here though common in Florida. The neighbors says they argued about whether or not they were real before walking across the street to touch them. People ask what they are. I know the 'don't know a petunia from and iris crowd'. The name is fancy and their eyes glaze a little when I say it.
Helen they are as easy as Rosebud says. I start them all together in shallow tubs of potting soil under the shop windows. I don't think they need much light either, it's more about warm soil. They transplant easily, I just pull them up with a fork after they start leafing out and stick them in their summer pots. They are now in orange boxes in my closet. I use shredded office paper provided by security freak DH. They won't freeze here. I have to be careful about 'cold damage' to the bulb,
I always sort the caladiums to store. Rosebud's sorting after they leaf out is a great idea. Caladiums for less offers 2lbs of unnamed mixed bulbs. I may try that for fun since I already have some nice named ones. Sorry to hear that the wonderful hosta are gone. Caladiums in pots under the walnut tree would be hard for hot dogs to lay on in the summer.
The pictures were great.

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If you like caladiums you should try tuberous begonias. I got sucked in by a hanging basket I bought year before last. Last summer I bought a couple of bags of them from Costco. I hope to stake them better next year and try some more ' Picotee' ones. They have different colored edges. They are easy to start and not fussy. I have a spot that has too much shade and they did fine. Next year I'll try them in all my fern spots. I have also taken those up to put in my closet.

Peggiewho Rosebud is the name of the first caladium. My name is John aka Taz.

I laughed loud enough that DH muted the TV in the living room and asked what was going on. Obviously the first picture is labeled Rosebud and you are not a 'Citizen Kane' movie buff. Lol! Thanks for the redirect John.

LOL! Hubby was thinking you lost it or was having a party without him! I can see the expression on his face.