I can usually keep the foliage going until mid December then they all go dormant and spring back around March.

{{gwi:7760}}

Oh Great! I'm so glad you responded. Do you water them during dormancy at all?

Once the foliage dies down I will be bringing the containers in the house and placing them somewhere. They do not receive any water.

Hi
How cold does it get in your area.? They will tolerate frost but not a hard freeze. in the ground. They will go dormant no matter what though. I keep hearing about an "evergreen" type but have been unable to locate any lol.
Would think they'd be a great garden plant in your area. I think they do much better when regrowing after a frost than in years where there was none.
i love them as a garden plant except for the pesky dormancy. I forget where I planted them and end up digging them up lol
Have you seen any of the fantastic "Stained glass " hybrids.?? They are incredible!!! gary

Thanks to you both for your replies. I am in socal and rarely get a freeze so I am not worried about that. My main concern is do I withhold water during dormancy. I believe that has been answered. Garyfla, I have not heard of stained glass hybrids, but will do a google picture search. Thanks!

I have planted 1-2 dozen each year for the past 3 years. Some come back, some don't.Some have skipped a year. They will rot if they get too much moisture in the winter. They will not come back until the soil temperature is in the high 60's to 70's. For the best results they shouldn't be planted until the soil is warm or they may rot, or fail to thrive. I treat them as annuals. It may be the cultivars I chose, the location, or some other factor, but the older ones are slow to return and much smaller than the current year's acquisitions. I try to withhold water during dormancy.

I am in subtropical and "most" of mine go dormant, one exception being Caladium lindenii which used to be Xanthasoma lindenii, I believe.
I try to keep mine dry in the dormant months also : )

Ed

sorry Xanthosoma

Ed
That might be the fabled evergreen caladium?? I've heard several of the Xanthos have been reclassified ?? gary

Thanks to all of you - I will keep it dry during the winter and see how it goes!

yes it very well may be Gary. It has green leaves and white veins

Ed