Heart to Heart® 'Hot 2 Trot' Sun and Shade Caladium Caladium hortulanum

6.5” POT 

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Exposure

• Sun or Shade

Flower Season

• Spring
• Summer

Mature Size

Height: 15" - 20"

Spread: 10" - 14"

Plant is not sold online. 

• DETAILS

  FEATURES

  Caladium 'Hot 2 Trot' features leaves that are a strong deep red with green border. It has broad leaves and very deep red foliage. Hot 2 Trot has a mounding habit, making it good for hanging baskets and landscape borders.  It is sun tolerant and was awarded Best in Show in the 2020 Penn State Flower Trials. Caladiums are also generally considered to be houseplants where they prefer bright light or a sunny window.

  Caladiums can be an irritant if ingested. The ASPCA has more information on which plants may be harmful.

  Award Winner

  Adaptable As Houseplant

  Foliage Interest

  Heat Tolerant

  Deadheading Not Necessary

  Resists: 

  Deer

  CHARACTERISTICS

  Plant Type: 

  Annual

  Height Category: 

  Medium

  Garden Height: 

  15 - 20 Inches38cm - 51cm

  Spacing: 

  10 - 14 Inches 25cm - 36cm

  Spread: 

  10 - 14 Inches 25cm - 36cm

  Foliage Colors: 

  Green

  Red

  Foliage Shade: 

  Green Border with Red Center

  Habit: 

  Mounded

  Container Role: 

  Filler

  PLANT NEEDS

  Light Requirement: 

  Sun or Shade

  The optimum amount of sun or shade each plant needs to thrive: Full Sun (6+ hours), Part Sun (4-6 hours), Full Shade (up to 4 hours).

  Maintenance Category: 

  Easy

  Bloom Time: 

  Grown for Foliage

  Hardiness Zones: 

  10a, 10b, 11a, 11b

  Water Category: 

  Average

  Uses: 

  Border Plant

  Container

  Landscape

  Mass Planting

  Uses Notes: 

  Great in landscapes and containers and will grow well in sunny and shady locations. They work well in the middle of borders, are great as fillers in combination and wonderful planted alone in hanging baskets and patio planters.

  They can also be grown indoors as a houseplant in bright light or a sunny window. Caladium foliage also makes a wonderful component in cut flower arrangements.

  Maintenance Notes: 

  Caladiums can be an irritant if ingested. The ASPCA has more information on which plants may be harmful.

  Indoors:

  Caladiums can be a very nice windowsill or sunroom plant and for much of the United States and certainly in Canada this might be the best use for the Caladiums. Since they are tropical they need to have warmth and humidity, try to always keep the temperatures above 65 F for best growth and leaf size, and a pebble tray or frequent misting can help to keep humidity up around your plants. If you live in a northern climate, be careful not to plant too early in spring as temperatures below 50F will chill and stunt plants, normal indoor temperatures should be fine and winter heaters usually dry things out a bit too much. So this can be a good guide for when to grow these Caladiums, when you turn the heater off for the summer.

  Plant tubers pointed end facing upwards, so the tuber is about 2” below the soil level, the roots form on the top of the tuber , so you need to plant them deep enough that roots have room to grow, but not too deep because it delays new leaves and weakens the plant. If your plants are already growing in pots when you purchase them, plant them about ½” deeper when you transplant them to make sure the tubers have room to keep growing.

  Caladiums do not need a lot of fertilizer, about ¼ of what most folks feed their flowering annuals, and too much fertilizer can burn the leaves especially the white portions of the leaf. So just fertilize with ¼ the strength what you normally do for your flowers and apply weekly or every other week.

  Keep plants in a sunny to partly sunny location and avoid burning hot southern exposures especially at higher altitudes.

  Keep soil in your pots moist at all times, wilting will cause leaves to yellow and drop, so just check to make they do not dry out!

  Outdoors:

  Since Caladiums prefer heat and humidity and do not tolerate cold, soggy soils, for most gardeners who live in the north will have best results in containers, as the soil in pots or planters warms up faster and has better drainage so plants will not become soggy. Remember for best growth always keep the temperatures above 65 F.

  A ¼ - ½ strength fertilizing every week or every other week is fine throughout the season, too strong a fertilizer can burn leaves, and since the leaves last all season you want to keep them looking fresh. Caladiums like to be moist at all times so avoid allowing them to dry out as it also causes leaves to yellow and drop.

  Where the Caladiums will do best depends a lot on your location within the US, since sunlight intensity varies depending on where you live here’s a quick reference to help guide to help you succeed.

  Region	When to Plant	Sun or Shade	Containers or in the garden
  NW & NE United States & Canada	Early summer	Full sun - light shade.	Caladiums do best in containers in this part of the country and usually need to be in a protected warm location for best results. Like a sunroom or warm patio setting. If growing outdoors select the warmest protected locations in the garden.
  SW United States	Spring	shade to light shade only	Containers may be easiest but a shady, cool garden spot can also be lovely. Watch your watering to keep the plants from drying out.
  Midwest	Late Spring	Light shade	Containers are likely best, but a late spring planting into a protected shade flower bed will also be fine.
  SE United States	Spring	Shade to sun	Both containers and garden plantings work fine, in the deep south Caladiums may even come back the following year if kept dry over the winter.

  Heart to Heart^® 'Hot 2 Trot' Caladium hortulanum 'RUF 1522-3' USPP 33,615

  PICTURES AND INFORMATION COPIED FROM PROVEN WINNERS