Is Caladium deer resistant?
Caladium sp.
Occasionally damaged
Browsed where deer pressure is high. Protect it.
Rating source: Rutgers NJAES E271
Toxic to cats and dogs if eaten
About Caladium
Grown entirely for the patterned leaves, and one of very few things that gives strong colour in deep shade. Tubers must be lifted before frost and stored dry and warm, not cold, which is where most people lose them. Calcium oxalate makes every part an irritant.
Soil and care
- Soil pH
- 5.5 to 6.5
- Drainage
- Consistently moist
- Water
- High
- Spacing
- 12 to 18 in apart
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Maintenance
- Moderate
Similar to Caladium
Other bulbs with the same deer rating.
Protecting Caladium
Whether this survives comes down to local pressure, so it is worth knowing the options before it gets browsed rather than after.
- How tall a deer fence needs to beEight feet, and six is the most common expensive mistake in deer fencing.
- Repellent that actually worksThe egg-based recipe that reproduces the active ingredient in the commercial sprays that win university trials.
- Check it is actually deerDeer tear and leave a ragged stub. A clean 45-degree cut is rabbits, and slug holes get blamed on deer constantly.
Where Caladium grows
Hardy across most of these 14 states on zone range alone. Mountain and coastal areas sit outside the ranges used here, so check your own zone before ordering.
Browse from here
Every list Caladium belongs to.
Hardy in these zones
Common questions about Caladium
- Is Caladium deer resistant?
- Caladium (Caladium sp.) is rated Occasionally Severely Damaged on the Rutgers NJAES four-tier scale. Browsed where deer pressure is high. Protect it.
- What hardiness zones does Caladium grow in?
- Caladium is hardy in USDA zones 9 to 11. Outside that range it will either not survive winter or will struggle with summer heat. That is the range across the genus, so a named species or cultivar may be narrower.
- Does Caladium grow in shade?
- Yes. Caladium tolerates full shade to part shade, which makes it one of the options for a shaded bed where deer also browse.
- Is Caladium toxic to dogs or cats?
- Yes. The ASPCA lists Caladium as toxic to dogs, cats, and horses. Site it away from where animals graze, or choose something else if you have a dog that chews.