Wave petunias will develop huge root systems. A wave petunia would fill a 15" pot all on its own. They also need full sun, whereas caladiums need mostly shade. If you put the petunias in an area that's less than full sun you won't get many flowers. Caladiums will fry in full sun. Impatiens would be a better choice of what to plant with caladiums, since they're also shade lovers.

Caladiums grow from bulbs. If you're wanting to get more than one plant from it, I would dump it out and find out if there's more than one bulb in the pot. If so, you can plant each bulb separately. If not, I wouldn't try to split the bulb.

To give you an idea of spacing, in an 18" pot I've put 2 impatiens and 2 caladiums, and ended up with a very full pot. The caladiums will last until frost. You can lift the bulbs and store them over winter and use them again next year.

Deanna

Deanna....this combo is so strange, I know. But I'm experimenting. My zone 7 is soooo scorching in full sun (very near the beach). My petunias NEVER survive. Don't care what I buy or how much I spend or where I plant them. And I DO have a 'green thumb' so it's not me (ha ha ha).

With the caladiums, I thought full shade as you said. But these were at Kmart along with two other kinds. One type red/green, one green/white, and then I found these tucked in the back -- a more fushia than red outer edge/then pink & green veins. Originally I'd picked up the red/green ones and saw SHADE on the tag. But on the three-tone one with veins (that I chose) was different, saying part sun/part shade.

I should explain, this is a an old Kmart (before SUPER K), closed their out back garden shop last year, so this year they just stuck their 'overflow' of plants on the side, no protection from the sun and I was shocked.

So I asked the guy watering how long they'd been out there. He said they'd been there a long time, that people know the garden shop is closed. So I asked specifically, "They didn't just come off the truck this week or within a couple weeks?" and he said NO. He was sure of that. Now, I may be unlucky and the kid didn't know WTF he was talking about and they DID, but......that being said, I thought I'd take a gamble.

I was also going to use Lemon Balm and a small pot of Marjoram, which I also noticed didn't like the hot, full sun while sitting around waiting for me to do something with him. So it's going to be a hodge-podge of plants that aren't supposed to work well together but I just thought I'd try.

And I don't mean to balk at your information. I believe everything you say and appreciate it all. Just that I'm going to experiment.

And I DO TRULY thank you for explaining Calidiums are from bulb because looking at the way it's coming out of the pot (and the reason I spent $7 on it) -- I was going to just chop it in half like you do daylilies. OOPS. What a mistake THAT would have been. I might not even mess with dividing now that I've decided to only make one pot.

BTW, in your 18" pot....how big of pots were the Caladiums prior to planting?

Made an info mistake - the one I bought has green outer edges (not red) then pink inside with RED veins (not green), called "Carolyn Wharton." Just some more FYI, that's all.

I'm not a Caladium person per se, but I do know one or two things about them that I'll pass along. One is that for some reason if they were planted in a container they like to stay in a container. A gardening guru told me that and I've found it to be true. The ones I bought this year already growing in a pot I only marginally increased pot size by one (from 6 inch to 8 inch). Apparently they don't mind being a little root bound and they don't spread outwards. The other thing I know about Caladiums is that if they ever get dry and droop they may go into dormancy and no amount of watering will pull them back out of it. So keep them well watered.........And as to Petunias, I've had the same experience as you. However I bought a variety this year called Supertuna "Bubblegum Pink" that the Athens plant trial rated a 5 (out of 5) for staying power. Mine is still going great guns despite a hotter then normal mid May/June. However the little green catapillars that always seem to ruin Callibracoas and Petunias alike haven't shown up yet. That's usually in July and normally that's about the latest I can grow them as I won't spray (too hot!). Just a thought about Petunia varieties for next year if you chance upon the Bubblegum ones....Good luck....Maryl

Maryl - sure do wish I'd read your post PRIOR to planting it. I JUST got done !!! And I did 'rip it' in half, worried it would overtake the planter. Didn't see any bulbs as was mentioned previously, only a thick root system. Rootbound in fact. But I'd have rather used the whole plant for the visual effect. Oh well, at least now I have TWO plants, huh?? Guess I'll try the other half somewhere in my raised bed and see how that goes. Trial and error, right.

And tks for the reminder about watering. I tend to overlook this one pot (I make one up every year for my steps) but most plants snap back. So I'll bear that in mind, for sure, and keep on top of it !!!

With the petunias...glad to know it's not just me with problems. I haven't yet checked out the 'Supertuna 'Bubblegum Pink' online, but will soon. Mine are your typical bright pink Waves, but I've never tried them in pots that aren't in direct sun, so we'll see. Thanks for the tip about the new ones. I may end up having to buy them to replace these later on in the season, ya know??