I haven't grown caladiums, but I am growing elephant ears (colocasia) and alocasia, which are close relatives. I grow them in large wooden tubs in the summer. They are in an area that is fairly shady most of the day. I have found that they want much more water than any of the many other plants I've grown in decades. I have to water every other day even though the surface of the soil is still moist. Otherwise they wilt dramatically. I added extra peat and composted manure to my standard 5-1-1 this year, and the plants are thriving. I think your caladiums need more water, not less. They may also need larger pots. I can see roots near the surface of the soil in my 20-gallon pot on a plant that was nothing but a tuber two months ago.

In photobucket, click on share above the picture, then get link code, then click on HTML full size to highlight it, RIGHT click on HTML, left click on copy. You now have your photo ready to post. Go back to Hosta forum, type your message, hit return once or twice, then RIGHT click, click on paste and your photo will be there. Hit preview to see it before you hit submit. I resize my photos in photobucket to large or to fit a 15 inch screen before I post my photos. Practice a couple of times, we would love to see your photos.

Hey there, Massachusetts hosta lover! Desperation falls is a great screen name! I switch things out all the time....when they are growing, that is. I think "dappled shade" is a good thing, and of course that is what I give them here in zone 9a. Even direct sunlight of three hours morning light would be adequate, but after reading in the brand new Zilis Field Guide To Hostas that up north 3 hours sunlight is enough, I'm impressed how hardy/sturdy these hosta really are. I'm a real newcomer to hosta growing, fell for them when I was up in MA and brought them south with me. With your long years of experience growing hosta, you should have no problem balancing their needs to your conditions. I love those gold hosta myself. One question though: WHICH golds are you considering for this swap? Maybe try a Dick Ward in one of the pots. It has a green margin, really rugose midleaf of gold, and it is a super strong hosta. It comes from Zounds, a great rugose gold itself. Do you have either one of those already? Then you know how they are strong hosta. Also if you have King Tut, that is one worth trying too. You do not want a gold that burns in the sun, and King Tut is recommended by Zilis in his new book, Field Guide To Hosta. A fragrant gold that I got last year is Tortilla Chip. It looks really nice. Guess which one in this picture is Tortilla Chip? Have fun. I'm primarily a container gardener of hosta, but my zone is way different than yours.

I saw those, DonR, but didn't want stakes with the little "drip" going down. I wanted a very nice clean look. I love how anodized aluminum looks and keeps its looks. Sure, I wish mine were a bit longer, but if I stick them into the soil about 2", they are anchored pretty well and still stick up enough to identify their plant.