tuber rot on Caladium
Quick answer
If your Caladium has tuber rot, the most likely cause is: Caladium tubers decay when the potting mix stays consistently wet, because the tuber tissue is highly susceptible to fungal and bacterial pathogens in saturated, oxygen-poor media; standing water and dense, compacted soil create the anaerobic conditions in which the tuber breaks down into a soft, mushy rot.
Start here:
- 1. Unpot the caladium and inspect the tuber, cutting away every soft, mushy section with a sterile blade until only firm, healthy flesh remains, and discard the rotted portions.
- 2. Repot the surviving tuber into fresh, free-draining compost in a pot with drainage holes, water only when the top layer of soil feels dry, and never let the pot sit in a saucer of standing water.
Why Caladium gets tuber rot
Caladium bicolor
Caladium tubers decay when the potting mix stays consistently wet, because the tuber tissue is highly susceptible to fungal and bacterial pathogens in saturated, oxygen-poor media; standing water and dense, compacted soil create the anaerobic conditions in which the tuber breaks down into a soft, mushy rot.
How to reverse tuber rot on Caladium
- 1
Unpot the caladium and inspect the tuber, cutting away every soft, mushy section with a sterile blade until only firm, healthy flesh remains, and discard the rotted portions.
- 2
Repot the surviving tuber into fresh, free-draining compost in a pot with drainage holes, water only when the top layer of soil feels dry, and never let the pot sit in a saucer of standing water.
Keep tuber rot off this Caladium
Plant caladium tubers in a free-draining compost, allow the soil to dry slightly between waterings, and use a pot with drainage holes so the tubers never sit in saturated soil for prolonged periods.