On Gardening: Heart to Heart Chinook named 'Caladium of the Year'

Norman Winter, Tribune News Service on May 21, 2026

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The Garden Guy surfed the web and stumbled across a photo you most likely have never seen. It featured three Proven Winners National Plants of the Year in a wonderful combination. The flowers were the Safari Dusk Jamesbrittenia or South African phlox, which is the "Annual of the Year." The combo also featured Supertunia Hoopla Vivid Orchid (the "Petunia of the Year") and Heart to Heart Chinook (the "Caladium of the Year.")

The combo spoke volumes about the color possibilities when paired with Heart to Heart Chinook caladiums. One ideal aspect for your landscape is that Chinook can thrive in the shade or sun. It is hard for some gardeners to believe that caladiums can grow in the sun, but it is indeed true. Note that as you try out the different locations in the landscape, you will see a variety of colors and intensities depending on sunlight and length of exposure.

The tag on the Heart to Heart Chinook describes the colors as pink, orange, salmon and green. The green comes from the margins, opening its own door to artsy combos. A couple of years ago I was captivated by a combination of Heart to Heart Chinook with Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Lime ornamental sweet potato and Superbena Peachy Keen verbena.

I just finished planting 30 Heart to Heart Chinook caladium bulbs that should give a mass planting type look. It is along a winding shallow creek-like area that is actually a natural drainage from a slope. I call it the River of Caladiums, mimicking my friend Stan Gray’s picturesque River of Iris at The Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens in Savannah. His River of Iris takes work and is magnificent, while my River of Caladiums is tiny in comparison and easy.

If you have never planted caladium bulbs, or if it has been a few years since your last endeavor, two things have happened to make your task oh so easy. The first thing is the development of the Twist ‘n Plant auger that attaches to a cordless drill.

Proven Winners recommends planting Heart to Heart caladiums about 2 inches deep. With the auger, digging is rapid fire in this case. Using an 8-to 12-inch spacing, it will take no time to get the bed planted.

But the second new modification to the caladium bulb planting process involves deciding what goes down or in this case up. I kid you not, there have been many frustrating moments as bulbs were rotated in gardeners’ hands trying to make this decision. The Heart to Heart, caladium bulbs have been painted white on the side that goes up. When you see the white paint looking at you from the hole, you have achieved the "green thumb."

Caladiums are easy to grow from a maintenance standpoint. Give your caladiums fertile well-drained soil with consistent moisture. Boggy soil, droughty soil or too much fertilizer are issues most often seen. Heart to Heart Chinook is a strap-leaf type that becomes a showstopping display whether in raised beds or containers. Chinook is the "Caladium of the Year" but there are 30 more varieties to choose from.

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(Norman Winter, horticulturist, garden speaker and author of “Tough-as-Nails Flowers for the South” and “Captivating Combinations: Color and Style in the Garden.” Follow him on Facebook @NormanWinterTheGardenGuy.)

(NOTE TO EDITORS: Norman Winter receives complimentary plants to review from the companies he covers.)