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New Plants for Florida: Tropical Foliage1
Jake Henny2Click here to view the print version.
Most foliage plants are produced in shaded greenhouses and sold as potted plants for interior decoration. Caladium differs from other tropical foliage plants as it is produced in open fields and can be used both in the landscape and as a potted plant. Foliage plants are bred for their attractive foliage and/or flowers. Currently, more than 500 species are grown as foliage plants. The wholesale value of foliage plants in the U.S. rose from $29 million in 1969 to $585 million in 2001. Florida now leads the U.S. in the production of foliage plants, accounting for more than 55 percent of the national wholesale value. Foliage breeding began in 1976 at FAES with Jake Henny and Gary Wilfret focusing on members of the family Araceae (referred to as aroids) and Caladium, respectively.
Aroids
Twenty Araceae varieties, including Aglaonema (6), Anthurium (4) and Dieffenbachia (10) have been released by plant breeder Jake Henny. Aglaonema and Dieffenbachia are in the top 10 genera in wholesale value in Florida, while Anthurium's production acerage and value are increasing rapidly.Several of these varieties have become important to the commercial foliage market. Anthurium Southern Blush, one of the first potted-plant Anthuriums, was grown worldwide. Anthurium Red Hot has been the most popular variety in Florida for the past 5 years. Dieffenbachia Triumph, the first foliage variety, was released in 1986 and is still being propagated. Aglaonema Silver Bay and Golden Bay are very popular interior plants. Their success and acceptance by the industry led to the creation of the Bay series of Aglaonema, to which we have added Emerald Bay (2001) and Diamond Bay (2001).
For more information about aroid varieties, see the following EDIS publications:
ENH843 Chilling Injury in Tropical Foliage Plants: II. Aglaonema
ENH880 Cultural Guidelines for Commercial Production of Interiorscape Dieffenbachia
Caladium
Caladium is a tropical foliage plant that is asexually propagated from tubers. Most of the world's caladium tubers are produced in Highlands County in Central Florida on the muck and sandy soils around Lake Placid and Sebring. Their wholesale value is approximately $15 million annually and they are produced on nearly 1,500 acres.Until FAES initiated a caladium breeding program in 1976 under the direction of Gary Wilfret, the industry had been without new caladium introductions since the 1950s. The purpose of the caladium breeding program was to develop new varieties emphasizing bright, colorful leaves, multiple leaf development, and large, good quality tubers. Since 2002, Zhanao Deng, in cooperation with Brent Harbaugh, has continued the caladium breeding program to develop varieties better adapted for container production, with resistance to Fusarium tuber rot and Pythium root rot.
The variety Florida Sweetheart has been most widely accepted by the industry. Its unique pink color, leaf shape, compact habit, and vigor have resulted in acceptance by both the caladium tuber-producing industry and the greenhouse and nursery industries. The estimated acreage of Florida Sweetheart in 2002 was approximately 25 acres, representing about 15 percent of the dwarf/lance varieties grown. The fancy-leaved varieties from the FAES breeding program are grown on approximately 50 acres, representing about 3 to 4 percent of the caladiums grown in Florida.
Circular 469 Caladiums for Florida
Circular 1060 Caladiums as Potted and Landscape Plants
Tables
Table 1. Tropical foliage plant varieties.
Plant
Variety
Date of Release
Aglaonema Stripes 1988
Flamingo, Silver Bay 1992
Golden Bay 1999
Emerald Bay, Diamond Bay 2001
Anthurium Southern Blush 1987
Red Hot 1995
Show Biz 1999
Orange Hot 2001
Dieffenbachia Triumph, Victory 1986
Tropic Star 1987
Starry Nights 1988
Star White 1992
Sparkles, Star Bright 1994
Sterling, GoldRush, Tropic Honey 2001
Table 2. Caladium varieties released by FAES.
Variety
Date of Release
Florida Sunrise, Florida Cardinal, Florida Roselight 1988
Florida Elise, Florida Sweetheart, Florida Fantasy 1990
Florida Calypso 1998
Florida Ruffles, Florida Irish Lace 2000
Florida Whitewater, Florida White Ruffles, Florida Blizzard 2001
Florida Moonlight 2002
Footnotes
1. This document is part of Circular 1440, a publication of the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station, the Agronomy Department and IFAS Communication Services, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Publication date August 2003. Originally published as a booklet by IFAS Communication Services June 2003. Visit the EDIS Web Site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.2. Jake Henny, Professor, Environmental Horticulture Department, Mid-Florida REC--Apopka. Circular 1440 is edited by Richard L. Jones, Mary L. Duryea, and Berry J. Treat, Florida Agricultural Experiment Station. Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611.
Florida Agricultural Experiment Station, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Richard L. Jones, Dean for Research, publishes this information to further programs and related activities, available to all persons regardless of race, color, age, sex, disability or national origin. Information about alternate formats is available from IFAS Communication Services, University of Florida, PO Box 110810, Gainesville, FL 32611-0810.
The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Larry Arrington, Dean.
Copyright Information
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