Gaylord Palms Salutes Florida's Hometown Plant - The Caladium

Showcase Features 23,000 Colorful Caladiums

Kissimmee, Fla.—( July 30, 2008 ) As a salute to Florida's caladium crop, Gaylord Palms Hotel and Convention Center features a showcase of 23,000 caladium plants in nearly two dozen varieties, running through September 1.

The event, dubbed the Florida Caladium Showcase, is the world's largest indoor display of this popular Florida-grown plant. Caladiums can be seen in and around the 65-acre property, including the 4.5-acre glass-covered atrium, in varieties such as Moonlight, Blizzard, White Christmas and Fannie Munson.

"More than 99% of all of caladiums sold worldwide are grown right here in Florida," said Tim McColgan, chief engineer of aesthetics and horticulture. "As a Florida-themed hotel, we thought it was fitting to celebrate each year's caladium crop."

The brightly colored leafy caladium plants are known for their colorful foliage and continue to be popular landscape and container plants. Because of their popularity and versatility, caladiums are used throughout Florida to add seasonal color to plant beds. The caladium, with its many colorful varieties, has also enjoyed a recent surge in popularity nationally.

The hotel's caladium plants were grown locally by Bates Son's and Daughter's Caladiums in Lake Placid, Florida. Lake Placid is known as the "caladium capital" of the world, where a caladium festival is held every August to celebrate the year's crop.

The annual Florida Caladium Showcase began at Gaylord Palms Hotel in 2003. The event was scaled back in 2005 and 2006 after severe weather had threatened the Florida caladium crop. Last year's full-scale showcase signaled a banner year for the crop.

 

About Gaylord Palms

Gaylord Palms Hotel & Convention Center has gained the attention of the meeting and convention industry by providing world-class convention and leisure-focused amenities—all in one place. The award-winning Gaylord Palms is a Gaylord Hotels-branded property owned by Gaylord Entertainment (NYSE: GET), a leading hospitality and entertainment company based in Nashville, Tenn. For more information, visit www.gaylordpalms.com or www.gaylordentertainment.com.

 

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More about Caladiums

• Our caladium plants were grown locally by Bates Son's and Daughter's Caladiums in Lake Placid, Florida.
• Lake Placid is known as the "caladium capital" of the world, where 99% of all caladiums are grown.
• A caladium festival is held every August in Lake Placid to celebrate the year's crop.
• Caladiums were first grown in the Lake Placid area in the early 1940s. The industry began to expand in the 1950s and today consists of over 1,200 acres. This acreage is owned and managed by 14 families, some of which have been producing caladiums for over 40 years. Several of the families have the third generation in the business.
• Caladiums are increasingly popular as landscape plants as their use is becoming more widely known.
• Caladiums are a shade-loving plant from the rain forests of the Amazon basin. The plant has no pests and does not require any insecticide treatment or fertilization. The leaves are its feature, and they are odor free. Potted plants, as well as cut leaves, make beautiful arrangements and are long lasting with proper care.
• Caladiums are grown in large fields in Lake Placid, which, during the summer months, have been compared to the beautiful tulip fields of Holland.