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Lake Placid, and
surrounding Highlands County is blessed with
natural beauty, rich soil and energetic and
creatively talented people. We expanded our
popular Caladium Festival to include other
interesting and significant aspects of our
economy, heritage and culture. Please make
plans to join us!
Caladium
History
Caladiums were first grown in the
Lake Placid area in the early 1940's. The
industry began to expand in the 1950's and
today consists of over 1200 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. Much of the popularity is
due to the bright color of the leaves, the
versatility of the plant, and its simple
growing requirements. They 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.
The caladiums are grown
in large fields which have been compared to
the tulip fields in Holland for their beauty
during the summer months. Many
visitors have stated that the drive by the
fields is worth the trip to Lake Placid. The
patchwork of color of over 40 varieties of
red, white, and pink, and all combinations
of the colors is truly a handiwork of art.
Learn how the Caladium Festival began....
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