I've read several pages about digging out plants that have died back naturally, cleaning off the tubers/bulbs, drying out, & wrapping in paper then letting them stay in a cool and dark place for winter.

I live in zone 7a, the plant is in a large planter with caladiums. I HATE killing things off. Is it necessary to dig out the bulb, cut off the still green living leaves and let it dry out?

Can I let the plant die off naturally indoors with less light and attempt to do less watering? Then after the last leaves wither, cut them back, dig out the tuber, let dry, then store?

TIA
Sharon

I live in Florida, and some of my ALocasias naturally go dormant even in the presence of sufficient warmth when the day length decreases in fall and into winter. I just leave them in the pots, do not water them more than once a month (they are dormant...they won;t use the water) and set the pots in a corner until spring. Then the plants just grow back.

Sharon, if you live where your pot will freeze outside, you can bring it in as you described. If you have a basement, that is usually an ideal spot for saving winter-dormant plants. When I lived in OH, I brought these kinds of things in just after the first frosts caused them to go dormant. You can move the entire pot, if possible.

If you live in zone 7 or lower, your pot will freeze outside. You can find your garden zone here:
https://garden.org/nga/zipzone...

If you would like to add your zone info to your profile, it will be next to your name in your posts so people won't have to ask. Gardening is all about location, so that is why this site has the zone facility to make it easier for gardeners to compare notes in regard to location.

Some things can be stored totally dry, but I'm not sure Caladium is one of them. If kept in the pot, you could add a little water if it does dry completely, but probably won't unless your basement is unusually dry or warm.

If you have any other plants you would like to consider saving over winter, I (and others who stop by this discussion) would be happy to compare notes if they are a plant I (or they) have tried. Although I live in AL now, I have collected toooo many plants that can't stay alive outside even during the mild season that is called winter around here.

I am also interested in overwintering alocasias in pots this winter.

I am in zone 8b. I bought an imperial red alocasia mid season and a regal shield late in the season. My long term plan is to plant them in the ground each spring and dig them up late fall early winter. I am under the impression they should not be left in the ground in zone 8b.

Since I bought them mid and late season, I didn't want to plant mid and late summer, just to dig up again in the fall. Also, I was hoping they might put out pups if I overwintered them as houseplants and then I would have more to plant in the spring. So I have moved them into the house.

While growth has definitely slowed since the days have gotten shorter, I am hoping they will not go dormant over the winter as houseplants. My imperial red has a very slow growing pup that is putting out it's second leaf. The regal shield has 2 spadex(?). I have already gifted one of the pups of that plant.

I move my Regal Shield into my greenhouse every winter and it has never even blinked or thought about dormancy. Some of my others, different story