Calla Lilies
Hi ! I live in northern Wisconsin, I would like to plant calla lily in clay pots and start them in the house in a south window ( 1 bulb per pot) Then place them outside. I have never done this. Is it possible? How soon should I see growth and how soon should I place them outside? Thank so much !
You can start the rhizomes indoors in full sun. Plant them so that the tips is just below soil level, the rough nubby side up. They sould come up in a couple of weeks. Water and keep moist but not wet. Move outdoors when night temperatures are no lower than 50 degrees. The initial blooming time can be 8-14 wks depending on variety and growing conditions. White callas (Zantedeschia aethiopica) take 11-14 wks, cooler temps and need moist soil. Colored hybrid callas (Zantedeschia hybrids) can take 8 wks to bloom, warmer temps and less moisture.
Calla lilies are summer blooming plants hardy in zone 7-10. They will not tolerate frost, if outdoors so be sure to dig them up in the fall and store them slightly moist in a cool, dry place for the winter. Calla lilies are not hardy in Wisconsin.
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I purchased Callas Lillies, but they are doing poorly. After bringing them home, they wilted, and although I have green folage, I have no lillies. What “Lillies” that do grow, are the same color as the follage. I live in New York. Pots are well drained. Help.
Do I cut spent blooms from my calla lillies or let them dry on the plant. I want to encourage the best bloom next season. I live in Southern CA.
Thanks, Lee
Rotting bulbs
Every attempt I have made at growing calla lilies in our garden has resulted in foul smelling rotted bulbs. We live in the coastal south and they should do well here. I have tried different locations, amended the soil, and reduced watering but to no avail. What am I doing wrong? Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.
Fungal disease
I have calla lilies planted in a pot that gets great sun. I keep them moist and I will admit since there has been some rain in our area they have been really wet for only a couple of days. Even before we got the rain my leaves were turning yellow and the bottoms of the stalks really mushy. I would be able to pull them out of the pot with little effort and the ends were rotting and mushy. I have pics if you want to see. This is only happening in one pot. Can you tell me what is wrong? I have two pots and the other is producing great leaves and only 2 flowers. I got the flowers 2weeks ago and there are about 15 stalks left to bloom. Is this a fungus? is it a slug? Or could it be too wet? I can drill more holes in the pot. What about miracle grow? Is that a fertilizer? If not then what kind should I get and when should I use it? Thank you for your time.
I have had my Calla Lilies planted in ground for about a year now and have not experienced any problem until now. The leaves are turning yellow, some of the stems seem to be weak, and the strangest thing is that each flower is producing 2-3 short and fat yellow spikes. The flowers aren’t giving off any horrible smell – what could be the problem? Thanks for your input.
Calla Lilies. Should the “seed pods” that accumulate in the bloom be dried or can they be planted immediately ?
how to plant calla lilly seeds
My callas lily plant produces foliage, but for two years no blooms. I live in northern New Jersey and grow it indoors in a north window. This year it produced one bloom which started out white and then turned dark green with purple edges. The bloom and foliage grew too high and the bloom is drooped over. I cut it back every fall and let it rest. I have not repotted the plant since I received it (2 years). What can I do to encourage multiple new blooms and healthy growth? Why is my plant growing so high? Thank you so much.
I have read all the calla lilly Q’s & A’s and if fertilization is not the answer, I still don’t have it. My plants have been in the ground for approx. 3 years. The blossoms are prolific, but green, with seed pods too heavy for the stalks, thus droopy. I have babies coming up everywhere, but no beautiful color. Please give a specific answer for Shelbyville, TN growing zone (Middle TN), and preferable fertilizer to rejuvinate the splendid colors I miss so much! Thank you!
I live in south Florida and I just bought 3 yellow calla lillies in pots. What is the best care for them? Should I keep them in pots or plant them in the ground? What do you mean by “resting”? Do all of the leaves die and then all I have is a bare pot?
I purchased a Calla Lily plant in bloom 2 weeks ago. It is a deep colored smaller variety and was grown here in Florida. It has produced several more bloom spikes indoors. Some of the older ones seemed to be drooping. I only have low level light inside so decided to place it on my front porch where it would get 2 hours of early morning sun. All the flower spikes (new and old) tightened up almost like a pencil I can barely see any color at all. The new spikes have not formed color yet. I brought it back inside where it has been for 2 days but the stamens have not re-opened.
I’m baffled,
Maureen
I live in Georgia I purchased 3 potted Lavender Calla Lilies from
the wholesale green house in Atlanta this weekend. They are blooming and are very hardy, can I plant these in a planter in doors? If so what kind and where should I place them and how should I water and feed them? Also what should I expect after they quit blooming and what do I need to do and can I keep them in the house year round as a house plant?
I have just purchased some calla lily bulbs and need to know if I plant them in the ground this spring, do I need to dig them up in the fall. I live in Zone 7, in Southern DE.
Thanks!
My calla lily bulbs are sprouting and it’s still too cold to put them outside. I have too many for pots. What do I do?
My Calla Lily is sprouting new shoots but when the leaf sprouts it turns brown and dies off. What do I need to do? What I am doing wrong with this plant?
I live in Ct. # years ago purchased Calla Lillies for container. they bloomed that year. In the fall I removed them from the soil and stored as recomemded. The next year only 2-3 bloomed out of 15. The next year I repeated the proses and only 2-3 again bloomed. The bulbs look heathly enough. Question is what am I doing wrong for so few blooms. Thank you Amalia
I bought a potted Calla Lily plant at a local farmer’s market. I was told it would work in my no window, fluorescent light office… but 2 weeks later the leaves are turning yellow and oozing a clear chemical that smells like cleaning alcohol. There are two flowers on the plant that seem to be flourishing, but the smell is giving me a headache and leaving clear liquid on my desk. HELP! What am I doing wrong?
I live in southern California and have 6 large established calla lillies. They are in a semi shade location with good drainage. They’ve bloomed and while blooming began to flop over so that the entire plants are flat on the ground. My neighbor has a garden full of calla lillies that are standing tall but they are in a sunnier location. Could that be the problem?
Hi, My Mom just sent me 4 huge long bulbs from northern Michigan that she bought. One bulb has 3 major big bulbs – actaully looks like 3 big bulbs attached in one. They are supposed to be red leaf Calla Lillies. I have never planted nor divided them and I have no idea. I have read many differing things online – please help. How far down and how to separate and if to separate. Thank you.
Hi, I planted 2 calla lilies about 3 months ago. They were just beautiful and doing great. A couple of days ago I noticed they were falling over. I noticed the stems are spitting at the bottom. I found a slug on both of them at the bottom of the stems. I believe this is my problem but I do not know how to safely be rid of them or if the slugs are NOT the problem, what might be? Thanks for you help.
I bought a calla lily bulb & followed planting instructions as included. All I got was 2 green leaves! Once they turned brown & died, I left the pot to “rest” for many weeks & then re-potted in fresh soil. Again I now have large leaves with white spots, but no sign of flowers. Reading the above comments, I will get a balanced fertiliser, but in the meantime, would love to hear what else I can do. Or must not do! I live in a north-facing apartment, with lots of light, and the pot is a foot away from the window. Please help!
Thanks.
I have golden yellow calla lilies in a clay pot in full sun. They have started to bloom, with beautiful 15 inch stems and 4 inch flowers. I have 2 blooms on each flower. Does cutting the flowers effect the number of blooms on each plant?
I have a Calla Lily growing outside in a container. It has not flowered, but it has many green leaves. Today while watering I noticed some holes in the leaves and small black wormlike bugs on the leaves. Any ideas what they could be?
My callas have produced many blooms. Some have not opened and the stems fall over. I feed with fertilizer. Have some in morning sun and others in afternoon sun. All seem to bloom well, but some have the above problem. Some have a pod in them. Is this a seed pd from which more bulbs or cormers can grow? Also, how do I get rid of Japanese beetles?
Hi Kay
The pods on the callas are seed pod. See above comments for planting. Japanese beetles are becoming a real pest.
I purchased some calla lily bulbs and all bloomed beautifully. But after I cut the blooms from my pink plant the blooms and stems are coming up kind of flat, not round. One even has a bloom inside of a bloom. I feed them with miracle grow. I water accordingly. What can the problem be? Thanks.
My calla lilies were planted earlier this year got them from a nursery now that they have been in the ground many of the plants leaves are turning yellow and getting mushy is this normal before they need to go dormat? Should I try and pull them out to see if the bulb is all rotted or should I wait until all of the plants die off for the year?
I have a water garden. Early summer I bought a Water Calla. I followed the instructions and have had beautiful green leaves no flowers. Now as winter approaches I read that they can be easily wintered in house. However it doesn’t tell the process can you help? I live in RI. Thanks Frank
I live in north Alabama and have several colors of calla lilies in my garden. this is the fourth year they have been in the ground and they did not bloom very much so i was going to separate them. it is late Sept. when should i separate, how do i store them. also if i can do it now,can i replant them now (Sept) and them be ok for next year?
I bought a calla lily on mother’s day this year. It has done really well. I had it outside over the summer and now that it is cooler here in PA I brought it indoors. I have notices these little gnat type bug in the soil. What are they and What should I do about them? Help Me Please.
I have a bed of calla lilies that I want to clear out but they keep coming back. How do I get rid of them for good in that bed…they have taken over.
Storing calla lily
HI: I have several small Calla lily corms from past growing season. Should they be allowed to rest 8 to 12 weeks or may the be successfuly restarted after drying until hardend? It is now October in the Mid-West; hard freeze has come with a Last Frost Date of May 15th. Thank you for a very informative Web Site. R
Dividing callas
I live in northern Ohio and dig up my bulbs for the winter. I had great foilage this past summer, but few blooms. The bulbs are huge. I want to divide them, but don’t know how to proceed. What do I do?
I live in Ventura, CA (coastal SoCal). Our gardener sprayed our invasive calla lilies with Round-up (twice) last spring to kill them off before our yard was re-landscaped. Now they’re growing back, and in more places than ever! Round up is only killing the plants around the lilies–the lilies are doing fine. I really want the lilies gone! I think our gardener is frustrated, too…he’s avoiding us. Any suggestions–short of redoing the entire yard again?
I live in Ohio Zone 6 and I have just dug up my calla lilly bulbs. I have 2 bulbs which produced 1 purple and 1 pink flower. I am not sure how to seperate them or when. I have read this and you mention “eyes”. What exactly are those and what do they look like? I am new to gardening so I don’t really know the true terms. How would I store them? Right now, they are completely in tact in a box in my basement. I cut back the foliage although they still have a lot left. I have cleaned them up, removing the dirt. I don’t want to cut off the greens because I’m afraid to kill them. I don’t know how or where to cut. Thanks!
My potted Calla is now in its dormant stage- leaves browned & I cut off all foliage. Do I need to keep the pot moist thru this period? & for how long before it need to be re-started?
Thanks!
My parents live in Southern California and have calla lilies in several locations. All seem healthy, but one bed in the front of their house does not look right. The calla lily leaves in this bed are not growing upright, they are growing sort of knarled and twisted together like a bowl of spaghetti. Do you have any idea what might be causing this and what, if anything, can be done to correct it? Thanks so much!
I have had a plant my father used to grow for 35+ years. He said that it is a cally lily, but its foilage is rounder and a lighter green than the plants availiable today. It has bloomed infrequently but does look like the calla blooms today, only seems more fragile and soft. I put it outside in the summer and the stalks grow shorter and leaves larger. In winter the new stalks are long and spindly and leaves smaller. The blossom is white. The stalks and and leaves seem more translucent and fragile than those of today as well. Is this a varietal issue or due to care? My practice has been to water it at least weekly and to place it in a sunny window. I have not repotted it for about two years but it is in a fertilized growing medium. Any suggestions?
I have a calla lily growing in my home. It has small water like dropplet on the tips of the leaves, it has no odor to it though. I was wondering what might be causing this. I also have cats and have heard that it can harm them. Please help me should I move plant outside or keep it inside. I have flowers but they are not opening.
Storing calla for winter
When my calla goes into the dormant phase during the winter months (I live in Indiana) Should I take the “bulbs” out of the dirt and store them in the open air? Would you recommend leaving them in the dirt?
I took my Calla out of storage about a month ago & began watering once every week to 10days. It has sprouted about an inch above the soil & the pot is in a shaded spot with little light in my room, with temps max at 70F. A couple quesns I have are – should I have re-potted the bulb in fresh soil? Is it too late now to re-pot? Should the pot be moved to a brighter spot, near a window perhaps? It is still too cold out (-8C at nite) to place it on my north-facing balcony. Lastly, when should I begin to fertilise it & is Miracle Gro all-purpose fertiliser adequate?
Would appreciate your advice on all the above, as I am trying to re-grow the bulb I got 2yrs ago, that has yet to see a single flower!
I just purchased 4 calla lily plants from home depot. I really just wanted one, but bought more just incase a few might not make the transplant. I live in Seattle and things here aren’t axactly warm yet. They didn’t look fantastic when purchased and it has only been a few weeks since I purchased them. Two of them have leaves going yellow and the flowers seem to be going out. All of them have leaves that have that wrinkle affect going on. I know that a transplant can be fairly unpredictable as to how it will react, but I wanted to do everything that I can to encourage a good season and life span for my plants…any advice?
Can anyone give me advise on growing Calla Lilies? They are very beautiful flowers!
i have a potted calla lilly & want to put it in the ground i live in east tennessee is that warm enough to leave in the ground during winter if not what exact steps do i take to keep bulbs for next planting??i don’t have room to keep a entire plant inside especially if it’d dormant it would be an eyesore…………please help i really want to keep it….also if it already bloomed will more come back this year or any other foliage?
Hi,
I recently bought some Ruby Calla Lilies that I’m growing in a container in Southern California (near coast). It gets 4 hrs of direct early morning sun, and indirect midday sun. The flowers were a beautiful deep pink when I first got them, but now all the blooms are green and dark purple, and the stems are curving over so that the blooms aren’t upright. Also, the tips of many of the leaves and flowers are dried and brown. They were so pretty – how can I fix these problems? Thank you so much for your help!
In an area like Northern California where callas are winter hardy, when is the best time to plant? Thanks.
Hi,
My Callas have grown tall, almost 2ft & have large,beautiful spotted leaves. I have seen a lot of new leaves unfurling, but no flowers yet. The pot is indoors & I was wondering if I do move it outside to get some direct morning sun, how can I protect it from blustery winds? As mentioned before, I’ve had the plant for 2yrs now & it has never bloomed. I haven’t over-fertilised it at all, doing so sparingly once a month, tops. Would appreciate any advice on what additionally I need to do to get some blooms.
It sounds like it needs more sun to bloom.
Thanks!
I bought several Flame calla lilies this year from Lowe’s-they were beautifully blooming and beautiful white speckled leaves. Once I planted in the garden, the leaves have turned yellow and the bottom of the stems turn mushy – one leaf at a time. These are labelled blumpforming evergreen perennial, which I thought meant the leaves would stay green ‘evergreen’-year round. After reading so many of the answers above, is it possible they are dying or going dormant? If dying, I want to take Lowe’s up on their money-back guarantee. I asked at one nursery and they thought it looked like borers in the stalks, so I’ve been treating with borer medicine, but still no luck. Thanks.
I have the same problem at Karen. I purchased severl Calla lilies from Lowes.
In your answer to her above you stated that it could be some kind off bacterial/fungal disease. What would be helpful is if you told us how we can fix this problem.
With warm regards,
Annie
Hi
I bought my yellow calla lillie from Costco in At the beginning of May. It had many blooms and was thriving well. I planted it in the ground in full nice and water it daily. I am on the West Coast near Vancouver BC.
the blooms stopped opening around mid June and would go limp. The leaves are doing well still, no yellowing or turning brown as with the blooms. They’re just not opening. I just don’t understand what’s happening. Should I be cutting the blooms that are drooping and not opening?
Thanks
Calla hardiness
This is my first year that I have planted Calla Lillies. They have bloomed beautifully. Do I need to dig up the bulbs for winter or can they stay in the ground like my tulis?
I have had calla lillies growing in my garden for about 5 years now. I planted a variety of colors, but only the white survived. I live in Georgia with mostly clay soil and have never dug them up. They are very dense right now and I was wondering if I should dig them up this fall and divide. If so, can I add in some of the colored ones also to add variety or will they just not grow again? Once planted, I really have not done anything to them in the way of fertilizing, and they have done very well.
I live in Northern California coastal area. All my neighbors have beautiful calla lillies that grow year round and bloom throughout the summer. They don’t die back in the winter and they seem to spread and cover more ground every year. The callas I have planted die back every year and come up in the late spring, with a single bloom in the summer (if I’m lucky). Do you know what variety I should be buying or if there is something in the care and maintenance that I am missing?
I currently have them planted in full sun with moderate watering. In the past, I had them planted in partial sun with lots of water and they died off completely and never came up again.
My Mother received a potted calla lily in May of this year. I now have it and the green, thin, whispy leaves were all laying to one side of the plant It does have 4 burgandy colored blooms. I replanted it this August and and braced the leaves with a wire halo. I don’t know “zip” about this flower…can someone walk me through its total care? Help…
Sacramento,CA
I have a total of six calla’s with white spotted leaves and white flowers (not blooming now, just leaves)
1. They are growing in large clusters. I was wondering if they will eventually branch out to fill my flower bed or do I need to separate the bulbs and plant some elsewhere to fill in the gaps.
2. Three seem to be growing well (about 2-3ft tall = X) but two are very small (~six inches tall = *). Not sure why the two on either end of the flower bed are so small. Can someone tell me why? (I have two outdoor cats that may be using these parts of the garden as a littler box, but I’m not sure.)
layout of the calla’s in my garden:
* X X X *
Thanks!
I’m in San Francisco and just moved into a new place with a cluster of calla lilies growing in a shadier corner of the garden. They had long, weak stems and were lying sideways, on the ground. Half the stems were brown and dead (like the attached flowers), and the other half were still bright green – but many were split at the base, or slimy inside. I pulled out all the dead brown strands – and went ahead and cut off the flopped-over stems which were slimy inside.
What do you make of it? Some sort of rot? I am a gardening novice, so would love your advice as to next steps. (And was I too hasty in trimming off the flopped stems?) Do we need to dig up & rest the bulbs in San Francisco? Or are these bulbs likely rotted anyway? Shall I try to replant them in a sunnier part of the garden?
Thanks so much for your help.
I’m in Northern CA East Bay region and the calla bed is mostly sunny. They were doing great until recently, similar to Kimberly’s situation.
However, at the base of the split stems are tiny black “dots” of bugs. What are these bugs and how do I get rid of them?
I’m a beginner as well and need some help. Thank you in advance!
Soft slimy spot on tuber
I was recently given a large calla lily bulb. I finally got the chance to plant the bulb. During the planting process I noticed that one side of the bulb was white and slimy and I did see small worms around it. Is this normal? What can I do to get rid of that part?