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20 comments to Potted Calla lily care

• Ruth M

  April 30th, 2009 at 7:05 am · Reply

  I HAVE A CALLA lILLY THAT IS DOING VERY GOOD and is in a small pot. I received this Mother’s Day and looks as good as when I got it but was wondering if I should divide it into other pots. It is still blooming. I feed it and keep it moist.

  If you must transplant it to a larger container, do it very carefully without disturbing the roots. I would not recommend dividing it at this time. Wait till it is done blooming and the leaves die back – then you can divide. Leave well enough alone. Enjoy your plant, they usually don’t bloom that long.

• Shannon

  April 30th, 2009 at 7:11 am · Reply

  I received a lovely potted calla lily for valentines day and there a few large flowers, and several little ones coming up. the large ones are drooping now (are they spent) and some (only a small portion) of the leaves are good one day and then completely drooped and falling off the next, all of them from near where the plant comes up out of the soil and these specifically look a little damaged, i gave my plant a little more water and put it in more sun this morning was that right? should i remove the dying leaves and cut out the large drooping flowers???

  Hi Shannon
  Calla lilies like bright indirect light and cool temperatures(60-75) to continue blooming. Watch the watering. Allow the plant to dry out slightly between watering and then water thoroughly letting the water drain out from the bottom. If it came in a foil cover, remove it to drain out the water. If it sits in water or has been overwatered, it can develop a fungal disease or root rot which will kill the plant. You can remove the dying leaves and spent flowers.

• admin

  April 30th, 2009 at 7:17 am · Reply

  Bacterial soft rot
  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?

  Hi Jesse
  It may be a soft rot caused by a bacteria (Erwinia carotovora) a major disease of calla lilies. The rotting bulbs give off a foul odor and cause the stems to turn soft near the soil line. The plant look stunted with yellow foliage and eventually wilts and dies. If you dig up the bulbs, they will be soft and mushy. The bacteria likes hot temperatures and lots of moisture to thrive.

• jackie baraniak

  May 17th, 2009 at 10:07 am · Reply

  I recv’d a gorgeous mini calla lily plant for Easter The flowers are dying, but the foliage is going strong. Should I invest in a larger pot to preserve the foliage, or would the leaves last long enough to buy a decorative container? Someone PLEASE
  advise me

  The mini calla lily usually goes dormant so you may want to enjoy the foliage until it dies back.

• Shanamayra

  May 31st, 2009 at 5:52 am · Reply

  I received a potted Calla Lily for Mothers Day and it was blooming. I placed the plant in my bedroom which has a west facing window and the window is always open. Now the plant is drooping and loosing all of the flowers and greens. I keep the soil moist and let the water drain, my room does not get direct sunlight so it is shaded. What am I doing wrong.

  It needs bright light and cooler temps for continued bloom.

• Cathy

  May 31st, 2009 at 5:39 pm · Reply

  Hi, I have a mini calla lilly plant which stopped blooming. Now there are green bulbs inside some of the leaves. Is this the plants way of reproducing? What are they and what should I do? Thanks

  Hi Cathy
  Yes, your plant is producing a seed pod. When the seed pod matures, it should turn yellow and become soft and mushy. This can take several months. They are usually ready in the fall. If you pick it before it matures the seeds will not be viable. You can remove the seeds by pinching or squishing each berry between your fingers which can hold 1-5 sticky seeds. At this point you can either plant the seeds in moistened potting soil or store them in the refrigerator until you are ready to plant. Another way is to let the whole “seed pod” dry until it turns a orange, gold or light green color. Clean off the fleshy coating and take out the seeds. Store the seeds in a cool, dry place (frig) until you are ready to plant.
  More info.

• Julie

  June 7th, 2009 at 7:19 pm · Reply

  I have a Calla Lilly I recently purchased and it has a leaf turning yellow. Shhould I remove it along with the stem. I have moved the plant to a filtered south window.

  Hi Julie
  Yes, you can remove the yellowed leaf. Cut it off with the part of the stem.

• Julie

  June 8th, 2009 at 7:54 pm · Reply

  Thanks a lot. Before I had read everything on this site I planted the Calla Lily in a different pot. It was root bound and I had always been told to cut back some of the roots. Will I have harmed my plant. I did not cut the roots back much.

  Hi Julie
  Cutting back the roots should be fine when you’re repotting. It will give the plant more room to grow. Keep the plant in a shaded spot for a few days and then move it to you regular spot.

• Heather

  June 15th, 2009 at 7:38 am · Reply

  I received a potted Calla Lilly for Mother’s Day. I recently repotted into larger container indoors. The plant has done fine but in the last two days i”m noticing clear liquid( with no odor) dripping from the ends of the leaves. Is something going wrong?

  Hi Heather
  The liquid dripping may be moisture that is transpiring from the leaves.

• Jennifer

  June 16th, 2009 at 8:42 am · Reply

  Hi, i just repotted a calla lily and i was wondering what kind of light it needs and how often i should water it? Thank you

  See the article above.

• Julie

  June 16th, 2009 at 5:27 pm · Reply

  My Calla Lilly keeps having the stems fall over. What do I do? It is putting up new stems in a different place.

  Not much you can do at this time. Some stems will fall over merely because they are older or in response to a stressful condition. Keep the plant moist-not wet. in a semi-shaded area.

• Miriam

  June 17th, 2009 at 12:14 pm · Reply

  Hi, I purchased a Calla Lilly that was beautiful. However, i put it outdoors in a bright shaded area and i noticed that it started to wilt by the end of stem? I then bought it inside and it didn’t do any better? It’s in a pot with drainage and i keep it moist? What am i doing wrong?
  Thx, Florida

  Not sure what is happening. Are the base of the stems (at the soil line) soft? You may be keeping it too moist. Zantedeschia hybrida, colored calla lilies need well drained soil but not wet soil like Z. aetheopica (large white callas). Warm, soggy soil will cause rot. Warmer temperatures and lower light will cause the stems to elongate and flop over. Colored calla lilies need bright light and cooler night temperatures for best growth. They have a bloom period of up to 8 weeks and then go dormant.

• Julie

  June 18th, 2009 at 7:05 pm · Reply

  I have to tie the stems up on my Calla Lily so they will not fall down. Is the plant dying?I still have new Green coming up in the dirt. Never had this kind of problem with a plant.Is the Calla Lily a hard plant to grow? Could something have been wrong with it when I bought it. I have it in a North window now. It was in a south window. It does not look like the plant I bought.

  Hi Julie
  I am presuming that you have a colored calla lily. What sometimes happens is that they generally have a bloom period of 6-8 weeks and then go dormant, which may be happening to your plant. Once its done blooming, it will produce less leaves and the older ones will start to turn yellow. Barring disease, this will signal that it is going dormant. It rarely continues to grow all season. The large white callas Z. aethiopica can bloom all season as long as conditions are right.
  I think they are difficult to grow because people get the two types confused and don’t realize that they have different cultural requirements. The most important is watering. Colored callas do not tolerate soggy wet soil and therefore are prone to fungal disease.

• Orlando

  June 23rd, 2009 at 8:03 pm · Reply

  I live in Palm Springs and as most know, it can get over 100 degrees here in the desert. I have my calla lily outside, but in the shade. I water it every few days to keep it moist. Ive noticed its starting to turn brown and droop a little. Is that due to the heat or the watering? I read that it needs sun, the sun burns it too quickly.
  Please help me.

  Calla lilies need cooler temps (70’s) to grow well. Most likely its the heat.

• dawn

  June 30th, 2009 at 11:37 am · Reply

  My husband bought me a small potted calla lilly from m&s i put it into a border south faceing and i now have a beautifull garden plant that everyone comments about .I feed it phrostrogen weekly and it looka fantastic . My daughter wants some , when is the best time to cut, and how, .Dawn.

  Hi Dawn
  I’m not sure what you’re asking. When is the best time to cut the flowers? or tubers.

• Sandy Martin

  July 5th, 2009 at 10:11 am · Reply

  My calla lily blooms are bent over. Does it need more sun. it is on the east side of my home. Also , I have noted a pod growing in the center of the flower. How do I get it to bloom more for this summer?. I am in Cincinnati, Ohio

  HI Sandy
  Warmer temperatures and lower light will cause the stems to elongate and bend over. Colored calla lilies need bright light and cooler night temperatures for best growth. The pod in the center of the flower is a seed pod. If you don’t want seeds remove it for it takes a lot of the plants energy and can reduce flowering. For continued bloom, feed your calla lilies a balanced fertilizer every two weeks.

• Erin

  July 6th, 2009 at 7:31 pm · Reply

  all of the blooms on my calla lily started shriveling up and dieing and i paniced but now i think they are just need to be clipped since it also put out three new leaves so do i wait for the blooms to become yellow and dead since they have fallen over but the bloom itself is fine and so is the plant?

  Hi Erin
  You can pick the flower whenever you want. The flowers can fall over in warmer temperatures. I would then pick them and put them in a vase to enjoy indoors.

• epicXmedic14

  July 26th, 2009 at 11:41 pm · Reply

  so, i bought a black calla lily earlier this summer. its been slowly dying since i bought it, and now theres only 1 leaf left. i dont think the location is the problem. help!

  It may be going dormant and that’s why its not producing any more leaves.

• Raven

  August 6th, 2009 at 11:40 am · Reply

  Hi, I was given a calla lilly bulb kit as a gift, I planted it in the pot that was given to me and it has grown beautifuly. The white flower came out for about two weeks and now it is green… the leafs are still growing big and beautiful but its been about a week now and the flower is still green. Nothing is coming from the plant I have an aqua globe in it so its never over watered. Did I kill it some how? How can I get my beautiful white lilly back?

• martha

  October 15th, 2009 at 11:21 am · Reply

  *Storing calla tubers
  When a calla lily goes dormant what care does it need? Mine was pinkish – would you call this colored? Thank you.

  Hi Martha
  When the plant stops blooming and the leaves start to yellow and die back, reduce watering and let the soil dry. Clip off all brown foliage and store the tuber in soil in a cool (42-45F) spot for a resting period of 2-3 months and as long as 8-10 months. This period is important for tuber renewal. Calla tubers can also be stored in paper bag or cardboard box in slightly moistened peat, perlite or vermiculite. In late winter/spring, replant the tuber in pots of fresh, loose soil. Your pinkish calla is a colored calla that blooms in summer and then goes dormant in the fall.

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