Growing Calla Lilies

Calla Lily

Planting calla lilies in a garden helps provide an abundant source of fresh cut flowers. Calla lilies come in assorted colors from white, yellow, pink, purple and burgundy. They originated from South Africa and their long stems with trumpet-like flowers, as well as long vase life, make them ideal for flower arrangement. Furthermore, calla lilies can provide you with abundant blooms until late summer when all the other flowers from other plants start to fade away.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Call lily tubers Spade Shovel Trowel Potting mix Compost Fertilizer Water Mulch Pots

1. Find a location in your yard that does not get too much afternoon sun. A location next to a tall tree or close to a shaded pond is an ideal place to plant calla lilies.

2. Prepare the soil by tilling and removing debris. Add compost with your potting mixture to provide additional nutrients.

3. Choose soil that drains well but can keep enough moisture. Calla lilies thrive better in moist soil. Mix the soil with peat moss or water crystals, which can release water to keep the soil moist during hot summer days.

4. Dig 4 to 6 inches holes in the soil about 1 to 2 feet apart. If planting in pots you can space them between 6 to 12 inches apart.

5. Place the calla lily tuber or rhizome in each hole. Make sure that the "eye" of the tuber is pointing upwards.

6. Cover with soil and then water.

7. Add mulch to keep the top of the soil moist and to prevent weeds from growing. Choose barks or straw hays, which are great to keep moisture from evaporating too fast.

8. Apply fertilizer once a month.

9. Water once very two days or daily during hot summer days.

10. Remove weeds as soon as they appear. Weeds can compete with water, which is a main source of moisture needed by calla lilies to thrive.

Tips & Warnings

• Do not leave calla lilies outdoors if you are in zones that suffer from frosts. Calla lilies are frost-sensitive. In these areas, you are better off removing the tubers and placing them in a cool dry place indoors then re-plant when the weather gets warmer outside. Maintain the temperature at 50 to 60 degrees F. In zones 8 and 9, they can survive outdoors if you put thicker mulch on top for protection.