How to Care for Cala Lilies
Calla lilies are beautiful flowers. Although they are considered a weed in some countries, that doesn't automatically mean they will sprout anywhere, at any time, under any condition. They need care, and some special hints and tips will help you grow a garden of many beautiful, bountiful blooms. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Garden Planting
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1
Plant your calla lily bulb or seed where you want it to sprout. Make sure the soil is loose and well-drained. Although calla lilies require ample water to survive, you don't want them oversaturated. This will drown them. It is also a good idea to place them in direct sunlight or in partial shade (not continually shady areas). Planting them near a natural pond is also a good idea because it will provide constant water. Be sure not to plant so close to the pond as to drown your flowers.
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2
Plant the calla lily about 4 inches down into the soil for best results. Do so in the spring, after the threat of frost is gone. Lilies can survive the frost after they've blossomed, but it's important to start them off with as many advantages as you can afford them. If planting multiple bulbs, place them about a foot apart.
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3
Keep the ground moist through the growing season. Again, don't overwater them but make sure they have damp soil pretty continually. Once a day, or four or five times a week is generally a good rule to follow.
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4
Fertilize your garden about once a month through the growing season. Calla lilies enjoy and require ample nutrition. You can either mulch your lawn, creating compost to place in the garden, or you can buy various fertilizers that are soluble in water, and can be fed to the plants through watering.
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Keep an eye on your plants to ensure that they are not being overfed with the fertilizer. An indicative sign of this includes burnt leaf edges, which represent an excess of nitrogen. Also, the less sun the calla has available and receives, the more nutrients it requires, so keep a constant eye on your garden and fertilize as needed. It is acceptable to back off to a bi-monthly feeding if that is what your lilies demand.
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6
Split the bulbs yearly. Although lilies can be planted and grown from a seed, they are spread through bulbs. Under the ground, they spread their roots, creating more and more bulbs, which blossom into more and more lilies. To stop this, it is important to dig up the extra bulbs and throw them away (or give them away), and replant the original bulbs. This will ensure that the lilies don't spread too quickly, and you still have your original crop.
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7
Place the bulb in a dry place over winter. After the plants have finished blossoming and become dormant again in autumn, it is a good idea to split the bulbs. It is also advantageous to place the wanted bulbs in a warm place to dry them out for the winter. After a couple days of drying, they should be stored in peat moss and situated in a cool, dark, and dry area until spring.
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