They live in full on sun here in southern Japan without any problems. It also gets hot, hot, hot here from late June to early September, so I'd say they're pretty heat resistant. In your zone they should be just fine overwintering outside. PF

I too, have planted some calla bulbs, some in the garden and some in containers. The web site I bought them from specified that one of them was to receive full sun and the others shade. Am I going to run into problems because I've pretty much plunked them down in the shade?

Thanks!

We grew callas successfully for 3 years outdoors-they did not come back this year- a friend in San Fran. sent us 3 offshoots yesterday- what should we do with them- they are very green- Thanks for advice.

Hope someone responds. I bought some tubers of X. aethiopica and was wondering if I should plant now or keep til spring. I had planned to just keep them and plant in spring. We are about ready for our first frost - should arrive in couple of weeks.

It is also my understanding that calla lilies are moisture lovers??? Our summers get very, very hot. I don't know about Japanese summers, but Oklahoma summers are hot and humid. Temps often get into the 100's +. West sun is too hot for most anything except my pine trees.

Susan

Jr,
Callas really are more temperate than tropical. Mine make faster growth in mild weather rather than the heat of the summer and are also less likely to rot. Mid-day shade is best in summer. With a lot of other stuff to deal with I let mine go dry and dormant in the summer. Last weekend I started potting some up so they will bloom at Christmas. I leave them outside on the patio until frost threatens then move them to the sunroom, probably not necessary in your location.That far south is is probably best to put them in the ground now so they will become established before the warm spring.

When I visited Leu Gardens in Tampa last spring they had a nice selection of Z. aethiopica cvs. flowering from a winter planting much the same way as I treat mine.

Letting them go dry and dormant for about 3 months every year (senescence) is important for vigor and flowering, especially for hybrids.

Keiko

I from Long Island-NY I planted some tubers 2 weeks ago in a pot I wonder if they would do best into the ground but I don't know if I have to lift them before the winter? I read judybobmv planted in the ground and they comeback for three years.........

I just recieved a potted calla lily as a gift from my boss and have no idea how to care for it. I love this flower and want it to live but have had bad experiance with plants in the past. How do I care for this wonderful flower? I am seeing some yellow leaves that look like they are dieing, do I trim them off or leave them? And how much do I water and how often? I know these calla lilies love sun light so I will be making sure it is outside through out the day and brought in during the night. Is there anything else I need to know? Please help me!

Hi I grow alot of cally lily like a couple of hundred. frist cally should be in shade at the hotest time of day evening sun or early morning sun only. Here in quebec I have to bring my cally in and store them which I like doing cause I like to see how much the bulbs has grown. Now the seed part. Let the flower die and then it will dip the inner tube that you see is the seed that will get bigger leave it on the plant as long as possible. Then when the plant goes yellow it time to cut the flower or seed at this time let it dry for a couple of months then plant the seed give it about 3 weeks to a month.it looks like grass coming up I have about 5 pots of seed planted it looks like a pretty house plant. Also you will have to do this for 3 year before you get flowers. For me it worth it i paid my cally 7 bucks each that why I grow them by seed. if you want to see pictures of the seed e mail me at vlorna49@videotron.ca Cally lily is one of my favorite flower if you need any more information just e mail me. I hope this help Anna lisa

Hybrid callas like full sun but cool roots.

Calla lilies in zone 8 FL are treated more like annual bulbs than anything else. They are basically spring flowers (like daffodils, etc) and are pretty much gone from the garden bed by May. IMO they are a complete waste of money here. It gets too hot. We have already had about 10 days with 90 degree heat in April.

Well, they grow them in the ground here in Oklahoma. There's a lady up North of OKC, who grows them year round in the ground - all different colors. They did a segment on Oklahoma gardening about her entire garden, including her calla lilies. I don't think she has a clue that they are aroids, or that they need to be kept dry during dormancy, or anything like that, but hers persist in coming back every year despite how they "should" be treated. Why some people just get lucky in their complete ignorance of a plant's particular cultivation needs is beyond me. If I knew it was supposed to be kept dry, and I just threw chance to the wind and watered it anyway, it would die. However, if I knew nothing about the plant and just watered it, and treated it like every other bulb or tuber in the garden, it would grow.

I think that plants like to play head games with me. They are very sneaky that way.
Susan

I have planted four cala lillies in my garden for the first time this year they are very beautiful howerver the blooms are starting to brown will they bloom again this season. The greenery on the plants looks great lots of new growth. I am just not sure what to do with the blooms do I cut them back or do I just let nature take its course. Any help appreciated just want to do the right thing
Stephensonb1

Deadhead - meaning cut off the dead blooms only. They may not be through blooming, and may bloom some more from the new growth. When the foliage starts to yellow and then brown, like most tubers or bulbs do, let it die naturally to feed the tuber for next year's growth. I can't tell where you are as to whether you can leave them in the ground or need to dig them up for winter.

Susan

Thankyou Susan that was a big help I had a feeling they needed to be deadheaded I just did not want to cut off something I wasn't supposed to. I live in Washington state so I will probally have to dig them up and winter them indoors I even put them in a little to early this season however they seem to be doing great and we covered them at night to protect from the cold anyway thankyou

If you're in the Seattle area, you're in zone 8a, which means you should be able to keep them in the ground, if you have excellent, excellent drainage. Calla lilies don't like wet feet when dormant, or they will rot.

Susan

hello, this is my first year for planting calla lilies. They have all come up and bloomed. How can I tell when the flower is spent? The first two blooms came about 4 weeks ago, and are now slightly blush-colored around the edges, but the rest of the flower is now green leaf color and stays closed up most of the day.

Also, I live in zone 8, Austin, TX--do I need to dig them up in winter? thanks all!

I have about 12 Calla lillies, which I have had in pots for about 3 year. They have done v well until this year,so what should I do with them now?

I dug some up for storage, but the bulbs rotted in storage. Some came back however in the ground. I have very mild winters, but we had a super wet March it rained ever day. However, they did not rot in the ground. This is confusing. They failed in containers, because I think they did not drain fast enough.

This is my first posting. I found this site by searching for help on Cala Lilies growth cycles. I planted Cala Lilies for the first time this year and have had three flowers... all of which have gone to seed. My question is if I let the seed dry over winter will I be able to just plant them in the spring along with the other Cala Lily bulbs that I have. Also, any suggestions on how to store the bulbs and seeds over winter would be very appreciated.

I have callas in full sun, morning sun and afternoon sun and they all do beautifully. I lifted my bulbs last fall and promptly forgot where I put them. Surprisingly quite a few that I missed returned this summer and are putting out loads of flowers. I'm still planning on lifting them in the fall again though. Hopefully I'll remember where they are come springtime. lol

I wanted to start some from seed inside this year. How do you know when the seeds are ripe? Do they change color or should I just gather them before the first frost? Should I plant them fresh or let them dry? I assume that you take off the pulp surrounding each seed. And last question, how long do they take to germinate and get large enough to produce flowers?
Karyn

I received my callas (purple-pink and green colored) as a gift and figured they died after I tried to grow them after a few months of dormancy. Then we moved and I carried them to the new garage...and I was surprised to see green poking out! I set them in a new larger pot and keep them fairly moist with morning until mid-day sun in an open entryway. The leaves are doing spectacularly, there are always more coming up. BUT...sadly no flowers. Do I need to fertilize them or do they need more sun to send out flowers??

Hopefully some folks with more answers read all of our questions!

Thanks...

My mother in-law gave my calla lillys' potted and they bloomed and more are on the way too. I was just wondering why are the bloomed ones turning green and closing.The bloomed about a month ago and some are still comeing. They bloomed white then turned pink now turning green and somewhat stiff. Yes there watered and fertilze properly. Someone help me i love Calla lillys.!

Jlfairful don't worry the flowers do that as they mature. There will be a bunch of seeds inside the bloom. It looks kind of like a little corn on the cob. You can cut them off if you don't want the energy to go into seed development or you can just leave them alone.
Karyn

I AM PLANNING TO USE CALL LILLIES FOR A WEDDING IN AUGUST OF 2007 IS THAT A GOOD IDEA ? WHEN ARE CALLAS GROWN AND WHEN CAN AND WHAT CLIMATES CAN THEY BE USED IN

My husband is a wholesale floral distributor and supplies calla lilies to the florists Jan through Dec, no problem. The prices vary depending on where they are grown. Dutch callas are much more expensive than the ones grown in Ecuador, California or Oregon.
Karyn

My calla lilies died and do they grow back or do i need to repot them in a bigger pot?

I just dug up my cally lily plants and bulbs from the pond area, for the winter. I had planned on replanting them for winter flowers indoors. After reading many of these threads, I have a few questions and I hope some kind soul will help me out, as I just joined Gardenweb, and need to learn the ropes:)
First, should I dry my bulbs and keep in a cool, dark place all winter or can I replant right now in a pot to continue growing?
Second, this summer, after the first month of blooming beautiful lilies, the only flowers we would get were green and filled with seeds. We never got anymore pretty white ones. Is there a specific amount of time to expect blooms, and then just a pretty green plant? Thanks for any help.

Hi,
I planted some calla lilies last spring. I live in zone 9a Lakeland, Central FL). I had them so they weren't directly under the tree. We have a huge oak, but where shade was cast and they could get some relief from blasting sun. Maybe get 2 hours a day of dappled, filtered sun, glinting through the tree branches, not full on sun.
My three Lavender Calla lily bulbs are now 12( I just took them out of the container to put in my new little calla lily garden bed( yes in December). We've been having temps in the 80's here.
My peach ones only made one baby and the Crystal blush two babies. My purple made a baby. I don't know why the lavender one procreated so rapidly.
Anyway, they do well here if they get half shade. and the sun is never driectly blasting straight on them.
Windy

What can I do with the seed pods?

I have a purple calla in a large pot on my deck, which faces north and east. I know that callas don't need tons of sun, which is why I bought it. And I know they like to stay watered. It looks completely healthy, except....

The flowers bow over. I was checking them out and discovered that instead of the usual yellow spike in the middle, there is a segmented green center that is fairly large that is weighing down the flowers. Am I doing something wrong? Or are they alien plants getting ready to invade the moment I fall asleep? I've never seen a lily with this type of center. People in previous comments mention seeds. Is that what these are?

Any help would be appreciated.

Hello!

I have white calla lillies that are in the ground and would like some help please.

We planted them in spring already flowered. Then we had a bad heat wave before summer hit and wiped them out.

Now, 5 months later, I am seeing some new growth (leaves only for now).

My questions are -
How much water do they need? I typically deep water twice a week with my topicals, are they alright with that?

Are they alright to leave in the ground here year around in Southern CA in my zone (8)?

Should I expect more blooms after the heat of summer?

Thanks for the help! - Terra

debinseattle- yes, your flowers are spent and starting to form seeds.
Firefightersflame, yes, twice a week should be enough. If you have a pond they can be planted at the edge, they like the "boggy" soil.
They may bloom again in late fall, and you can leave them in the soil year around. If you are in for a spell of freezing weather, you might want to mulch them up a bit to protect the bulbs.

honeybunny- thanks. we don't get much of the freezing temps here in So Cal where I am (inland). Last year was a freak of nature with the freezing temps. But I will keep it in mind if we get the same this coming winter. Thank you! =) I look forward to the return of the lillies cause I was only able to see them in bloom for about 2 weeks.

Before I declare a time for removal:
I've tried pulling up my Calla lily bulbs because no matter where they are in my yard they grow to a large size and then flop over. When I moved in 8 years ago they were dainty and lovely. What gives? Too much something? I have never been able to pull up enough of the bulb and they keep coming back, looking huge and ungainly. Any ideas? Thanks.

I'm in Houston and we've had one of the hotter, drier summers here and my calla lilies are holding up fine.

I had them in part shade. They came back every year but are not happy. Surprisingly they want a lot of sun, even down here in this heat. I moved them this spring into a sunnier area and they are doing much better.

I do find they want more water than my other bulbs.

I have 2 seed pods on my calla...when do I cut it off and what is the best way to cultivate them?

My husband bought me a potted calla lily February last year and to my surprize the blooms lasted almost to November! I thought that a plant that hardy I might like to see if we could grow some outside this year at our home in Young Harris, Georgia. We bought two more pots over at Home Depot of the hot pink callas and brought them home. We have them in the dining room with indirect sun for the moment. We have noticed something very odd happening to them each day. They will form drops of water on the tips of the leaves. We thought, at first, that we had gotten water on the plant when we watered, but we have been careful not to do this and the water dropets continue to form. We are puzzled greatly by this and wonder if we are doing something wrong or if this is normal. Imagine... a plant that cries!!!
If anyone knows what is going on we would like to know.
Thank you

Hi. Last year i received a potted calla lily, with beautiful dark purple flowers. I repotted them in to a slightly bigger pot and kept it facing a window with good amount of sunlight. After they became brown, i cut them off decreased the watering till the leaves died and put it in a dark room outside our house over winter. When i was about to plant them this year they had sent up tiny shoots, 2 actually. Now there are no less than 20 shoots, 2 lil tiny ones excluded. Of them 5 are full sized each with a leaf. All this in a 5inch diameter pot. What can i do to make sure i have lovely pot full of Calla lilies? I dont have a garden. I have them indoors near a window where they get lots od sunlight. I live in zone 5b. Help!!

Please help. I purchased my home last March and it has well established White Cali Lilies that bloomed like crazy last year and are doing the same this year. They seem to require little care other than keeping the snails off them and I cut them down at the end of the season. I found Yellow, Purlple, Pink and various other ones at HomeDepot and Lowes so I purchased about 8 off them in various size containers (quart and gallon). Each one I have planted are very sickly after transplanting. The leaves first turn yellow and then the blooms start going bad. I was hoping not to just have white ones but a multitude of colors but they don't seem to do well. I have one purple one still in the original one gallon pot that in doing good and I am afraid to transplant it. I feel I have wasted a lot of money on these. Please help.

I have been trying to grow Calla Lilies for about a month now and they are growing really healthy, but this morning my dog accidentally got out of his crate and bit off the growing leaves. I don't think he ingested them because I saw all the leaves on the ground and he still looks alright (well, no vomiting or stomach upset).
I am just wondering if my callas will grow their leaves back and still be healthy plants and eventually bloom. I am hoping someone will enlighten me on this.
Thank you in advance.

Well, I'm going against the grain here, but I just adore calla lilies and bought them several times through the years, usually planting them in part shade here in Oklahoma, because that's what they are SUPPOSED to like. It seemed like they didn't do well. Often, if they came back one year, they never would the next. (Working full time and also having a HUGE yard, I simply don't have time to dig up anything other than my elephant ears in fall!).

So, a few years ago, I noticed that I had two sets of callas coming back, year after year, in my FRONT planter....a terraced hill on the west side of my house, in full sun! What the heck! So I planted a couple more, and then last year, I bought several on a clearance for $1 each, and planted all on the west side in full sun.....and they are doing great! Go figure!

Now, I am sure people will have all sorts of reasons I shouldn't do this, but I live in bermuda-grass city, where weed cloth is TOTALLY worthless, and it's hot and dry! My flowerbeds are unusual in that I, through trial and LOTS of error, now do the following when establishing a bed: I till the soil and amend it, then lay down pvc watering pipe with tiny holes in the 10 or 2 o'clock position, then lay 6 mil black plastic on top, then cottonseed hulls, river rock, or light colored cedar/landscape chips completely covering the plastic, and then cut holes through the plastic and dig my planting holes. As time goes on, I simply cut more and more plastic away around the growing plants, enlarging the holes, interspersing perennials and annuals as desired.

I know people will say this will never work, but it's the ONLY way I've been able to keep the Bermuda and weeds out, keep the moisture in, irrigate with this doggone hard well water, and maintain quite extensive landscaping. I wouldn't claim to be a fantastic gardener by any means, but over time, as my beds have filled in, it's not looking too bad! This is one wormy place now, can't dig up anywhere inside a flower bed without hitting several good juicy ones, which supposedly indicates healthy soil? I don't know, but the plants grow and bloom! Sometimes the annuals surprise me, like this year, where we had such a mild Winter that a BUNCH of stuff came right back, even though I thought it was supposed to die in the cold!

I don't know, I just know that gardening was WAY more work and prone to many more failures before my system evolved into the current one, and if something I'm doing allows the calla lilies to come back year after year, and the flowers bloom well, shoot, that's good enough for me!

Now, if someone has a suggestion for getting rid of those nasty armadillos that just LOVE to tear up my beds.....I'm wondering if pans of beer full of dead grubbs might make them drunk enough that I can chase them down....maybe if I ALSO drank beer, I'd have the guts to club them to death.....or at least grab them by their fat round bellies and toss them in a van to go live down by the river!