Trying to grow Calla Lillies by the beach...

17 years ago

Hello to all,

I live a half-block from the beach in San Diego and have the typical compacted sandy soil. I have been trying to grow Calla Lillies for the past year and continue to have problems with the leaves turning yellow and wilting. Sometimes the entire plant dies back to the ground. They get sun most of the day and I water every other day for about 5 minutes with above ground sprinklers.

I have tried fertilizing and digging down around the plants so they get more water from the sprinklers. Sometimes that seems to work. I recently took some leaves to my local nursery and they told me I am overwatering and "drowning" the plants. I thought Calla's liked water...

Anyhow, I'm confused and not sure what to do. Do I need to amend my soil? If so, what should I use and how do I do that with the plants already in the ground? How often should I water them?

Any help would be much appreciated...thanks!

Comment (1)

xericgardening
17 years ago
Hi!
I may have an answer, and possibly a solution to your problem. Compacted soil is common in the southwestern U.S., and could be caused by a number of reasons. The usual culprit is calcium carbonate, which forms a hardpan and prevents water from percolating down into the soil.
What you have done, by digging a hole in the hardpan for your calla lilies, is create a bowl in which the water sits, and cannot drain. The calcium carbonate is preventing drainage from that hole, and thus, your callas really are getting too much water.
There are several solutions to your problem.
1. Dig down below the hardpan (or caliche as it's known in New Mexico). The hardpan may be a few inches thick or it may be a few meters thick. You won't know until you punch through it. If you've got the time (and the constitution), get yourself a pickaxe and start chipping away. If not, then hire someone to do it. Hopefully, it won't be very thick. The hole you punch doesn't have to be large. It just needs to be big enough to allow water to percolate down through the caliche and into the subsoil below.
2. Another method, which I prefer, and have used, is to build a raised bed with stones (or with timber or some other material.) Fill the bed with eight to 12 inches of good topsoil (you can buy a bag of topsoil for a few dollars at any gardening supply store). Mix in some compost (you can get some at the same place you buy the topsoil). Plant your callas in this mixture, and cover with mulch (again, same place). The mulch will help keep moisture in the soil, keep the soil at an even temperature, and prevent weeds.
3. Try planting them in containers.

Here is a link that might be useful: Desert Gardens