Ciscoe Morris gives gardening tips for growing your own calla lillies.
If you want spectacular color and tropical looking foliage, give calla lilies a try.
These gorgeous plants from Africa are extraordinarily beautiful. They look great growing in garden beds or in pots. There are two basic kinds of calla lilies and each need different care.
Zantedeschia aethiopica is known as the common calla. It's the one with the white flowers. It can reach 4 ft tall with unspotted leaves to 1.5 ft long and 10 in wide. In spring and early summer it puts out 8 in long white flowers. This practically indestructible plant can go to 20 below zero and can handle practically any kind of soil. They like a moist spot that isn't in baking sunshine. They love morning sun or light shade. Make sure where you like where you plant this calla, because once it's established, it's practically impossible to ever remove it. They can easily be divided in fall. These are evergreen plants, and the bulbs can not be stored dry over winter.
The other callas are famous for their colorful flowers and spotted leaves. They require well drained soil and a sunny location. They can be planted in garden beds or used as center pieces in container gardens. The blooms start in spring, and usually last for about 4 to 6 weeks. Some of the colorful ones are hardier than others, but the only way to find out if they'll survive the winter is to leave them in the ground. If you try leaving some out, after you remove the foliage after it dies back, cover the roots with a thick layer of evergreen fern fronds. These plants don't like being wet in winter, and fern fronds repel water as well as providing insulation, so you have a better chance of seeing them next spring. One colorful calla that has come back for me for several years in 'Gold Flame'. I've had less luck with most of the other ones. If you want to keep them alive for a long time, dig them after they die back in fall, and keep them in a pot in an unheated garage in a dark location, and bring them back out for replanting after Mother's Day in spring.
Here's the pot design I planted on New Day this morning:
- Center piece: Royal Pumpkin Calla Lily - Yellow flower with red blush
- Fillers: Euphorbia 'Black Bird' - Dark red foliage, chartreuse flowers, Tuberous Begonia with red or orange flowers, and 'Songbird' Coleus with reddish black ruffled foliage with hints of red.
- Spiller: Lobelia 'Royal Blue Waterfall' with navy blue flowers.
Make sure to wear your sunglasses when you look at this blindingly beautiful combination!
Gardening with Ciscoe airs Saturdays at 1:30pm on KONG and Sundays at 11:30am on NWCN.
