PlantFiles: Arum Lily, Calla Lily, Large White Aethiopica
Zantedeschia aethiopica

I love callas but I'm new to growing them. I bought 2 large callas in a pot from Lowes, repotted one and left the other in its original container. Neither bloomed after the original flowering, but the foliage has been beautiful for most of the summer, until they were infested by spider mites even though I kept them well watered. Any advice is appreciated.

POSTED IN SEPTEMBER 2008: I love Calla Lilies. I got a bunch of bulbs cheaply from Buggy Crazy. They were small to start, and I had initially intended to grow them permanently indoors, but the leaves kept falling over because the petioles would get so long -- 3-4 feet long from not getting enough sun through my house's scanty windows. So, I moved them this summer out into a kiddie wading pool on the mostly sunny deck of my backyard swimming pool, and they did great. Their leaves and stems got much more compact over time; they put up many more leaves (rather than one new leaf at a time as they did in the house); and they bloomed two or three blooms each (a good showing for bulbs that are still probably pretty young and small). We've had such a mild fall so far that I haven't started getting them ready to go dormant, and I can't decide what to do. According to what I've read, they can be kept going continuously without a period of dormancy because they're the actual species, not hybrids that are much touchier and need a dry dormancy period. And in fact, I've had them for at least two years and they didn't go dormant indoors at all in that time. But I don't want to bring them indoors this winter and have their stems get long and weak again. I'm also not sure I want to water them all winter (since I have 8 or 10 pots of them altogether, and they really do need pretty boggy conditions). I may leave half of them on my sun porch and see if they go dormant or stay green and growing all winter. The other half I'll dry out and let go dormant until spring.

UPDATE: IN SEPTEMBER 2009 My Calla Lilies stayed green on my sun porch all winter and bloomed beautifully in the spring. In the heat of summer, they died back a bit, but now that it's beginning to cool for fall, they're putting out lots of new growth again. The pots that I tried to dry out also stayed green all winter (and didn't go dormant), but they also bloomed in the spring and seem no different from the ones I kept watered. So, my experience is that the species does not need the same kind of dry rest period as hybrid Callas, and they don't even seem to go into dormancy when dry.

Was here when we moved in, still here, receives absolutely zero care from me. Once in a while frost nips the emerging tips, but it soon grows out of those scars.

It's nestled up against an east wall and enjoys part sun and plenty of moisture from an often-drippy hose spigot.

Contributes wonderful, lush bold tropicalesque foliage that's almost even better than the blooms.

I have had this plant a number of times in my small yard, here in Western Washington with varying degrees of success. My daughter planted one in a very shady area of the yard and it was doing fairly well, but I decided to move it in to my white garden where it received nearly full sun. It really took off. For about three years, I had this huge beautiful plant constantly putting out flowers. Then suddenly, after one winter it did not come back strongly. I probed the ground where the clump of culms were and found many of them mushy. I don't know if it was cold enough to freeze them that winter (I suspect this is the most logical reason) or if a disease got in to it.

I just left it alone and even though I've had a few leaves, it hasn't ever returned to its former glory. I am going to dig it up this year to see how the rhizomes look and clean out any mushy ones, to see what that does.

It does like to be moist and in my sandy soil, that has been challenging in the middle of summer. But, I also suspect it doesn't want wet feet all the time, which could cause rot (which in our rainy climate could also be the culprit in the demise of my huge planting).

I don't know why plant files says full sun because my only flower in almost complete shade. Full sun will fry these guys in climate.

They do spread fast but not in the sun. I don't think they are problem to keep up with. Late fall just dig up the ones you don't want and give them away or throw them out. Simple as that.

I have this plant in white and pink, my white are blooming right now in my greenhousee. I only water once a week, no problems with bugs yet.

I bought a small 1 gallon plant from Lowes late last winter and this beauty has already given me two blooms in 5 months, one right after the other. This plant survivs hail damage fairly well and enjoys the drenching it receives from the hefty Texas spring storms. Currently it's in a large container on a balcony with lots of indirect sunlight and a watering every other day.

The white variety is hardier, and will survive better than the colored types. They also seem to bounce back better from cold and damage.

The blooms can be cut in their prime and will generally survive in a vase for an extended period of time if you cut the stem a little more each day to prevent it from callousing over.

This plant took me a long time to flower. I finally got the amount of moisture down right and it gave me 2 blooms. It is still shooting out leaves, so I keep watering it, hoping maybe it will pop out one more flower. I love these. I keep mine moist almost all the time, and water it from below out of a dish, instead of pouring water onto it. It seems to like that. It is in full sun.

Even those these are listed as a full sun plant, they seem to do a bit better in part or dappled sun in my garden. They've been dependably hardy for me for several years, and have continued to multiply at a fairly good rate.

I do not know if the variety I have is this one but I purchased the bulb about 5 years ago and it bloomed every other year in partial sun/shade, then I moved it 2 years ago and it now gets late hot afternoon sun, is planted under an older cedar tree with dry, sandy soil and it has performed beautifully for 2 seasons, about 2/1/2 to 3" tall and will take what I ever I give it.
BATESBURG-LEESVILLE, SC

The calla lillies corm that I have came from France and were field grown . I grow them inside of the house at this point but this year I am going to do an experiment due of the fact that they are constantly producing new corms. I will plant 2 inside of a raised bed that has a south west exposure and that is relatively well protected from the elements in the winter. Also I will plant one close to my carolina jasmine and wait and see what happens. I have been able to grow crinum lillies for several years outside in a raised bed at my house in Cambridge on the Maryland eastern shore. Keeping in mind the the region that I got them from in France I dont see any reasons why they should not be able to grow in the Washington D.C. area with some protection . This again will be an experiment on my part. They will be planted outside as soon as the last frost date is passed. I will keep people informed with the progress .

My Calla Lilies has gotten a fungus that has been troublesome to get rid of. I dug them up and moved them to a pot for treatment. They were doing well until the rainy season began. I only water them once a week.

We had to find an emergency location for the callas, so I popped it into one of our wine tub fountains. A year later, it is doing extremely well and has tripled in size!

My Callas have taken a year or so to get established, during which time they did not bloom. I am now getting blooms on a regular basis. The plants are on the north side of my house where they receive about an hour of direct sun. I usually hose them down about once a day. In our sandy soil of NE Florida, they have the opportunity to drain quickly, even with a good covering of mulch around the roots.

The tip I found here on adding coffee grounds is greatly appreciated! I just picked up two large bags of used coffee grounds from a local Starbuck's Coffee last night and will use some of the coffee grounds around the Callas.

I bought a lot of the smaller Callas on sale last season. They bloomed more easily than this larger Calla, but few have returned after the winter temps of 28 F on a few nights. From the notes here, it could also be that these smaller callas get too much water and may rot easily in our humid climate with frequent rains.

My callas are planted on the east side of my house and have thrived in dry to moderately moist soil. They get direct sun about 1/2 day. I pay very little attention to them except for pulling off the dead and dying leaves and flowers. They are thick and luxurious.

I have had this plant for fifteen years in the same place. It has not spread for reproduce from seed. It gets morning/noon sun and partial shade and is a welcome addition to my flower bed.Creamy white flowers are lightly fragrant and make great cut flowers.

I had read that these were cold hardy to Zone 8. I bought 2 and planted one in a flowerbed under oak and crepe myrtle trees on the east side of my yard where it receives some morning sun and afternoon shade. I mulched it heavily in late fall. The other one I kept in my greenhouse. We had several freezes and the one in the ground suffered some leaf burn on only a few leaves. I posted a photo of it to show the winter damage. It is doing great now. The one in the greenhouse grew tall and not as full because it was not receiving enough light. I am thrilled that it survives our winters here.

Update: 2/23/09 The plants continue to do have done very well. I had to dig one clump up because the city electrical company butchered the oaks under which the clump was growing so most of the shade was gone. The one clump that is still in a container has been left out of my greenhouse for the past 2 winters and is situated under a tree and next to my house. It has no freeze damage at all.

was northside of house under japanese maple, has hardly spread in 6yrs, flowers dramatically and last nearly a month. Entire plant dies back most of Jul and Aug. Moved to new home and their now on east facing fence and doing great.

This is a very invasive weed of wetlands in Australia. It is hard to get rid of so better not to grow it even in cities as its seeds can get into storm drains etc. and be spread from there. (It reminds me too much of funerals too)

I enjoy Callas, which grow prolifically in Northern CA. An interesting thing to try with your cut flowers, is to put some food coloring in the water, and watch the edges of the flower turn colors. Very interesting effect.

Mine get regular water but are not kept moist all the time. They grow in nearly full shade. I have a thriving patch that grows at the base of a black walnut tree... many plants will not grow in the dripline of this tree but they don't seem to mind. These plants are quite luxurious and bloom profusely every year. They spread freely but in my yard that is not an issue as the beds are confined.

North of Boston, I dig the "bulbs" up after the first frost, wash them clean, place them in paper bags with excelsior or sawdust, and hang them from the pipes in a cool basement until two or three weeks after the last frost in the spring.

They grow well on the north side of the house, in heavy clayey dirt, with regular (but not excessive) watering. They multiply each year, but are not invasive.

Only problem is that Japanese beetles like to hide in the flower - not nice to see, but they don't eat much.

This plant blooms all year for me in Orange County California. The area where they are planted is kept moist by using a drip hose, otherwise they would probably go dormant during the dry season. Other than keeping it moist and throwing fertilizer at it once in a while, this plant doesn’t require much attention.

I have these bulbs in a tall (3') urn against a wall facing south/southeast. Originally the bulbs were dug from my garden in No Cal and I had noticed that the best specimens grew under a trio of redwood trees that held a water tank which frequently overflowed. Using that observation, I have fed my potted bulbs with coffee grounds, nearly every morning for many years (at this point I don't think there's any actual soil left). Including the 3' container, the top of the plant is nearly 8' tall. It hasn't had one illness (while all plants surrounding it have all had various ailments at one point or another). Summary: Morning sun, acidic soil, boggy conditions = happy healthy plant.

Love callas but the note about constant watering does not apply when plant is dormant. The bulbs, particularly the smaller colored dwarf callas, will rot quickly. The big common white callas are tougher and more vigorous. Here in coastal Nor.Calif. I've had to move the dwarves to a drier, quick-draining bed, although the big white callas will grow even in clay. They flower well in lt. shade/early morning sun works best.

This plant can be grown in pots sunk in a pond, or can be grown in ordinary gardens. Bulbs quickly multiply.

Can be successfully overwintered outdoors in colder regions (zones 6-8) if properly mulched.

Ripe seeds on some hybrids turn red, giving a second season of interest. They stay in the pod until separated or harvested. Seeds can be started indoors or outdoors, in a suitable climate. Flowering occurs second year after germination.

This is a very invasive plant in warm climates.

If saving seed, protect your hands from fruit which can cause numbness.

Leafspot may be troublesome, along with snails, slugs, and viruses spread by sucking insects