Calla Lily Guide: How To Plant and Care For Calla Lilies

Calla lilies (Zantedeschia), also known as arum lilies, are trumpet-shaped flowers native to South Africa. Their distinctive shape can make them stand out in garden beds; calla lilies also make for great indoor houseplants and cut flowers for vases. Calla lilies, despite their name, are not true lilies.

Calla lily flowers can be white or a variety of rich, bright colors. These chalice-shaped flowers (spathe) surround a yellow stalk (spadix), and are relatively easy to grow. Unlike true lilies that grow from lily bulbs, calla lilies grow from rhizomes (tubers). Rhizomes may look like just hardened pieces of dirt, but these brownish clusters will eventually sprout and grow into the show-stopping flowers we know as calla lilies.

There are several types of calla lilies, including:

1. 1. ‘Picasso’: The ‘Picasso’ calla lily has bicolor flowers that are white with deep violet centers, as well as green foliage with white spots. With full sun or partial shade, these calla lilies can reach up to 24 inches in height and bloom from mid-summer until frost season.
2. 2. ‘Red Alert’: The ‘Red Alert’ has bright red cones, as well as orange flecks in and around its orange spadix. It blooms in early summer, and while it can thrive under full sun, it prefers shady and sheltered afternoons. It needs moisture, so don’t hold back on watering frequently.
3. 3. ‘Odessa’: The ‘Odessa’ has blooms that are so dark purple that they almost look black. And the foliage has white specks of color against the green leaves. They work well for small spaces—as long as it gets full sun to half sun/half shade in equal amounts.
4. 4. ‘Captain Reno’: ‘Captain Reno’ has deep burgundy flowers, bespeckled foliage, and long stems. These flowers do well both inside and outside, as long as they get full sun for at least part of the day. Their bloom time is midsummer until frost season.
5. 5. ‘Mango’: The ‘Mango’ calla lily is an apricot-colored flower with tubular blooms and lush green foliage. These calla lilies are easy to grow and prefer full sun in the earlier part of the day, then half sun to half shade as the day goes on.

Whether you want to grow calla lilies indoors or outdoors, you should start with rhizomes.

• Choose your rhizomes: Calla lilies grow from rhizomes, which look like clusters of dirt. In reality, they’re the lifeline of calla lilies, so choose ones that are firm and plump. Also, consider the size. The bigger the rhizomes, the bigger the plant and its blossoms will eventually be.
• Pick the location: Whether you’re planting your calla lilies outside or indoors, choose a place where the flowers will get full or partial sun. If you live where it’s exceptionally hot in the summer, calla lilies can use some shade. If you’re planting them inside, make sure there’s a place in your home where your potted calla lilies can get four to six hours of sun a day.
• Use the right soil: Calla lilies love moist soil that’s also organically rich and well-draining. It’s important that calla lilies—both indoors and outdoors—are constantly moist to the touch, but not exactly wet. Too much water will lead to root rot. Their love of moisture makes them a great option if you live near ponds, streams, or other marshy areas.
• Plant your rhizomes in the spring: No matter if you’re planting in an indoor pot or an outdoor flower bed, you want to make sure your rhizomes are in the ground in the early spring, ideally a month before the last frost, when the soil is at least 65°F. Plant the calla rhizomes at least 4 inches deep and about 12 inches apart to give the roots room to establish.
• Keep things moist: Once the rhizomes are in the ground or in a planter’s pot, they should be covered in soil, watered extensively, then covered in mulch to keep the moisture locked into the soil.
• Timing: It takes about two weeks or more before the first evidence of calla lilies appears. Depending on the cultivar of calla lily, the time it takes to see the first blossoms varies by region, temperature, sunlight, and moisture. Calla lilies are usually summer flowers, but that doesn’t mean they won’t blossom in late spring or early summer depending on the climate.
• Fertilizer: In addition to consistent watering during the growing season, also feed calla lilies liquid fertilizer every two weeks until the flowers have wilted.
• Preparing for next season: After the flowers have wilted at the end of their season, remove their stems so they can get ready to bloom next year. Since most calla lilies are winter hardy, if you live in hardiness zones eight to 10, you can leave the rhizomes in the ground during the winter. If you live in colder zones, it’s a good idea to dig them up and keep them inside throughout the winter in a dry place with a comfortable temperature that doesn’t get below 50°F. Then you can replant them in the early spring once again.

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