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calla lily

London, United Kingdom

I have several calla type lilys i bought as bulbs/tubers rather later than the norm for this year, however, i established them in trays till plenty of root ect then put them out in pots, really just to get the tubers nice and strong, i expected no flowers this year but they are now in full bloom, beautiful majestic reds and flame oranges, the Arran lillies i planted at the same time are as i expected, plenty of leaf but no flower. my question is, are these colour variety more prone to the winter than the white arrans, i was planning to remove the coloured ones from the huge pots when they have finished there bloom and store them till spring, or can i leave them all in situ and protect in the some way, the arrans i was just gonna leave out and cut back and maybe protect from frost with some sort of covering




Answers

 

Well first, Tomo, let's try and establish what plants we're talking about here. Zantedeschia is the latin name for plants commonly known as Calla lilies or Arum Lilies - is that what you mean? As for hardiness, if the leaves have silver spots on them, they're tender, bring them indoors in the winter. This also applies to Z. rehmannii, which has pink through to maroon flowers, its tender too. Z. aethiopica, the one with plain leaves and white flowers is hardy and can be left out, and 'Green Goddess', which has a white flower marked with green is also hardy.
There is a plant called Calla which must be grown in water - the white form of Zantedeschia (aethiopica) can also be grown in water, but doesn't have to be.
What troubles me is your reference to the flower colours being oranges and reds - these colours are more commonly seen in Canna, not 'calla'. If Canna is what you mean, then that's a different story altogether, and let me know if that is what you mean - the care of these will be completely different from what I've said above.
I hope this helps and isn't too confusing.

18 Sep, 2009

 

HI Bamboo
The bulbs are as follows..Zantedeschia majestic red Calla ruby red
Z. flame, calla flame orange
Z Aethiopica arum

The first two def has the white or clear spots on the leaves and the arum is plain green. If you look at my pics you will see them ( all be it from a distance ) in the tub being swamped by nemesia ( i think lol )

18 Sep, 2009

 

All are tender except the aethiopica, in that case.

18 Sep, 2009

 

so, do i let them finish there bloom and dig them out and store till spring and then replant, as the pots are far too large to move with them in situ ( guess ive just anwered my own question there lol )

18 Sep, 2009

 

Well you have, sort of. I guess you just keep them as houseplants over winter, but I will check tomorrow in case you do that thing where you let them rest in the dark in sand ,but I'm pretty sure you don't - they all like to be kept watered.

18 Sep, 2009

 

thanks bamboo, ive already been merrily digging up my oriental lillie bulbs and storing them in the dark in the shed, have i done wrong here ?? sorry for all the questions lol

19 Sep, 2009

 

Oriental lily bulbs, hmm, what are they called then, really? I've no idea what they might be, am hopeless with common names, so I can't tell you without more of a clue

19 Sep, 2009

 

mmmm...thats a bit of a problem, as the labels only say lillium, but i was told a while back by a friend that i should cut down any remaining greenery after they start to turn ( same reason as leaving daffs i guess ) then either take up the bulb and store dormaint until spring or cover the area with some sort of insulation. Well i have taken up a couple but there are many more i have still holding out, i just wanted to check with anybody in the know before i potentially ruin the rest

19 Sep, 2009

 

it's a shame you don't know exactly what they are - quite a lot of lilies (most actually, unless they're hothouse ones)can be left outside all winter without any problem at all, in pots as well, and they regrow the next year. I'd like to add that if they're in pots, it's a good idea to feed them once the flowers are over, and while they've still got good foliage - this will enable the plant to store the food in the bulb for the following year.
I can't advise whether you can risk it or not because I don't know what they are, sorry.

19 Sep, 2009

 

Thanks anyway bamboo, i think i will leave the rest put, and maybe the few ive taken up, il put in containers so they can contiue on there merry way if they wish, as long as i havent killed them that is lol, now all i got to do is try and work out were in the house all those calla lillies are going for winter lol

19 Sep, 2009

How do I say thanks?

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