Calla Lilies


A member of the Arum family, the calla lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica) is an herbaceous, tuberous rooted plant characterized by lush, waxy, green leaves and crisp, funnel-shaped flowers that may be white or burgundy depending on the cultivar. Commonly grown both indoors and outdoors, calla lilies are low-maintenance plants that thrive with a little care.


  1. Location

    • Calla lilies grow naturally throughout Southern and Eastern Africa, thriving in wetlands and alongside lakes. Calla lilies do best when grown outdoors in U.S. Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness Zones 8 to 10. Plant the flower in a bright, sunny location in cooler climates and in an area with light or shifting shade in hotter climates. Plants grown in partially shaded or shaded locations produce fewer or no flowers. Indoor plants prefer a windowsill with bright sun.

    Care

    • Calla lilies thrive in moist conditions, with some species even preferring shallow water. Grow calla lilies in a rich, deep soil consistently moist to the touch. Enhance the soil with organic matter, such as leaf mold, rotted manure or humus. Fertilize the plant annually in the spring after planting with a using 5-10-5 or 5-10-10 fertilizer. Water the soil before applying fertilizer to keep from burning the tuber.

    Storage

    • Dig up and store calla lilies through the winter, for replanting the following spring. After the first frosts have killed the plant's foliage, dig up the plant's tubers and place them in a ventilated bag or box with peat moss, vermiculite or perlite. Store in a dry, well-ventilated place and check to ensure the tubers have not shriveled or dried up. Reduce watering for indoor plants.

    Problems

    • Calla lilies are mostly pest and disease free. Use caution when handling the plant, as contact with the plant's sticky sap causes skin irritation. The plant is poisonous if ingested and should be kept away from children and pets. Swiftly treat aphid infestations, as aphids may carry untreatable viruses. Remove aphids with pesticides or a strong stream of water




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Zamioculcas zamiifolia

Image
Botanical Name: Zamioculcas zamiifolia ZZ Plant has become increasingly popular in recent years and I believe it deserves all the attention it’s been getting. The Aroid family has given us more dependable house plants than any other group and Zamioculcas zamiifolia is no exception. This is a worthwhile house plant to add to your collection. ZZ makes a great room accent and practically thrives on neglect. This easy-going house plant is forgiving if you forget to water, tolerates low light, and rarely needs fertilized. Want more? It also seems to shrug off pests. Growing from rhizomes, it has thick, upright stems bearing narrow, dark-green glossy leaves. Keep the leaves clean by gently wiping them with a damp cloth. Don’t use leaf shine products, which can damage the plant. Small, insignificant flowers — consisting of a spadix surrounded by a spathe — may appear at the base of plants in summer, although ZZs rarely flower indoors. A slow-grower indoors, ZZ plant rarely needs
Read more

Peltophorum pterocarpum

Image
Common Names: yellow poinciana, yellow flame tree, copper-pod, yellow flamboyant tree Family: Fabaceae/Leguminosae (bean Family) Description Yellow poinciana is a very showy flowering tree up to 50' tall, with wide-spreading branches that form an umbrella-like crown up to 25' across. The stems and twigs are rusty-red tomentose (fuzzy). The leaves are bipinnate (twice compound), about 2' long with 8-20 pairs of 3/4"-long oblong leaflets. The fragrant flowers are clustered on upright stalks (racemes, actually) about 18" long. Each flower is about an inch and a half across with translucent yellow, strangely-crinkled petals. The flowers have conspicuous orange stamens and each petal has a reddish brown mark in the center. They are followed by purplish brown, flattened, oblong seed pods, 3-4" long, which remain on the tree until the next flowering season. Location Yellow poinciana is native to coastal areas from Sri Lanka through the Malay archipelago and I
Read more