How to Grow Calla Lilies

Calla lily plants are well-known for its beautiful flowers that are found in wide variety of attractive colors. The colors of these flowers include white, light pink, yellow, purple and so on. These flowering plants are native to southern parts of African continent. Gardeners are curious to know how to grow calla lilies mainly because they can enhance the beauty of any landscape, at the same time it also improves the visual appeal of the interiors when planted indoors.

How to Grow Calla Lilies Outdoors

Even though calla lily flowers are quite delicate in nature, it is not very difficult to grow them. This is simply because the plants are quite strong and sturdy and do not need much maintenance. Here is the step by step instructions for growing calla lilies:

Selection of a Location: Calla lilies prefer a warm and humid climate for growth and survival. The ideal location for this plant is the one that receives sufficient sun in the morning but is partially shaded in the middle of the day. In other words, it requires protection from the midday heat or else the flowers tend to get stressed out.

Preparation of Soil: In a humid climate, this plant can grow in any types of soil provided the soil is loose and has a good drainage. The ideal soil requirements for calla lilies are wet, sandy soil which is moderately acidic in nature. This plant grows really well in moist soil conditions. Therefore, if you have a pond in your garden, then you can plant calla lilies close to that area.

Planting Calla Lilies: The best time to plant calla lilies outdoors is the spring season. This plant is mostly propagated from bulbs or tubers. Dig holes into the soil that are about four inches deep. Place dry tubers of calla lily into the hole in such a way that its pointed end is faced upwards. While planting the bulbs, a gap of 12 - 14 inches should be kept in between two bulbs. Once all the bulbs are placed into the soil, they should be watered thoroughly.

Calla Lily Care: You have to water the planted tubers quite frequently till the shoot makes its appearance. During this phase, the soil should be moist but should not get soaked in water. In order to ensure that the soil retains maximum amount of moisture, a layer of mulch need to be added. Mulching also helps in controlling the growth of weeds around the plant. A well-balanced fertilizer need to be added once in a month during the growing season. With this kind of calla lily care, the plants in your garden will start blooming within 60 days.

How to Grow Calla Lilies Indoors

Those who live in cold areas need to grow these plants indoors. Here the guidelines for growing calla lilies are slightly different. They are as follows:

• When you have planned to grow the calla lilies indoors, you have to plant the tubers or the bulbs during late winter.
• Always use a rich potting soil for this purpose. You can enrich the soil and improve the drainage by adding some peat moss, compost, decomposed manure, etc. into it.
• After planting the tuber, keep the pot in a warm, shady area in the house. Till the time the shoot of the plant starts appearing, you have to water it regularly to keep the soil damp.
• When the plant is growing, it requires direct sun exposure. So, you should place the pot close to a sunny window.
• Basically, an indoor calla lily plant does not require fertilizing. However, if there is a deficiency of nutrients in the soil then you can add water soluble fertilizer into it.
• Every year the calla lily should be re-potted. This is important because the soil becomes exhausted after one growing season.

There are some people who like to know how to grow calla lilies from seeds. For them, I would like to say that the procedure is far more complicated than that of growing it from bulbs. First, you have to pre-grow the seeds by keeping them in damp paper towels. It should be followed by pre-planting the seeds into a small pot till the new plants are strong and healthy. Later, you have to plant them in garden soil or a larger pot.