Bulbs: Calla Lily Care Questions, 1 by jkom51

jkom51 wrote:
I have white callas (Z. aethiopica) in both shaded and sunny beds. When I say 'they disappear', I mean that they go dormant when the soil heats up. In sunny beds, the callas go dormant when the soil warms up, usually June-Sept., then they come back again strong as the nights cool off and the soil temps lower.

In the shaded, north facing bed, they remain all year long, never going dormant although they go through a slight ratty period around Nov or Dec, when I cut most of the leaves back. The new growth is already coming up and opens faster without the old leaves shading them from the more diffuse winter sun.

I don't think the Z. rehmanii needs as much water as Z. aethiopica, and definitely needs more sun too in order to bloom well. It goes dormant in winter no matter what the soil temp is. I haven't been that successful in getting them to return, either.

Here's a 3 yr old clump of white callas that has been divided twice already; I don't have much space in this bed so shovel-pruning will probably be an annual task. This photo was taken just a day or so ago.