Calla Lily is limp and dying

Hi everyone,

This plant was labeled as a Calla Lily, but I can't say if that's accurate.

I've not had it very long, and each piece has withered and died until all that's left is what you see in the picture.

It doesn't seem to matter if I keep it moist or let it go dry, it just seems intent on dying.
Before I give up on it, is there anything I can do to save it?

It could be a Calla. My thoughts are that the pot you have it in has no drainage and your plants roots may be suffocating. Re-pot into one that has drainage holes. You'll probably see some improvement.

Callas are bulbs and will die back at some point and require a rest period. Let the leaves continue to yellow - this will feed the bulbs. When the leaves have died back, lift your callas and check the bulbs for disease. Put your bulbs in a place that is dark and does not freeze.

You will need to start checking your bulbs in a couple of months for new growth. When you see the little nubbies starting on your bulbs, plant or pot up your calla bulbs and you will have flowers.

What is your zone? If your zone is warm enough, then you could grow these outside. In my zone 5b garden, I have to lift mine and overwinter them inside.

I believe Nova Scotia would be too cold for a Calla. Which is sad because they're so lovely. I wish I could grow them here. We're borderline for them but it still gets way too cold.

Mine bring me such joy. I take them out in the spring in pots.

If I put them in the ground, they won't flower for me as the ground takes forever to warm up. However, in pots, they do flower for me.

Then in the fall I take the pots in and when everything has pretty much dried, I remove the bulbs from the pot and inspect them for disease.

How much light does this one have?
While they do not want full sun, they do need good light.
Too-low light and too-wet soil can make plants look like that. I am not sure if it can recover. When the soil stays too wet, too low in oxygen, fungi can invade the plant tissues and the plant cannot recover.

I forgot about this thread, apologies everyone who replied.

There are two stalks remaining, with a single leaf on each. It has been this way for a month or a little more. The two leaves are now starting to dry up.

Should I wait until the leaves and stalks decay (to feed the bulb?) or should I cut them off now and then examine the bulb to see if it can be saved?

How can I tell if the bulb is good?
Do I need to worry about damaging any roots when I remove the bulb to check it?

It's likely too far gone to save, but it's still a good learning experience.

Winter is a rest period for these so don't give up yet. The bulbs are pretty hardy. If it's still firm, give it some time and it may surprise you. Gently check for roots and re-cover them. You may damage some but, as you said, it's a learning experience.

Let the leaves die down on the bulbs until they are crispy and easy to remove. At that point, I would check the bulbs. They should be firm to the touch and clean looking. If they are mushy or appear to be moldy, toss them.

You should be able to carry these babies through without any problems. Callas are plants that look like they would be fussy and delicate, but as Kwanjin stated, they really are fairly hardy.

One other thing - don't worry about the roots. The bulbs will put down new roots when they start again in the Spring.

Good luck to you.

Alright, the leaves were essentially dried up so I removed them and the two remaining stems.

I removed the bulb and dumped the soil (I believe it had thrips in it).
The bulb has three balls on it. One side of the bulb was a little damp with a loose wrinkly skin that came off easily, revealing a moist area underneath. Felt firm though.
Is this a problem?

I put the bulb in a small container of fresh soil, about halfway down.
I sprayed the top of the soil with insecticidal soap and put it in an out of the way spot.

Attached is a picture of each side of the bulb.

The first picture looks awfully wet - It appears to be a bit of rot. I would remove the bulb part that seems to be a bit rotted. I would let them dry out and give them a rest before potting up.

How would I go about removing the wet part? One entire side is wet, encompassing all three segments. If It was just a single segment, I could try cutting it off, but if I remove the wet part as it stands now, I'd basically be slicing off the bottom (or top?) half of the entire thing.

I usually just break it off. The bulbets will generally break apart. If you don't want to do this, then I would see how much of that wet area will come off. I would be concerned about losing the entire bulb as the rot will continue.

Is there anyway you can let it dry out?

I have had some bulbs that I felt were on the wet side and just put the bulbs into a saucer and open to the air with success. I had some bulbs that I felt were on the wet side this past Fall and when I removed them from the pot, I just put them into a saucer from a planter and left them there for several weeks. When I did go back to check on them, they had dried out very nicely so I packed them up with the rest of the bulbs and they are now overwintering in an area in my attic that doesn't freeze.

Well I took the bulb out and set it in a bowl and the next day it felt dry all over!
I've left it sitting out for a few days since. Since it seemed to dry out so quickly, I'm guessing that's a good sign. :)

In the beginning there was one bulb clump with three "balls" attached together.
One of the balls broke off when I handled it. Do I now have separate bulbs? I'm not sure if the bulb comprises a clump of pieces, or if each individual ball counts as a bulb when separated. Even if each segment can be broken apart and planted separately, maybe the success rate for restarting the plant is higher if they are all planted together?

I've read that the dry bulbs should be put in dry soil and not watered for the winter months, whereas others seem to leave them out of soil and store them in other ways.
Will there be any harm to keeping the bulb(s) in some dry soil?

That is a very good sign. I have also had the bulbs break free from the clumps too. It seems to be the natural progression to the bulb multiplying.

I always try to plant like varieties with like varieties. It is easier to keep track of them that way.

You can try to keep them in dry soil. My only thing with that is that I do think the bulbs should be removed in the fall so they can be inspected. You don't want disease to take over healthy bulbs nor do you want them rotting.

I agree with Carolyn. A thorough inspection should be done each year.

The bulbs have been out for a couple of weeks now and are totally dry.

I put them in some dry soil and set them on top of a tall cabinet.
The soil is so dry it's almost powdery, so I doubt there should be any issues with moisture getting at the bulb.

I'll check them again in a few months and see if there is any new growth.
If there is, I'll pot them in fresh soil and give them some water.

Sounds like you may have gotten ahead of the rot. Definitely a good thing.

I checked mine this afternoon - they are still sound asleep. ^_^