I grow some Calla Lilies in containers and some in the ground, but the ones in the ground tend to flop over and look sloppy this time of year. Does anyone know what causes Calla lilies to flop over?
This is what they looked like before they started flopping over:
i dont know what makes them floppy and icky looking
but i do know that recently (in the last week orso) my mom hacked all of the floppy leaves off of the huge clump of callas in the yard.. lol
she left a few leaves intact, but for the most part hacked everything down
so it's not just you with the floppy leaf problem :)
I wonder if they rebloom if you do that?
Get some of those little plant cages
I just cut off the floppy ones. The re-bloom all summer and seem to be as happy as a lark!
Thanks, everyone. It's good to know that it's not just happening to me due to something I'm doing or not doing. I think I'll just hack most of the leaves off like miss kitty's mom. I'm sure they'll grow back, hopefully thicker than before.
They were pretty thick in this picture, taken in November. You should see them now! It's pretty sad. I just interplanted them with Cleopatra canna (thanks, Antoinette!)so maybe that will help when the Callas flop over in the summer, the cannas will be filling in the gaps and vice versa in the winter.
Clare _CA - It's the heat that does it. Especially 'hot feet'. They want their roots nice and cool. These are really bog plants.
Mine (the one kitty was talking about) is now in full afternoon sun so it's pretty miserable. (We had to take a tree down this spring . . . ) It will prolly go dormant, then I'll move it. It was gorgeous for months, but mid-May when the heat hit . . . it went downhill fast. =(
Assuming yours is in shade, you can either reduce the water to the plant and let it go dormant, or increase it's water and pile on the mulch to help keep the roots cool. If it goes dormant, it'll be back when things cool down a bit. That will be Sept/Oct for me . . .
Also, they like a little acid in their soil, so I'm giving mine a dose of coffee grounds (under the mulch) to make it feel a little better. Can't hurt, might help.
Cheri'
Thanks, Cheri (Kitty's mom), for your very thoughtful explanation. The heat makes perfect sense. It has been very warm lately, and I guess this does happen at the same time every year. They should come back for me in September and October as well. Mine get a full day of sunlight, but it is filtered sunlight through the patio's ceiling which is an open weave. I'll mulch them to keep the roots cool and see if they recover some. I didn't realize that they could go dormant in the summertime. Thanks again.
Here's what they looked like in April. It's a wide shot so please forgive the mess!
Mine flop constantly....however not from heat but rather from becoming waterlogged. I hack them back at least three times a season, each time they come back just as strong and keep right on blooming.
I know that some people grow them in sunny boggy locations to intensify their color. However, I prefer to put mine in a shady location to keep them cool and blooming ALL summer. I also try to remember to fertilize them monthly to encourage more blooms, since the moist or boggy conditions will leach out the nutrients rather quickly.
P.S. I have two different varieties blooming at the moment. I'll take some pictures and post them. I'll go home and look this evening which varieties have blooms.
Clare, yours are beautiful. They deserve a break, if they think they need it.
here is a pic of mine, in late April . . . it was starting to slow down, opening one bud at a time. Before that there were 5 or 6 flowers at all times (but I didn't have my camera then).
All in all, not bad for a $1 rescue plant . . .
Cheri'
Thanks, Lisa, Shirley, and Cheri. Yes, mine have finished blooming and have keeled over. The area they are in is super well-draining, and I have been watering more lately because they were so dry.
Very pretty, Cheri, and what a deal!
Here are the container Calla Lillies that I gave to my mom for Mother's Day. Looking through my pictures, it seems they bloom during the fall and winter here and end in May or June when it becomes hot and dry.
