Double Calla.

A very blurry picture of Purple Haze with some really really old flowers. They last and last and last- it seems like they will never mature as the lighter edge creeps in on the spathe.

Finally, my first picture that ever took on the digital Camera. Ahhh.
(the cvr is 'Flame,' by the way. I just love the green that is seeping up into the gold... Mmmm.

Kenton

Crystal Blush is amazing, more spathes than leaves!

Kenton how long have you been growing callas? You seem to have had a lot of them!

The leaf on the yellow one is just a thin one, the pot next to it is the other bit and has a small spotted leaf, and a thick shoot coming up . I have some tall thin leaves on my Z albomaculata that are now 3 years old, the proper shaped leaves are getting spots for the first time.

Ze Schvarzen-ess of die Schvatzvalder ist zo Schrumptious! Mmmmmm!

I'm with you: the veining on the "Flame" is a great point of interest and fascination. [Homer Simpson drooling sounds]

Why do you make me keep adding callas to my list? "Cherry Chiffon" is wonderful and looking at the "Purple Haze" makes we wish mine would hurry up!!!!!!!! Oh, the agony of time.............

Oh the enablers at Dave's!!!!!

;-))))))

Robert.

wallaby1~

Here's a few pix of the rehmanniis coming up in the much-compost.

Here's the general area. Notice the lovely contrast between the mulch and the plastic! ;-)

A couple peeping out from under the holly and a couple in front.

Another coupla sprouts nearby.

I noticed that despite there being no wholes in the plastic, there is a slight incline to the area to aid in drainage.

Robert.

Amazing little brats. Other species and hybrids overwinter just as well, it should be noted.

Wallaby, I started to write about my first Callas, and ended up writing about my whole gardening life... So back to the topic:

2003 was practically my first Zantedeschia: albomaculata: small bulb, local rippoff garden center: $7. Last year was my peak, at dozens of new varieties until the dry heat (and the practice of Bone-mealing the mix, I find out, thanks.) encouraged Erwinia to eat most of the collection. I salvaged a dozen or so bulbs, but after all of the washing and drying, I lost their labels. The best hybrids went first and most of them were unsalvageable.
Just a note: Erwinia is a terrifically horrible but fascinating thing. In the evening, you have a prize plant. Big flower and all. In the morning, you literally have a shadow, a less-than-paper-thin transparency of the whole plant on the concrete next to the pot. (and a wet hole where the corm was) It can liquify a Calla in no time! Reducing your watering makes it worse. Water those babies hard! A lesson learned, my collections are more diverse thesedays!

Kenton, the Calla addict in withdrawal.

Robert, well.......your plastic patch has a certain artistic appeal! I don't think you have 2" there, it looks barely covered! Wonders, I wonder if they will go through next winter if a little harder frosts..,, a good idea under the edge of an evergreen shrub, the roots will take the excess moisture, but may dry too much in summer.

Kenton, sorry but I had a good laugh at your description of the Erwinia devastation!

I'm glad you laughed- they are just bulbs! But you should see it sometime, it is horribly fascinating...

wallaby~

Prolly not 2". That was just a guess and I didn't want to "un-exaggerate" it!

Not to worry: I'm potting up or moving all the callas I can find and will not be putting bulbs in the mulch "just to see what happens" anymore.

I've been potting up scads of Viola sororia "Freckles" too. I'm leaving all the Columbine and Lunaria......

Kenton~

Which cvs. or species are hardiest for you?

Robert.

I prefer to pass on that!

My 'Black Forest' is turning a deeper colour with a red flush, could this be Flame? Sun glare on this, but you can see at the bottom the flush

Wow, Wallaby! I love that blossom, whatever it is!

Robert.

Funky isn't it!

Weird shape but you get to see the blotch!

R.

Hmm. You will be able to see what it should look like next year. The leaves will.. um er.. exist. I see that blush, but I don't think with that eyespot that it is 'Flame.' A bulb that size would not be blooming by nature.

Actually the bulb was quite big, it just isn't behaving! I'll get another pic later when the sun's off the greenhouse, the colour is darkening. The thermometer in the garden was hitting 86F, 30C at midday!

Gem Lavender is making another 2 spathes, and............one of them has a 'leaf spathe' attached!

"Strawberry Parfait" is developing a dark rose rim around the spathe. I'll get a couple pics to post tonight.

Erwinia Rot: Fascinatingly morbid, like watching a train wreck in slo-mo....

Robert.

Hmmm, my Gem Lavender is also developing a slightly darker rim, the colour is intensifying a little. It said a white rim! Perhaps we are getting a lot of 'trial and error' bulbs sold off on the cheap, or subs, but this is doing very well, I can now see 4 new spathes.

Just had some RAIN and thunder after 30C heat, gotta go out and continue...

Here is the cutie, see the green stripe on the reverse at tip, and there is a salmon edge near the top, with red/pink flushing near the spadix upwards, but is still creamy yellow towards the tip

The Gem Lavender leaf spathe and spathe

Gem Lavender darkening, and with a slightly darker edge

I Do like that GemLav! The dark eye is very appealing.

Here's the "Strawberry Parfait".

Wish I could control the exposure on the camera....I waited for lower light as in full sun, it always seem to wash out the lighter parts of the flower, as it did a bit here, but not as much.

Three out of four blooms had leaf-spathes.

Oh yes, Robert, please put that last on in PF. I love that bit of green showing at the chalice-base on the top bloom. I think that the pinks that have spotted leaves are better plants in general. (that is, rehmanii blood needs to be washed out a bit! They are small and, well, small.)

There was one liek that, I think it was 'Elegance.' A good pink with potted leaves and thus better flowers.

I wonder, Wallaby, if your cute thing was not mistreated as far as temperature goes before you had it, goofing up the cycle and all. It is beginning to act like 'Cameo.' Only time will tell.

Mmmm for edges.
Kenton

Envious of you two, I am now wishing I had started some Zants early this year.

Hmmm, impressive edges! I started GL early inside, the other new ones were later, Crystal Blush is getting there. The other extablished ones I keep in the greenhouse and have all survived the long, cold winter.

The new spathes on Gem Lavender are showing more, and 3 out of 4 have leaf spathes with them, can't wait! I can also detect a very thin white edge in a couple of places on the open spathes.

Robert I have trouble with light on them, I have that one on the North side of the bath tub and even if the sun is behind cloud it glares, it takes well closer to dark but the yellow on the little one has proved glary, yellows do that on some daffodils too.

You could be right Kenton, I was beginning to think Cameo too. Looking back at Flame it doesn't look to have that dark throat. My Cameo hasn't flowered for the last 2 years, this year it is bigger than ever, with 4 good separate growth points so I guess it has increased well. The first winter I nearly lost it, the original bulb went rotten but had produced 4 new bulbs and they all rotted but one, it was the same long winter about 2000/01 that rotted the Dracuncs. I'm hoping it flowers, I will be disappointed if it doesn't, it does start pale and increases the colour flush as it ages but this one has a strange shape, it almost mimicks the strange leaf with it's wavy edges.

Cameo on film, I took a digi of it, not a great pic but the only one I have.

Mt favorite thing about all of your pictures is that I cannot identify all of he plants (or any in the last one, beyond the Zant!)

Is your 'Cameo' in-ground?
K

No it's in a pot, I'll have to get a pic of the leaves. The red flower is Leptospermum scoparium Red Damask, such a beauty. I put it in the ground autumn 2004, but this winter has killed it! It has had hard frost before when young, but I always had it in the greenhouse. It was a small plant in a 7cm pot when I got it, and it had grown quite large, someone left the cake out in the rain, and I don't think that I can take it...... but I can get the recipe again, it will just take time..

The one behind is Coprosma Evening Glow, I think you have seen the pic of it when it goes bright red/copper and orange in the cold of winter. I've had that a few years from a smallish plant, it's quite big now and I keep it in the greenhouse over winter.

OK, Kenton: What is that calla with the enticingly dramatic dark line around the leaf?

Nice. Mmmmmmmm........

I vote "Cameo" too for your red-throated calla, Wallaby. But I was looking on the web and saw a couple other less widely-known possibilities.

It's been so hot here so early: I'm wondering if I should move my callas indoors temporarily? Help me decide. I keep reading about "moderately warm-coolish" temps and not tropicalish heat and am thinking that is why my "Solar Flare" put out the leaf-spathe and halted.........it's just stalled, it seems.

Robert.

Janet, you just took me back in time; I had a Donna Summer/disco ball moment, LOL! And oh how appropriate. I love lepto, and so wish I could grow it here. I recently did the flowers for my cousin's wedding and used sprays of lepto on every other pew and all the church arrangements. I love the cherry blossom look of it.

Neal there are some Leptospermum that are hardier. I have a very tall one with single pink flowers thats supposed to be a dwarf double red! It is hardy though. I also have grown L. nitidum from seed, they are next to the Red Damask and not bothered by last winter, they have a white flower but not flowered yet. Red Damask has gorgeous double crinkly cherry red flowers with a black eye, I guess I'll have to try the seed.

I was about to say 'those were the days', should I add 'my friend'?! Great music.

Calla Cameo leaves, I don't think it will flower, it is big though!

Spots, the night light was shining through this one late in the evening, on the east side too and cloudy

Gem Lavenders spathe leaf, the new spathe is looking a dark purplish colour, darker than the pic shows but it looks whitish towards the middle. This is growing from the same heart as the one next to it.

The other 3, 2 of which have leaf spathes

Robert: it is my well guarded 'Black Star.' My three from last year were lost in the Erwinia shuffle.

Wallaby, that Cameo could still get a late season bloom. It certainly is big enough , but sometimes the plant has made the mistake of not leaving any blooming eyes. Did it bloom spectacularly last year? That can be the case.

Spots rule.
Kenton

So do edges.

'Black Star' needed repotting, (which a person should avoid- just pot them in the right size to start!) and I was impressed by the root mass. Yeehaw!

Kenton, those red stems make it gorgeous already!

Janet, Cameo is beautiful whether it blooms or not! Those leaves look extra huge and perfect.

Cameo hasn't flowered the last 2 years, so, expecting...perhaps it's a shy flowerer. Yes Neal it is boooootiful! The stems just don't look 'fat' enough to flower, but time yet.

Black Star, I like......

How deep did you plant Cameo? Fresh soil each year?
K

A rehmanii hybrid that overwinters. Elongated shape. Euh. I don't really know what the leaf damage is about. The place drains pretty well, so it may have been mites early on.

Cameo is down around 4 inches, I did pot on into a larger pot this year, it has my compost in it and river soil with some peat moss. I mostly give them a bit of tomato food a couple of times in summer. Gem Lavender is not as deep, I start them off closer to the top and put them deeper later. Too deep?

Your rehmanii is so elegant, no name?