Calla Question

Good morning!
I have Calla that are hardy in my garden, and I am in zone 7B. I don't know if what I have are just "hardy" Calla, if there is such a thing, or if I will ba able to plant any Calla and them be hardy. Does anyone have a clue, what I mean..LOL

I order a lot of Calla in co-ops and most all of them say zone 9 Hardiness. That was certainly news to me...but I am concerned about planting them all in the ground and then loosing them. So I guess I need to know if you all find them hardy to my zone as well.

When I planted the ones I have I never thought about them not being hardy, since I purchased them in my zone I guess I thought they wre hardy to my zone...lol NOW I know better, but am not sure if there are just come that are hardier than others.....

Any ideas?
Thanks!
JanetS

I can't help you with hardiness--I always thought calla's were only hardy to about zone 8--but I do know, that down here, they like it drier in the winter than while in active growth. They also have been blooming down here since March and are blooming now, too.
Debbie

Thanks Debbie.

Janet are your 'hardy callas' planted next to your house where the hardiness zone could be higher? This quote is from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calla_lily probably not the best source, but suscinct.

Janet, I can attest to what Patti has said. A neighbor has several callas planted in a protected area that come back each year. I am in zone 6a (-10F). She does say that every couple years she has to replace them. I'm wondering if her calla's will come back this year since we had a very cold Feb. But remember she only grows a few so its not a big deal $$$ to her if she has to replace them.
toofew

No the ones I have are not near the house at all, they are in a flower bed in the middle of my front yard. I do have some Green Goddess that are in the back next to the house and they are coming in now....but I have white and pink, with solid green leaves that are not protected and come in every year, as well as some white with the spotted leaves that come back....so I may just mulch them really well and hope they return...

If the bulbs are deep enough, and in very free draining soil, they are likely to survive, but I still have to try mine in the ground. With lots of leaf compost incorporated that will help keep the soil open, and give them good natural food which I think can also help with hardiness.

I overwinter mine in a cold greenhouse, in their pots and they have, so far, done well even with prolonged cold and frosts but they do get some protection. I would think if it froze for a long spell to fairly low temps like it did when I first got Cameo it would be risky (pots in the greenhouse froze solid), but your climate probably heats up more quickly than ours, and lengthy cold can make a difference.

You should start with the bulbs with at least 3" of soil on top, they should pull themselves lower as mine went to about 8" deep in the pots, that depth is fine for them and should miss the frosts. The problem might arise if it is too wet and cold for a lengthy period, with being deep the sun will take longer to warm the ground to that depth so they can grow. This is why I have started with pots, and when they have multiplied I can risk some in the ground. Cameo and Majestic Red made 6 and 8 bulbs each, MR I got in 2003 in a small pot already flowered, it made tiny new bulbs and flowered in 05 and 06. I separated the bulbs this spring, 4 very large, the largest was 3.5" long and they were deep and heavy.

Thanks, Janet. I do believe all of mine are three to four inches when planted, and they too pull themselves down....so I have had lots of "babies" over the years and shared quite a few with DGers! I may put one of each in a pot on my porch and see how they do and plant the rest..."just in case"...lol But mine are mostly going in the ground. I just don't have the energy to dig them up or worry so over all of them! I will have caladiums to get out of the ground this year, I am try to put most of those in very loose beds as well so I don't have to "dig" very much to get them out.

Cameo bulbs, again very big and heavy. I've had it since around 2001, it made 4 bulbs of which only one survived the first winter, it was only a small one no more than 1.25" across so from that in 2002 I think it did well.

Very nice and very healthy bulbs. Mine all multiply really well too. I sent several to others and they were surprised how large and healthy they were! Yours are great!

Insurance is a good idea Janet, I can now take the risk! I still have all the Cameo but have shared 4 MR, it was so popular!

I have some new MR, Can't wait to see them, and several other "special" ones, so I didn't want to loose them all for sure!!!

Janet, I was wondering the same thing. I only have 1 Calla, but bought a bunch from 4paws co-op. The one I have I've had for about 5 years and it always comes back up. It's coming up now and we had some cold weather this winter. I have no idea of it's name. Anyway, I'm trying to figure out what to do with my new ones.

Debbie

Well, I decided most of mine are going into the ground, I may be taking a chance, but I will make sure the soil is loose and they are heavily mulched in the Fall. I will most likely try to plant one of each in a few planters on my porch...so I guess time will tell...lol Good luck!! I just hate to have things I must baby and I invested a lot of $$ in Caladiums this year too and they will have to come out of the ground for sure.!

I don't mulch the one I have at all. Just keeps coming back bigger and better each year!!

There is a gal up here in Indianapolis who grows them in a microclimate -- the colored ones -- and she has them back year after year. I am listed as zone 5, but since she's been growing them, it has been zone 6 temperatures here.

She has a raised bed for them filled with literally 1/3 peat, 1/3 sand and 1/3 soil. They are in a corner made by 2 brick walls facing south, but also shaded by taller things like shrub roses? Dogwoods? I forget....she has a lot of different kinds of Callas lilies growing in the ground and it's a wonderful sight!

Suzy

Well, mine were mulced well the first few years, and they I guess they pulled down far enough in the ground to be okay. So this year I will mulch and let them settle in and see what happens.