This calla lilly was big and beautiful and then fell over. At closer inspection there was a slimy spot on the stem of the flower. I cut it off but as I dug in the dirt I noticed part of the bulb was slimy and soft so I dug all of that junk out. The bulb still has a leaf. Is this a bug or am I overwatering?
HELP
Joyce
The watchdog woke up with the camera made a sound, or at least his eye opened....
I think you have soft rot, which can happen easily with callas if you have bought one already growing in a compost which has no soil.
If you got a dried corm and grew it yourself in a compost which has soil and organic material it is very unlikely this would happen at this stage.
You may be able to save some of it, but need to scrape and cut off all the infected bulb and wash them well, then if you have some stems with even only a tiny piece of corm replant in fresh compost.
The stems should either take root, or if they have roots on a piece of the corm, which would be at the top, you might be lucky. They will take a while to grow another corm able to flower but worth a try!
I bought one which this happened to, already growing in an artificial medium which I think is not good for them. I always take the plant out and replant in my own compsot mix after removing most of the pot compsot, but the plant was large and flowering so I decided not to. I wish I had! Make sure you use a free draining compost with gritty soil or some sharp sand mixed in, then you can water as much as you like while they are in growth.
Water maybe my problem then. They were just bulbs, but I planted them in miracle grow potting mix (water saver advertising) with several other things in a planter. The planter doesn't have drainage altho it didn't seem terrible wet. I will dig it up tomorrow, thank you for the advice. These are the first I have grown. I bought small pink ones and two of the big yellow ones and I am hooked. I gave a black one to a friend before they ever bloomed, really like her but now wish I would of kept the plant...LOL just kidding.
Thanks
Joyce
Wallaby;
I''m curious about the role of soil (inorganic materials) in a potting mix concerning soft rot/Erwinia. Do you refer to its drainage contributions, since a pure potting compost would hold too much water? Or is there a different property it has in preventing soft rot?
K. James
Wallaby: I did dig up the calla lily and it smelled awful. I washed the mushy stuff off competely and then replanted what was left. I had what looked like a leaf sprout coming up but I think I may have broken it when I replanted the corm. Hope I didn't damage it any worse than I already have. Just discovered cally lilies and have fallen in love with the large ones. I purchased some more and they are just poking up.
Thanks
Joyce
Hi K,
I do think that soil provides free drainage, but should be a gritty river type soil in order to be very effective as fine garden soils can be heavy and contain very fine particles which tend to clog. Soil also provides natural nutrients, unless a plant is epiphytic or one which specifically grows in bogs then all plants really need soil in order to be healthy.
So yes, water holding properties of potting compost can be a problem, although Callas prefer to be moist drainage is everything.
I also believe that organic materials are present in soils, as nature has had a habit of adding them over time. Added organic materials combined with soil can contribute to a natural healthy cycle of organisms which will not only help to break down foods for the plant, but also prevent disease.
Remember, if you get rid of the natural organisms by sterilisation this will lead to a never ending cycle of chemical intervention, which is no good for a plant or humans and not as nature intended it to be. Nature is clever, trust it.
I dug up a post on the Sustainable Alternatives Forum, there is a link to a pdf which makes interesting reading.
http://davesgarden.com/forums/p.php?pid=3218039
Good for you happgarden, the bulb I rescued seems to be growing in 4 pieces! The existing leaves will eventually yellow but you should get new growth from the middle.
Hi,
I think the best thing to do for soft rot is to dig the bulbs and try to save them. I've read a lot about this, since I've gone through it myself and lost a lot of lovely flowers (and expensive bulbs!). The "experts" say that people stop watering when they see rot, and this can actually make matters worse!
However, I believe they were talking about bulbs in gardens and not pots.
Wallaby is right that drainage is everything!
One more thing to take into account is not to plant Callas too shallow. This makes their roots get very warm and the plants get very unhappy. Plant 3-4 in deep and add some mulch to to the top of the soil if you can.
Happgarden, good luck with your bulb!~ I did the same as you- rinsed off all the awful smelly rotted parts. This saved some of the bulbs. I did dry mine to make a callus over the raw areas before replanting, though.
Susan
My experiences with it are exactly as Susan puts it.
For soil temperature, I am trying white-painted pots this year, as it has helped my bananas.
Very interesting, I wish I would of dried the calla before replanting. The soil maybe too warm. It is on the north side but it does get west sun and maybe the soil was getting too warm. I was planting it with other plants in a flower arrangement. My other one is doing great. It has a yellow bloom and the other bloom instead of being yellow is green..thought that was odd but since I am new to calla maybe that is normal.
Joyce
Hi Joyce,
as far as your green bloom, maybe you missed it blooming? Often callas turn sort of green on the outside when they are done blooming. You can sort of peek down in the flower to see if it looks like it is making seeds. The spadix (middle part) will start to look sort of like a raspberry at the bottom. Not red, but the same sort of shape.
Apologies if you knew that already!
Yes, they don't like getting too warm.... odd for plants that like full sun! lol
Susan
PS James, I am just starting bananas this year, do the white pots really help? And where did you find them- I've never seen white pots, even big sized green ones are rare!
I know nothing about calla's so please any advice is very much appreciated.
Funny you all are talking about banana's I just traded for a banana tree that is suppose to be good for my zone.....don't think I will chance it, it is coming in this fall until I get more bulbs or what ever they are called.
I have a couple of fiberglass pots or what ever that stuff is that is a biege color with white wash. Should I transplant my other calla lilly now it is still in bloom and big leaves, but I don't want it to rot. They sure have some roots!
Joyce
Susan;
I used a for-plastic spray paint on standard nursery pots for my bananas and callas. It seems to me that pure pottings composts, like calla lilies, are too thick for Bananas, too, and both like something to lighten the soil up, so I used generous amounts of perlite. Anothe rhting I learned that it was better to have an underpotted than overpotted Banana, too big of pots when they were too small got too wet. (Again, perlite helped with that.)
Musa and Zantedeschia have a lot in common as far as growing here. They like sun, but ours is too much, so they like an elusive part sun or very bright shade, plus cool roots and drainage. Banana culture is almost exactly like Calla culture.
I'll have to look through my pictures of them. This year I'm only doing in-ground pereninal Bananas.
Joyce, is the banana you traded for Musa basjoo? They are best planted in the spring so they have the full summer to establish well before winter comes. After that, they overwinter quite easily.
K. James
Yes my banana is Musa Basjoo, I got it in a plant trade about 2 weeks ago. It is a very small with only 1 leaf. I planted it in a pot so I could keep track of it until it started growing being so small and all. Was that a good idea or should I have just put it in the ground? We are well in to our 90 degree high humidity stage of our summer, it will probably just get hotter with a few cool off periods until September.
Joyce
With the heat as it is, keep it in the shade and potted (good idea) until next spring.
Thanks James, and sorry for hijacking this thread~! I do tend to overpot so I should watch that.
happgarden, where are your bulbs planted- pots or garden? It it is in a pot I would leave it. If in a garden and it was right next to the diseased plant, I would be tempted to move it. But I don't know how callas like being dug up and moved. I bet they don't like it.
Anyone ever try moving around calla plants in bloom?
Susan
My calla lily was in a pot so I did dig it up and move it to another pot. So far so good. The other yellow is just fine in a pot with other plants. I just discovered them this year and I found some on sale and I have stuck them in pots and they are sprouting. I just love them.
My banana has a second leaf...so exciting.
Joyce
When I've moved blooming callas, they tend to go dormant earlier and pretty much give up on their current flowers. Thus something I do only if totally necessary.
