Hi, this is my first time posting on this forum, I hope this is the right one and you guys do callas!
I planted a few calla bulbs for the first time this spring and they did really well. I dug them up a few days ago after the first frost and washed the dirt off them. My question is should I / how do I divide them? One in particular grew a lot and has a lot of new "bulges" around it which I guess are "babies"? I am clueless and have no idea what to do now! Thanks!!
How to divide calla lily bulb?
Do you have a picture of the bulb, so we can see what you mean by those "bulges?"
Thanks for the quick reply, I'll take a picture tonight and post it tomorrow. I know my calla bulb terminology leaves much to be desired!
That's ok, I seem to be getting to the age where everything is "the thing"
-Can you hand me the thing?
-You know, the thing on the end!
-The thing isn't working.
-When's that thing supposed to be arriving?
:)
LOL, yes I know all about everything being a "thing"!
Here's a picture of the bottom where it looked to me like the original bulb had grown and developed "bulges" and maybe added a couple of babies at the sides?
This message was edited Nov 4, 2008 7:00 AM
And here's the top where I thought it looked like it had developed a bunch of babies???
The variety is Captain Eskimo if that's any help.
Those do look like babies, can you see on the top, any "eyes?" (the growing point from where the new growth sprouts)
If you can't distinguish the eyes right now, I wouldn't try dividing it, because you could end up with a lot of babies that don't grow or bloom.
I'd most likely leave it as one, until it got more unwieldy in size - not very helpful, am I?
Are the eyes the pointy things on the tips of the babies? Here's another picture from a different angle that maybe shows them better.
And thanks, you answered my question, sounds like I don't need to worry about dividing it just yet. How big can a calla bulb get before I should worry about dividing it?
Yes, those are the eyes, the pointy things (there's that word again!)
I have a clump of the large white calla lily, which I divided several times by just taking a sharp spade and chopping a piece off while it was in full growth, but that was from a clump that had been growing undisturbed, for about 5-6 years.
I most likely wouldn't divide the bulb until it either got large enough to be unwieldy, or if I wanted more plants. Your choice.
Thanks so much for all your help, I really appreciate your taking time to answer newbie questions!
We were all new to gardening at one point, eh?