Is your calla lily drooping? All plants droop at some point. Everything will be going fine, and suddenly the plant will decide it’s time to slack and bend over its stalks. Well, luckily for you and all flower owners, the solution isn’t hard.
Calla lilies often droop because of overwatering or underwatering. They may also do it when the soil is dry because they thrive in moist conditions. And seeing as their original climate is hot, they may droop and go dormant when it’s too cold for them.
If you want to know everything about calla lilies drooping and how to fix them, follow this article for more.
Why Is My Calla Lily Drooping?
Calla lilies are often holding themselves up gracefully, so it’ll look a bit alarming when they’re drooping and bending over their stalks. In this case, the cause will be one of the following.
Excess Fertilizer
If you fertilize your calla lilies, make sure not to add excess. All fertilizers contain a percentage of nitrogen, and too much of it can push the leaves to grow out of their comfort zone. Eventually, the leaves will droop and wilt because they can’t accommodate the fertilizer.
Luckily for you, fertilizer issues are easy to recognize because they come with a lot of symptoms. You’ll know for sure the reason for drooping is excess fertilizing if the lilies are discoloring from the roots up.
How to Fix It
Solving the fertilizer issue is easy; all you have to do is choose the right fertilizer for your calla lilies. Avoid fertilizers with too high nitrogen levels. These will push the stems to grow perfectly well, but they’ll keep the flower from blooming.
Wrong Watering Routine
All plants will show signs of distress when they’re being watered wrong. Calla lilies’ way of showing stress is by drooping. So, when you see it, you should rethink your watering routine and check if you’re doing anything wrong.
Calla lilies thrive in moist, soggy soils, so when the soil dries out, they may droop. When you water the soil again, they’ll rise back to their usual height within a few hours. In this case, you’ll want to make sure the soil has a good ability to retain water. If it doesn’t, you may have to replace it, especially if the drooping thing happens frequently.
On the other hand, drooping may be happening due to overwatering. Too much water can cause the roots to decay, which may cause the petals to droop.
How to Fix It
To fix the watering issue, first, make sure you’re using the right soil. It should be organically rich rather than sandy. On top of that, it should have good water retention, so it doesn’t drain as quickly.
After that, maintain a good watering routine of once or twice a week.
Sudden Temperature Change
Calla lilies are native to South Africa, so they thrive in warm and hot temperatures. When the temperature changes suddenly, particularly to cold, the plant may start drooping.
It may also happen if you move the pot from inside to outside or vice versa without considering the temperature change.
Remember, these flowers don’t have good endurance against the cold. A slight drop in temperature can cause the leaves to droop.
How to Fix It
To fix the drooping issue resulting from sudden temperature change, make sure to keep the plant somewhere warm. When the winter comes around, you can wrap the flower in mesh and keep it at room temperature with no humidity.
When the weather reaches 60 F or hotter, you can replant the seeds.
Pest Infection
No plant is safe from pests, and calla lilies are no exception. They’re prone to many pests, particularly aphids, which attach to the stems and buds of the flower. If the leaves are yellowing and curling, and the stems are drooping, there’s a high chance your flower has an aphid infection.
Aside from pests, your calla lily may be drooping because of a disease or a fungal condition. Anthracnose is one of the common conditions that may hit calla lilies, and it causes rotten roots and droopy leaves.
These fungal conditions are more common in the summer, so look out for them.
How to Fix It
Some pest infections are treatable, and with some others, you’ll have to start over if you want to save your plant. By starting over, I mean to discard the flower and get or plant a new one. This is a must if the infection is already affecting all the roots because the only way to revive the plant would be to cut the roots off. Basically, this would mean killing the plant’s only way to get nutrition, so discarding it seems like the wiser solution.
Before planting new calla lilies, make sure to spray your garden with a pest control solution. Otherwise, the pest infection may hit the new plants as well.
How to Maintain Your Calla Lilies to Prevent Drooping
If you’re not used to growing flowers and you’re afraid you’ll cause your calla lilies to droop, these tips may work for you.
All plants are prone to drooping and wilting at some point, so there is no need to fuss over it. There are just some pointers you can follow to make sure you’re providing your flower with its essential requirements.
Maintain Good Light Settings
It’s true that calla lilies thrive under full sunlight, but not always. It’d be good to leave them under full sunlight in the morning, then move them to a partially shady area in the afternoon. If you keep them away from the light all morning, the leaves will start to wilt.
Avoid Overwatering
You should only water your calla lilies once a week—maybe twice if the weather is too hot. The soil should already be well-retaining for the moisture, so you don’t need to keep overwatering the plant.
When watering your calla lilies, only two ounces is enough. If the water gets too much, it’ll cause the roots to rot, and you may not be able to revive them.
Consider Providing Support
If you’re providing your calla lilies with all the nutrition they need, and they’re still droopy, it may be because they can’t carry their own weight. In this case, you can try placing a support cage around them that allows the stems to grow to their full height without drooping.
Avoid Overcrowding the Lilies
When you plant too many calla lilies in one pot or close to each other, they start to get stressed and compete for nutrition. Eventually, this may cause the flowers to droop. So, when planting the flowers, make sure to keep them in a sufficient space away from each other, at least 10–12 inches.
Basic Requirements of Calla Lilies
Now that you know how to prevent drooping and fix it, here are the flower’s basic requirements to freshen your mind:
- Light: calla lilies thrive in full sunlight and partial shade. They need plenty of light to grow, so don’t leave them in the shade all day.
- Water: the flowers need watering once or twice a week, depending on their soil and the room’s humidity.
- Temperature: calla lilies need warm temperatures, at least hotter than 60 F. Any colder than that, and they’ll go dormant.
- Soil: these flowers need soggy, moist soil to survive. Their original habitat is near water ponds, so they’re used to the constant moisture, and they actually need it to survive.
The Takeaway – Fixing The Problem of Calla Lily Drooping
If you see your calla lily drooping, there’s no need to worry. It’s mostly a result of the wrong watering routine or too much fertilizer. It can also happen if the temperature drops below the comfortable level for calla lilies.
As long as you provide the flowers with their basic requirements, they should be okay with no signs of drooping or wilting.