Zantedeschia aethiopica, also known as Calla Lily, is a unique flowering plant that belongs to the Araceae family. With proper care, it can grow pretty tall, easily reaching 3 feet high and 2 feet wide, but how long do Calla Lily bloom last?
The Calla Lily flowers are its best feature though. And people naturally want to enjoy their colorful bloom for the longest time. These plants come from the warm lakesides of Africa, so they give off their prettiest flowers by the end of spring and throughout the summer. The flowers stay in full bloom for up to two weeks before wilting.
If you were wondering how long do calla Lily blooms last, read on. In this article, we’ll answer this question in detail, and also suggest some tips to extend the blooming season as long as possible.
The Blooming Season for Calla Lillies
Calla Lilies are native to South Africa, where the weather is mostly warm and sunny. They typically grow around lakes, so they would clearly prefer high moisture soil and humid surroundings.
The original variant of this unique-looking plant has pristine white funnel-shaped flowers with a splash of yellow at their hearts. The flowers have a pleasant scent that resembles expensive perfumes.
Florists are quite fond of Calla Lily, as it’s obviously a popular flower. White Lillies were the dominant type for a while, then colored hybrids started to appear. Currently, you can find golden yellow, deep burgundy, soft pink, and velvet black Calla Lillies. They aren’t as heavily scented as the while lilies though.
Summer is the most dynamic time for this gorgeous flower. It’s when gardens seem to be consistently showing off the unique-looking Calla Lily blooms. Winter for a Calla Lily is a time for rest. Thus, it rarely shows any flowers after the first few weeks of the fall.
The best time to see the Calla Lillies bloom is around the end of spring to the beginning of fall. This naturally depends on the local climate and hardiness zone. Once a plant starts blooming, it might not produce too many flowers, but each one stays in full bloom for almost two weeks.
How to get Calla Lily Blooms to Last Longer?
If you have Calla Lillies in your garden or filling up pots around your porch, then you’d like to see them blooming for the longest time.
And if you’re in the habit of cutting off the flower and sending them to friends and family, then you’d definitely want to maximize the yield of Calla Lillies and extend their blooming season as much as possible.
Here are some tips on how to get the best result with your Calla Lily.
- Start Early in the Spring
The best time to plant a Calla Lily is as soon as the temperatures go up a bit, the weather becomes pleasant, and the spring is evidently in the air.
These plants are perennials, so you’d need to start planting them from their tubers or bulbs. You’d either have rhizomes that have been overwintered for the chilly season, or potted Calla Lillies that were dormant in the basement.
A very good time to get the rhizomes and bulbs out is the early spring. Prepare the soil as best as you can and add a bit of nourishment to encourage the Calla Lillies to grow. Additionally, place the plants in the warmest sunniest spot you have. This too would get things going.
- Check the Watering Schedule
Calla Lilies like a moist soil far more than a dry one, so don’t wait till the soil becomes bone-dry for the next watering.
Underwatering a Calla Lily is more common than overwatering, but both extremes could be detrimental to this sensitive plant. It’s imperative to come up with a correct watering schedule, then stick to it.
Another important factor to consider is the temperature. Cooler weather and short days with limited sun call for less watering. The opposite is also true, as the harsh heat and generous daylight make the plant go thirsty more frequently.
Wilted leaves with yellow or brown edges are the clearest signal that the plant has watering problems. Contrary to that, a deep green vibrant color of the foliage plus clear plumpness in the stems demonstrate good health.
- Improve the Soil Quality
Calla Lillies thrive in moist conditions, so plenty of water is good. At the same time, if their surroundings get waterlogged, the roots wood soon rot, and the plant suffers a lot because of that.
A primary requirement of the soil is to be supportive and wholesome, and simultaneously, it needs to have efficient drainage.
The soil quality degrades with time. It could become compacted, too loose, depleted out of its nutrients, or its pH could go awry. It’s thus essential to replenish the soil or change it entirely. A good gardening mix or potting mix with the right additives should be good.
A handful of Perlite keeps the soil airy, and an equal amount of coconut coir would enhance the water retention capability of the mix. If you wish, you might also add some organic compost to increase the richness of the soil.
- Place the Calla Lily in a Sunny Spot
Some gardeners advise us to plant the Calla Lily in the sunniest spot we have. At the same time, other gardeners say that Calla Lily is a house plant that can live happily in partial shade. These conflicting opinions might seem confusing, but they’re actually both right!
Calla Lily likes a bit of sun and thrives in temperatures around 60 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. So if you live in a warm location, you can place your Calla Lily out on the porch, or in a shaded part of your garden.
In hardiness zones below 6, the sun is usually hiding behind a cloud, so you should plant the Calla Lily where it would receive the most light. Usually, that would be out in the garden.
Hardiness zones above 10, have long days of harsh sun, so an outdoor spot would be much too scorching. The Lily feels much better inside the house, but close to a window.
- Add the Right Fertilizer at the Right Time
All kinds of fertilizers would work nicely with Cala Lillies. Thus, if you prefer liquid, slow-release granular, or water-soluble powder varieties, then you should use what you have. Just pay attention to two things: timing and composition.
Calla Lilies need extra nutrition the most when they are growing or flowering. That’s from the beginning of spring to the end of summer. During the fall and winter, this plant sheds its leaves and gets ready for wintering. There’s no need for a boost of nutrients at that time.
As for composition, Calla Lillies tend to develop more green foliage when they have excessive amounts of nitrogen. And they go into full bloom when they get a generous serving of phosphorous. A dash of micronutrients would also go a long way with these flowers!
- Move the Calla Lily Into a Bigger Pot
Calla Lillies are known for growing bigger than their containers in a relatively short time. Also, sometimes, their tubers split, and you get two or more plants growing in the same pot. This competition for space and resources ultimately affects the health of the plant.
Repotting a Calla Lily might seem like a hassle, but it’s really not. It’s actually a good opportunity to upgrade the soil, prune the plant, and give it better conditions to thrive.
- Chase Away the Bugs and Pests
Spring and summer are busy times for bugs. They come out of the scarcity and cruelty of the chilly season with a voracious appetite. And this naturally affects many types of plants.
Calla Lillies attract aphids, spider mites, and slugs. In addition, these plants could get some bacterial and fungal infections. It’s prudent then to spray the growing foliage and stems with neem oil regularly, and if there are too many bugs, then an insecticide would be necessary.
Conclusion – How Long Do Calla Lily Bloom?
You can enjoy the flowers of your Calla Lily for about eight weeks, from mid-spring to the beginning of the fall season. A healthy plant would yield beautiful fragrant flowers that remain in full bloom for almost 14 days.
This requires a bit of care though. And that’s why we listed here all the necessary tips to get the best blooming season ever.