Secrets of growing calla lilies in the garden and 3 rules of care

Gorgeous tropical plants have long been firmly established in flower beds and flower beds, continuing to grow in popularity. If just a few years ago they were considered exotic and were found only in the pot culture or in cut form in bouquets, today planting calla lilies in the garden has become a common procedure for many owners of summer cottages. These delicate flowers, elegantly raising their arrows with buds, effectively decorate the landscape, bringing a touch of tenderness and mystery into it, and delight the eye for a long time. They need minimal care, but their cultivation will still require some knowledge and experience.

Site requirements

In nature, garden calla is found in South America and Africa. The sultry and humid climate of the tropical forests is natural for it. But the plant cannot be called too demanding in terms of keeping conditions. Its planting in open ground will be successful in almost all regions, one has only to take into account the natural rhythm of calla lilies. If in its natural environment the flowering period for the culture falls on the winter, then in our country it will dissolve its luxurious buds on the site in the summer.

For growing plants in the garden, it is better to choose an open, well-lit and spacious place. But it is important to remember: despite their southern origin, tender calla lilies cannot stand the scorching heat. In the sun, their leaves wither and wither, and may even burn and dry out. Therefore, at midday they need shading. The optimal solution is to plant calla lilies next to shrubs or spreading trees, which during the day will be able to provide them with protection from the scorching sun rays, and in the morning they will not block the light from them.

Calla lilies need nutritious soil, the quality and duration of their flowering depends on the degree of its fertility. They prefer acidic, in extreme cases, slightly acidic soil.

It is not difficult to prepare the ideal substrate for plants, just mix 4 ingredients in equal amounts:

1. land;
2. sand;
3. peat;
4. leaf humus.

A prerequisite for the cultivation of calla lilies both in the open field and at home is to ensure good drainage. Flowers are very sensitive to waterlogging of the soil, they react to it with instant decay of the roots. It is important to consider this feature when choosing a place for a flower bed in the garden. The land on the site should dry out quickly after rains or irrigation, and the groundwater should not come close to the surface.

Disembarkation rules

Calla lilies are planted exclusively in spring, in early May, when the threat of frost becomes minimal. The procedure requires preliminary preparation of the site itself and the tubers of the plants. The planting material is kept in a potassium permanganate solution for 30 minutes before being placed in the ground. Then the tubers are thoroughly examined. If areas with signs of rot or other diseases are found on them, they are carefully removed with a sharp knife, leaving only undamaged tissue. Cut sites are treated with brilliant green. You cannot skip this stage, since the cultivation of calla lilies in the open field will be successful only when using healthy planting material.

The soil on the site is enriched by scattering complex mineral preparations over its surface (in a dosage of 30–40 g per 1 m²) and dug up. The tubers are planted in holes 5–10 cm deep. If a rhizome variety of a flower is chosen, the holes are made even smaller, sprinkling the rhizomes with soil quite a bit. When planted deep, they will almost certainly rot. Calla lilies will need a lot of space for their full development, so an interval of 30-40 cm is left between the plants.Putting the tubers in the soil, sprinkle them with a nutritious substrate. You cannot press them into the ground. Planting ends with intensive watering.

A typical mistake inexperienced gardeners make is expecting quick shoots from calla lilies. Do not be upset, let alone try to dig out the tuber to check its condition, if the sprouts do not hatch for a long time. Having decided on growing a crop, you need to be patient. Its shoots appear only when the underground part of the flower is fully formed. This period can range from 2 weeks to a month.

Advice

Caring for calla lilies placed in the ground involves refusing to water for the first 14 days. The tubers should have enough moisture that they received during planting.

You can make it easier for the plant to survive in the open field by preparing it for changing conditions. To this end, at the end of March, its tubers are planted in small pots. It is allowed to shift the date of the procedure to the beginning of April, but not later. It is not necessary to deeply deepen them, it is enough to dig in by 2- cm. It is better to plant flowers in a substrate specially purchased in the store, but you can also use ordinary soil, having previously calcined it in the oven for 40 minutes. Further care for calla lilies includes regular watering (once every 3-4 days). Before moving to the flower bed, young plants are hardened for a week, opening the window for a short time. It is necessary to plant them in the ground with an earthen lump so as not to damage the root system.

Calla lilies

In summer, caring for calla lilies in the garden is easy. Flowers will require special attention only in preparation for winter. Until autumn, they only need watering, weeding and loosening the soil. The regular and correct implementation of these simple procedures is a guarantee that the cultivation of noble calla lilies on the site will lead to its normal development, implying a long and lush flowering.

Watering the culture needs moderate, but frequent. You cannot overdo it with it, otherwise there is a high risk of ruining the plants. But the soil should not dry out either. They begin to moisturize it regularly when the flowers release the first leaves. The amount of moisture introduced depends on the weather conditions. If the summer is hot and dry, calla lilies are watered more abundantly. When the days are not hot, and there is enough natural precipitation, the soil in the flowerbed is moistened 2 times a week. Watering is always completed by lightly loosening the topsoil.

If, when planting plants, complex nutrient compositions were introduced into the ground, then further care in the form of additional dressings for calla lilies will not be needed. These flowers thrive best in acidic soil. If the soil on the site does not meet this requirement, it is watered with a weak aqueous solution of citric acid or vinegar (1 tbsp. L of the drug per 1 bucket of water). Often it is not necessary to carry out the procedure, 2-3 times per season is enough. Calla lilies are not capricious, but they will be grateful if the soil around them is dug, having previously sprinkled dry needles over it. Such care will help create an acidic environment that is optimal for plants. Its undoubted plus is that it is formed naturally ˗ as a result of the processing of needles by worms.

Preparing for winter

Even in the southern regions, our winters are too harsh for calla lilies, so the autumn care of the plant involves extracting it from the ground. After the flowering period ends, the leaves of the tuberous varieties of the culture begin to turn yellow and gradually dry out. If this happened, then it’s time to dig them up. The procedure is usually carried out in the third week of September, being careful, as calla tubers are easily damaged. You can postpone it until the beginning or even mid-October, if weather conditions permit. The main thing is to be in time before the first frost.

The tubers are carefully cleaned of soil, washed thoroughly under running water and, after keeping for 30 minutes in a solution of potassium permanganate and rinsing again, are placed to dry in a dark, cool and well-ventilated place where the temperature does not rise above 5-10˚ C. The flowers are stored there for 2 weeks. Such care is necessary so that the nutrients accumulated in the leaves of the plant are transferred to the tubers. At the end of this period, the wilted aerial parts are easily removed, and the tubers are laid out in paper bags with perforations. The optimum temperature in winter for them is 5-7˚ C. Drawers for vegetables in a regular refrigerator will provide it.

Advice

It is also possible to store callas in boxes, but in this case, each tuber must be wrapped in several layers of newsprint.

Rhizome varieties of a flower, after being removed from the ground, together with an earthen clod, it is advisable to keep in a cool place, occasionally watering moderately. If this is not possible, then another method will do. The rhizomes need to be dried a little and the leaves should be cut off. The rules for storing them are identical to those for storing tubers. But you cannot leave both those and others for the whole winter without attention, they need some care.

It is necessary to monitor their condition by examining the future planting material every week. If the temperature is too high for them, the tubers and rhizomes will begin to dry out and wrinkle. And excess moisture will lead to their decay. Having found the first signs of bud awakening, flowers can be planted in a pot, and then ˗ on a flower bed, observing the rules described above.

Garden callas are amazing plants. Symbolizing the best qualities: nobility, dignity, pride, purity, ˗ they will become real queens in the flower bed. Their majestic beauty will attract admiring glances for a long time, and the delicate sensual aroma will seem to transfer you to the atmosphere of oriental fairy tales. They are truly versatile, looking equally good in a front garden, in a pot on a windowsill, and when cut in a vase.

Do not be afraid of the southern origin of callas. For all their exoticism, they are very unpretentious. Caring for them is incredibly simple, which distinguishes them favorably from many garden plants and makes them the favorites of most gardeners. One has only to ensure that the callas plant in the right place, water them regularly and loosen the soil in the flowerbed, and they will give the world all their splendor. Try to grow this elegant flower on the site and it will charm you!