I apologize if this weird happening has been posted before. I did a search and didn't find anything relevant.

I am not normally a flower grower, however, I have a few calla lily bulbs I am growing as a present for a friend. I have black and white calla's and I have one of each in a pot. They have been planted for about 6 weeks or so now and are doing very well (I am proud of me!)

I have one issue though. As they are in pots and I am in zone 8, I didn't plant them until about the 3rd week in March. I didn't know what to expect and they started to grow. I do happy dances every day and they are growing about a half inch overnight.

Anyway, I currently have about 16 to 18 stalks of various sizes that have broken the surface. four or five of them have unrolled a few leaves and the entire pot is very sturdy and green and appears to be doing quite well. I water maybe once a week (Saturdays) and I try to keep the soil just right. (not soggy, not too dry)

The pot drains well and until last night I have had 0 issues. I bring the pot in every night and put it out every morning for sun and fresh air. I brought the pot in last night and everything was fine, I went out to hang with a friend for a few hours and when I came home one of the stalks, just one, was laying on its side.

I was curious as to why and I gently lifted it by the top to stand it back up. It came off in my hand, just pulled right out of the soil!!

The entire stalk was soaking wet and the base of it just mushed right in my fingers.

No other stalk appears fragile, wet, damaged, etc. This one stalk came from the center of the pot and was medium height with no leaves it had only split once and was about 8 inches tall.

Does anyone know why this happened? Is there something I should be looking for? I examined the rest of the growth this morning in the sunlight and see nothing wrong. All the other stalks are firm, dry, upright and strongly planted in the soil.

I won't be giving the plant to my friend as her present until the first of June, but I don't want to give her a damaged plant! Please help.

I can provide pictures if needed.

Not an expert on Calla lilies, but I'm sorry to say that typically when something like this happens, there is root rot present. This can be very serious. Calla lilies (Zantedeschia) are very susceptible to this and this is a big problem in commercial operations as well. At a minimum I would isolate the infected plant and wash hands and tools carefully after handling. If it is root rot, I would think it likely that your plant will die, so your primary focus should be to prevent spread to the healthy ones.

See for instance here for more info:
https://pnwhandbooks.org/plant...

Thank you for the reply, and the link. I looked at the link and read the article. I hope it isn't that! However, my plant doesn't quite fit those symptoms.

I am adding the pictures (all taken this morning) the base of the growth, the leaves and the one that is soaking wet and fell out last night. (on a paper towel now and even after being out of the soil all night it is still dripping wet)

It's just odd. No other stalk or leaves are wet, drooping, wilting or anything.

Zone 8 there is no reason weather wise that you would need to bring them inside at night, the stem looks like it rotted, but no other indications.

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/d...

Since they were all treated the same my best guess would be that that one bulb was sub-par when you acquired it. They can get bruised during the harvest or shipping but not show signs on the outside but are then vulnerable to rot.

Thanks guys.

Yes, I bring them in at night because of where I live not because of the weather. Currently staying in a hotel until my house is finished being rebuilt.

Anyway, should I dig it up and check the actual bulb? I don't want to shock it or anything.

If there is hope and indication, what are my next steps?

Thanks!