Any thoughts on this one?






In this pot, I have another unknown red one, side by side with my white calla.

It's a Calla lily, which is not a lily but is Zantedeschia. There's a lot of hybrids so unless it's distinctive, or you bought it with a name it's unlikely you will be able to name it other than a Zantedeschia hybrid. Most supermarkets and garden centres sell them unnamed. Most in this country will be grown in Holland.

https://www.google.co.uk/searc...

Very healthy plants Pia. Please be sure to post photos of blooms of that last pot Pia. If the green leaved Calla is a variety of Z. aethiopica you might want to separate them. Z. aethiopica is typically an evergreen, wetlands plant although it can go dormant if it's too dry or cold. Tuberous Callas are typically dry season dormant but the tubers may rot if it's cool and wet.

Janet, I'm curious as to how the tuberous Arum/Calla Lilies are grown in the UK vs. Z. aethiopica varieties. Do you need to lift the tuberous Zantedeschia overwinter? Can Z. aethiopica varieties be left in ground?

I've grown them all Evan! I had some supposedly more reliable named varieties of Z. aethiopica, namely Pink Mist and Mr. Martin. They did OK while I kept them in pots over winter, and while we had relatively mild winters/springs and relatively 'warm' summers, they would start to grow in the greenhouse in late winter although I didn't get many flowers and sometimes none. I started with 'Crowborough' planted in the ground, the tubers grew a little but the foliage struggled to make anything other than a couple of small leaves, so after a few years I put it in pots. I was lucky to get some flowers in a greenhouse when the winter/spring was mild.

Then came very cold springs and summers, that's when they really started to struggle. Eventually they fizzled out due to the inability to grow enough to sustain the tuberous roots but when they were growing well I had to keep dividing them, although Mr. Martin was really the only robust one.

I had the same success or better with the Calla hybrids, some grew huge tubers and multiplied like wildfire. I kept them in pots in a greenhouse over winter where they survived, it's possible if I had lifted them to bring inside and replant in spring they might have continued doing well but a run of cold summers seemed to be what finished them off.

None of them would survive in the ground here, we just don't get enough warmth and often too much wet. I'm certain if I had some in pots in a greenhouse during the very harsh winter 2010/11 they wouldn't have survived. It was great while I got results, too much work to keep trying otherwise.

Thanks for the sharing your experiences Janet. Hopefully the price is right to grow them as annuals in the UK. I too have trouble blooming Z. aethiopica although I do occasionally get a winter bloom on the ones I don't force dormant. Our relatively hot, humid summers allow the tuberous Callas to store plenty of energy to overwinter in the basemant and they usually put on a nice show in the summer. I was surprised again this year by a few tubers I didn't lift surviving -23-26C temps without much snow cover or mulch. The Z. aethiopica 'White Giant' I tested fared less well. With 60 cm of leaves and straw mulch the main rhizome rotted, although numerous offsets have been pushing out leaves.

My white Calla I have had since 2008! It used to have HUGE leaves when I had it first. It was forgotten dormant in the loft and I found it when I moved 4 years later! Zantedeschias are a very good plant to have as a beginner I believe, because no matter which plants have crossed paths with me, they have survived it all. I love how they get rid of excess water at the tip of the leaves, one of my most favorite plant tricks. Looks beautiful if the light catches them doing it too.
I need to buy some sand, they did best in my care with sand in the soil.