Calla Lilies are very popular for wedding bouquets as they signify magnificence and beauty.

Calla lilies are one of the most beautiful flowers with a unique flower form. Calla lilies come in a wide array of colors viz., shades of green, pink, purple, yellow and orange.

Callas are also known by such other common names viz., arum lily, trumpet lily, Pig lily, or Miniature Calla Lily. Calla lilies are native to Southern Africa. Calla lilies are easy to grow and are generally grown from a bulb or rhizome.

Kingdom

Plantae

Division

Magnoliophyta

Class

Liliopsida

Order

Alismatales

Family

Araceae

Genus

Zantedeschia

Calla lilies are excellent houseplants, best for beds, borders, bouquets and flower arrangements.

Calla Lilies signify magnificence and beauty. Further combined with the attributes associated with the color you choose, Calla lilies can convey a wealth of meaning.

About the Calla Lily Flower and Plant

Calla lilies have long-petioled, basal leaves arising from a thick rhizome. The inflorescence, on a leafless flower stalk, consists of a spathe and spadix. The spathe, a large, flaring, trumpet-shaped bract, surrounds the spadix which is covered with tiny flowers.

Calla lilies average between 1 and 3 feet high and have a diameter of approximately 1 to 1 and 1/2 feet when fully grown. The Calla lily leaves are 1 1/2′ long, rich green. The green leaves of the calla lily are shaped like arrowheads and have white or silver speckles.

Some Interesting Facts about Calla lilies

• The Calla lily is a perennial bulb.
• Though called a lily, Calla lilies are not really lilies.
• Calla is a flowering genus of twenty-eight species originating in Africa and growing mostly in marshy areas.
• Calla lilies are grown from bulbous roots with finger-like growths. These are known as tubers.
• The blooming time of Calla lilies is late spring.
• The word Calla comes from the Greek term for beautiful.
• The Calla lily roots are poisonous.

Growing Calla lilies

• Plant Calla Lilies deeply for their good size.
• Plant them at 4 inches deep, spacing each bulb 12 inches apart.
• Start bulbs indoors in late winter and transplant them in the spring when the danger of frost has passed.
• Apply a bulb fertilizer every month during the active growing season.
• Most Calla Lilies need a rest period after flowering.
• Let the leaves die back and let plants rest for 2 to 3 months.
• Then again resume watering to encourage new growth.

Those with children and pets should use caution when growing calla lilies. They contain a poisonous ingredient called oxalic acid. If this plant is ingested, a poison control center should be called immediately.

Calla lilies Care

• In cooler areas, take the rhizomes after the first frost; clean the bulbs, if there is soil.
• Dry them in direct sun for a few days.
• Store in a dry location that remain between 50 and 60 degrees F.
• Plant the calla lily bulbs in spring after the soil has warmed and all danger of frost has passed.
• Fertilize monthly, and keep well watered.

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