PlantSowGrow
How to grow Calla Lily (Zantedeschia)
Zantedeschia hybrids
Elegant, sculptural trumpet flowers in red, orange, pink and yellow over spotted leaves from July. Superb in pots and as cut flowers.
At a glance: Sow late April to late May.
When to sow, plant and harvest
Timed for a typical UK garden (last frost mid-April). The app uses your own town's frost dates.
Growing Calla Lily (Zantedeschia): what it needs
- Light
- Full sun · 6+ hours a day
- Watering
- Water generously in dry weather once growing
- Soil
- Rich, well-drained soil
- Spacing
- 30 cm
- Height
- 45–60 cm
- In pots
- Grows well in containers
- Feeding
- High-potash liquid feed weekly from midsummer
- Hardiness
- USDA zones 7–11
Step by step
- Late April – late May · 2 weeks after the last spring frost
Plant Outdoors
Plant 10–15 cm deep, 30 cm apart, in rich soil in full sun once frosts are over.
- 14–28 days after “Start Rhizomes in Pots” · Mid May – late May
Look for Shoots
Shoots should be up. Water more as the leaves unfurl and keep slugs off young growth.
- 50–90 days after “Plant Out” · Early July – mid August
First Flowers — Deadhead Regularly
Cut faded flowers (and flowers for vases) to keep new buds coming. Take a photo for your journal!
Every year
- MarchStart Them Off Again
Check stored tubers/corms, discard any soft ones and pot them up (or plant out once frosts are over).
- OctoberLift and Store
After the first frost blackens the leaves, cut stems to 10 cm, lift, dry off upside down, and store in dry compost somewhere frost-free.
