Captain Romance, Zantedeschia Calla Lily
Calla Lilies are easy to grow and highly productive per square foot if properly cared for. In our northern climate, we direct sow dormant Zantedeschia Calla rhizomes in second week of May and have abundant flushes of blooms by mid July to first frost. To harvest Calla's for cut flowers, we pull the stem, much like a daffodil, leaving the bulb in the ground, pulling the whole stem for greater stem length. The vase life on Zantedeschia Calla varieties is 3 weeks average. Since Calla's are trendy right now, investing in rhizomes that can be easily stored and replanted year after year is a smart investment even for small growers.
Calla's must be lifted and stored over winter. The process is simple. Let them die back, remove from soil, divide new bulbs and store them in a cardboard box with shavings (optional) somewhere cool, dry and dark. We have a method to grow them that eliminates the most common problem gardeners have with callas. The struggle with getting calla lilies to bloom the second year they have been planted is many people can't get them to bloom properly. Most commercial callas are sold treated with a gibberellic acid treatment to trigger sprouting and rooting sooner, forcing blooms sooner. Acid treaded bulbs often require a lot of fertilizer weekly as well as pesticides, which is an added cost. Acid treading bulbs yearly can cause them to burn out within a couple years. We have found this acid treatment to be unnecessary and there are better alternatives that result in higher yields sooner. Our trick to higher bloom yields and faster bloom production is to use living soil to start them, or amend the soil with living soil. The brand we use is Superworm Soil. We also blend granular AnneMaxx Bloom & AnneMaxx Grow in the planting hole in ratio of 1/2 Tbsp of each granular product per rhizome. Once planted and covered over with soil we add 1/4 cup of each granular AnneMaxx product over the planted area to cover 10 rhizomes. Every 2 weeks we feed about 1-2 tbsp per plant of both granular products. Callas are heavy feeders and heavily rely on soil microbiology to feed themselves soil nutrients. We have found this to be the most cost efficient and reliable way to achieve bumper crops per square foot with callas.
Planting. Amend loose, well draining soil with compost, worm castings and bonemeal. Alternatively amend with Superworm Soil (what we use). Add in granular fertilizer of choice. We use AnneMaxx grow and bloom. Plant bulb with bumpy side up 3-4 inches below the surface. Space about 4-6 inches apart. Water thoroughly at initial planting, then don't water again for 10 days. Overwatering can cause rot, so make sure the soil is moist below but not soggy. Once leaves appear, deep water a couple times a week. Zantedeschia Callas will bloom 60 days from dormant sown in average weather conditions here in Northern Alberta.
Hardy to Zone 8
Full Sun/ Part Shade
Height 16"
Deer Resistant
Re-blooms until frost
Must be lifted in the fall and stored over winter. Easy to grow, can handle full sun or part shade. Deer resistant, reblooms.
