Calla Lilies In Pots

If you are searching for calla lilies in pots, how well they grow and last in that medium. Before that let me tell you I have calla lilies in my garden before but one day I visited my friends house and saw calla in a container near the patio. I even spot the other calla lilies(Zantedeschia aethiopica) in pots all around the house. She has different varieties of this flower and that day I asked her about caring and how she simply grows these beauties indoors, outdoors and especially in pots. She told me everything today . I will answer all your questions related to potted calla lilies.

Calla lilies in pots can grow upto 3 feet(90 cm) tall and the bulbs should be planted 1 inch(2.5cm) deep in soil. Calla lilies need larger pots size which have a diameter of 12-14 inches. The plants are initially grown in pots with 2 seeds in each container, & callas thrives best in nutrient rich soil medium when provided it will be for the plants good health.

Some people have success in growing potted calla lilies in narrow containers but the most important thing is how you water your plant and don’t overdo it otherwise the roots may have issues in supplying nutrients to top leaves. Your soil needs to be moist, give it time to dry and water only when your topsoil is 2 inch dry.

What is the right type of pot for calla lilies?

When growing calla lilies(Zantedeschia aethiopica) with seeds it takes more time to germinate and form roots. As per my experience you should buy a new 2 calla lily bulb and put each one of them in 2 pots. The best pot for calla lily is 4-6 inches pots that can hold 1 bulb and it will also look good in smaller pots. For a large container you can put 2 bulbs in 1 pot but that needs to be planted like the second bulbs should be 4 inches apart from the first bulb. A diameter of 11-12 inch in a container would work for these calla lily rhizomes.

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The right size of pot needs to be selected so your plants don’t feel uncomfortable while growing. Many people have grown calla’s lily in narrow pots which are sufficient for only one bulb. The right pot for calla lily is 6 inches and you can increase the container size or change the pot whenever you feel that the roots outgrown the pots.

Choosing the Best Pot for Calla lily

There are many different types of pots available in the market today. Some can be bad for environmental reasons while others can’t keep up for many years. Here are the best pots that I think would definitely work for calla lily.

Terra Cotta

These pots are super effective when it comes to overwatering. They are made from terracotta clay that’s why even if they are watered fully. The pots can receive air outside and that is why these pots easily get dry, solving the root rot problem. Even they are best in preventing any disease and fungal infections.

Terracotta pots are used for succulents like cactus, snake plant, some plants like money plant, polka dot and tulsi.

Ceramic

They are the most popular because of the outside texture, although they are nearly similar to terracotta. These pots are beautied with paints, designs for decoration purposes. You can place these in the dining hall, living room, nearby computer table and much more. But these need to be cared for properly because pets and children might break them while playing so placing them in a good place is necessary.

They are good for plants like peace lily, sansevierias, aloe vera and much more. They are used for a classy look for interiors.

Plastic

If you are on a budget then these plastic based pots are good for your calla lilies. Many of the nurseries used them just because they are available for cheap price and secondly they need to store more than 100 types of different plants so for that purpose it helps them. Nowadays its changing because Of the plastic usage and knowledge of harmful effects of it and how plastic cannot be decomposed for more than 200 years. When they dumped plastic into the ocean it affects the marine(fish) life. & do you know every species has a purpose of living if one of the living lost from the cycle, then there will be more disturbance in the world.

Examples would be tigers and deer.

Using plastic should be our last option if there is no substitute.

Plastic pots can also work for calla lilies and almost all the plants because you need to do holes at the bottom in the pot and the draining problem is solved. The pot easily drains water and it also dries the soil. You can use a good draining potting mix for these kinds of pots. Although These pots are good enough and have a life of 2-4 years.

So, What is the best Pot for Calla lily

I have used terracotta pots for my calla lily and it drains water perfectly. You can use any potting soil for this type of terracotta pots because it dries the water fast and all the water also drains well.

Best Pot Soil for Calla lily

So for my calla lily(Zantedeschia aethiopica) I used to make potting soil at home. When I was a beginner I used to have soil mixes like:

4 cups of ground soil
1 cup of perlite
1 cup of peat moss
2 cup fertiliser(Or Cow manure)

Perlite increases the drainage while the peat moss is used for air circulation. Compost gives the soil all the nutrients to grow a healthy plant and a soil medium for our calla lily plant.

Or Just use this recipe below.

4 cups of coarse sand
2 cups of organic fertiliser(or cow manure)
2 cup perlite

If you don’t want to blend any of the ingredients and just want one solution I would recommend using potting soil. You don’t need to add anything; it can be used directly for calla lilies.

Potting Soil for calla lilies – Shop Now.

Should I leave calla lilies in pots over winter?

Calla lilies(Zantedeschia aethiopica) in pots over winters should be taken back indoors. I live in Zone 10 and calla’s are hardy to zone 9 to 11 which means it can handle overwinters(spend the colder season). For those people who live in USDA zone 1-5 must cut off dead calla lilies and take the rhizomes(bulb) indoors and pack it up with shredded papers. This will counter the moisture that is generally created because of cold air. You can also prevent the moisture in calla lily bulbs using peat moss or keep it in a paper bag.

After saving the life of calla lily you can plant the bulb back into the pot in spring. Use a 4-6 inch pot for this purpose of repotting bulbs. Bulbs should be planted with their eyes at the top surface of soil and the lower part kept in soil. That bulb has eyes that need to be open and other portions of the bulb can be buried in soil.

calla lily rhizomes are best when growing the plant itself. I would not grow calla using seeds because it takes too much time to grow. If you have the rhizome(bulb) you can see the plant first creates a bulb with that size then grows the other parts slowly. That’s why I always advise people to directly buy rhizomes rather than seeds.

One more thing, If you need different colour calla lilies then only you need seeds to grow them. I have a hard time finding the different varieties of lily bulbs. The common variety is white it is easily available in online ecommerce sites.

I have found bulbs of 4 varieties with different colours, you can buy them from the link below.

Calla Lily Aethiopica White Bulb

Deep Purple Paco Calla Lily Bulb

Calla Lily Pink ‘Zantedeschia Rehmannii’ Bulb

Yellow calla lily Bulb

Also Check :

Calla Lily Meaning – What Does It Symbolize?

Are Calla Lilies Perennial? – Coming Back Every Year

Potted Calla lily Care

Potted Calla lilies are best grown in sunny spots. If you have a balcony place it there, if you have a south facing window place it there but it will not grow as per its full potential because Lilies are grown mostly outdoors. You can still grow them indoors where it gets a few hours of full sun or growing in a lawn or patio would be a better choice. Winters might affect its roots and plants may find it difficult to grow. Calla lilies bulbs can be dug up and kept indoors in a paper bag, before that let it dry for a day so all the water, moisture gets away and you don’t have to worry about root rot.

There are other ways to save the calla lily bulb by keeping it inside of shredded papers. I have tried both the methods of putting it in peat moss or shredded paper all worked. It should be placed in a cool area, it should not see any moisture over the rhizome because that’s the thing that makes the root rot. You can add paper in all layers of bulb, side , bottom, down everywhere it will be healthy and can be planted next spring.

In Dry Conditions or Hot sunny days you can water it to solve the dryness while many people place pot saucer at the bottom with water and it will help moisture the calla lilies and protect them from underwatering.

Best pot with saucer for Calla lily – Shop now

For Fertilizer, use any fertiliser for our calla lily and use it every month or in 25-32 days in summers, they will show better foliage colour and bloom if provided with good fertiliser.

Best Fertiliser for Calla lily – Shop Now

Pruning a potted calla lily is needed after the bloom starts to die. Use a clean purner and cut off all the dead calla lilies and save the rhizomes that can be kept indoors for next season, this way our callas are called perennial plants.

I have written a lengthy article on “Are Calla Lilies Perennial or annual. Please read to get more knowledge on beautiful lilies.

Wrap Up

I hope you get the answer on “Calla Lilies In Pots” . If you like to read more articles, check below.

When Do Calla Lilies Bloom? (Seasons, Florida Perennial)

Calla Lily Flower – Meaning And Symbolism

Calla Lily Leaves Turning Yellow – How to Fix(Reason and Solution)