Callas - planting and care in the open field
Content:
Garden calla lilies are flowers of the Aroid family. This elegant plant is considered to be easily recognizable, it can grow both in the garden and on the windowsill. As a home flower, the species has been cultivated not so long ago, and therefore it is worth learning more about its independent cultivation.
Garden callas - what are these flowers
Garden callas, also called Zantedeskia, belong to the genus Aroid. This perennial plant prefers to settle in the humid climates of Africa (distributed from Tanzania to Nigeria) and South America.
Garden calla lilies
All bushes have a similar appearance. The plant has solitary green leaves, and flowers are located on a strong, tall arrow-peduncle. The inflorescences have one petal, rather large and easily recognizable.
Garden calla is an unpretentious plant subject to some care recommendations. One of the main difficulties in growing a flower is wintering. This species can be grown both outdoors and on a windowsill in a flower pot. It blooms from June to September.
The main types and varieties of calla lilies
The genus distinguishes 8 plant species, but only 3 are popular with gardeners. They are most often used by breeders to develop new varieties.
Calla Ethiopian (Calla aethiopica)
Ethiopian calla is a tall plant with white flowers. Peduncles in length can exceed 1 m. The smooth green leaf plate remains the same even during the dormant period. The following plant varieties are popular:
- Street calla lilies, perennials Green Goddess, reach a height of about 90 cm.
- If you want to start growing indoor flowers, calla lilies Pearls are most suitable for these purposes. This is a fairly compact plant that grows only up to half a meter.
- In the Nikolai variety, the peduncle grows up to one and a half meters. Arrow-shaped leaves of dark green color are located on long petioles. Their diameter is 8-12 cm.
- Schon Zweibruckerin has flower stalks about a meter long. A heart-shaped leaf plate of light color can reach a diameter of 15 cm.
This type of plant does not have a bulb, its underground part is presented in the form of a rhizome.
Calla Ethiopian
Calla Rehmanni
Calla Remann is a compact plant, the height of which will not exceed 70 cm. Flowers are most often pink in color, which can acquire a red or lilac hue. The leaves, colored green, are rather narrow. The bulbous root system is similar to the structure of the begonia rhizome.
Popular varieties are:
- Evening - the lilac-black bedspread has a satin sheen.
- Indian summer - a bedspread with a garnet-red tint.
- Chameleon - the bedspread has a peach color with a golden tint.
In the fall, the leaves are shed, and in the winter the plant begins a dormant period.
Calla Remann Indian Summer
Calla elliottiana
Large green plates of Elliott's calla lilies are heart-shaped with specks on the surface. The front side of the bedspread is light green, and the wrong side is yellow. The bush can reach a height of only half a meter.
The most popular flower varieties are:
- Vermeer - a slightly wavy blanket on the front side is white-marble, on the back it has a cherry-lilac hue. There are white dots on the surface of the leaves.
- Yellow corner - plates of deep green color with pale yellow specks. The bedspread is bright yellow.
- The black-eyed beauty has mottled foliage and an ivory veil that shines with a lemon color.
Calla Eliotta Yellow Corner
Features of growing garden calla lilies
Calla lilies are flowers whose cultivation in the garden will delight the gardener. This exotic plant has an extraordinary decorative look. Every year, new leaves and a peduncle appear on them, which is the main decoration. If you like the look of garden calla lilies, planting and care in the open field requires compliance with certain rules in order for the tuberous flower to flourish.
The novice gardener does not always know how calla lilies can be grown. To do this, you need to pick up a specific place on the site. It is preferable to use a large open space. However, it is required to shade the bush from the scorching sunlight, since they can burn the foliage. For this, it is recommended to plant a flower near shrubs and trees.
It is recommended to plant garden calla lilies in nutrient-rich soil. The soil should be either acidic or slightly acidic. It also needs to be well drained, since with constant waterlogging of the tuber, the plant may die.
Planting calla lilies in open ground
The technology of planting calla lilies in open ground differs depending on the selected planting material. It is recommended to buy it in specialized stores and garden centers.
Planting tubers
Planting material must be handled carefully, since the root system is sensitive enough and it is easy to damage it. Tubers can be planted without prior germination. To do this, first they need to be placed in a growth stimulator for half an hour, and then proceed to planting.
Planting by dividing the bush
Dividing a tuber allows you to take planting material from friends or relatives to transfer to your site. To achieve the goal, you need to dig up an adult bush, gently break off the root collar from the main root, leaving a small amount of soil on the roots.
Tuber division
After this, the delenki need to germinate at home. It is necessary to plant it in a large pot, leaving it to winter in a damp, cool room, where the air temperature fluctuates around 15 degrees Celsius. It can be planted in open ground in spring, like ordinary tubers.
Planting seeds
The most difficult way to grow calla lilies is from seeds. Pre-planting material must be soaked in a growth promoter to improve germination. Preparing the solution is required according to the attached instructions.
After that, the seeds should be put on a cotton pad or cotton cloth, covered with the selected material on top, moistened and put into a plastic bag. It is required to keep the seeds in a warm place for a week, without allowing them to dry out. After germination, it is worth planting sprouts in a pot at home.
How to plant depending on the season (spring / autumn)
It is enough just to breed calla lilies, growing at home will not cause problems if you follow the planting instructions and subsequently properly care for the plant. It is required to plant flowers in the spring; in the fall, no one does this.
Planting calla lilies in open ground
Disembarkation should take place in the first days of May.It is imperative to put the planting material in a manganese solution before this. After half an hour, a thorough inspection of the bush is required. The affected areas must be cut off, and the cut sites must be treated with brilliant green.
Complex fertilization is required to the soil. There should be about 35-40 g per square meter, after which the earth needs to be dug up. The depth of the dug hole should be up to 10 cm, between the bushes at least 30 cm. The tuber must be lowered into the hole and buried, and then watered well.
The sprouts begin to appear not earlier than after 2-4 weeks, because the underground part is formed first of all. You should not dig a hole to make sure that the root system is normal. The first couple of weeks should refrain from watering.
Calla lilies growing and caring for them can begin before planting in open ground. In the last days of March, you can plant tubers in pots at home. It is required to plant in holes with a depth of 2-3 cm. It is worth using an ordinary soil mixture, or processed for 40 minutes in the oven. Watering is carried out a couple of times a week.
Rules for caring for planted flowers
The plant needs regular watering. It is worth starting to it only after the seedlings begin to release leaves and shoots. Before that, either refrain from watering altogether, or produce it exclusively when the soil dries up. Subsequently, watering calla lilies is 1-2 per week.
The rhizome should receive a sufficient amount of oxygen, and therefore it is recommended to loosen the soil after each watering, to prevent the appearance of a crust on the surface of the earth. It is also recommended to remove weeds.
In order for the bush to be lush enough with a large number of peduncles, it is necessary to constantly introduce fertilizers. It is imperative to feed when planting. If this procedure was not performed, then in the future it will be necessary to introduce fertilizers into the soil every couple of weeks, otherwise the calla lilies will not bloom.
Wintering a plant, how to store tubers and rhizomes
In Siberia and the middle latitude of Russia as a whole, this plant cannot winter outdoors.
The tubers need to be dug out, washed well and placed in a manganese solution for half an hour. After that, it is worthwhile to wash the root system again, leave it in a shaded place, waiting for it to dry.
Then place the tubers in paper bags and store in a cool place. For wintering, a vegetable box in the refrigerator is suitable.
The variety of colors on the windowsill or in the garden will not leave anyone indifferent. Calla lilies have a wide range of shades - from white to red. Growing will not cause problems even for a novice gardener, if you follow certain recommendations.
