GH companions aside from Clivia - Orchid Board

stonedragonfarms · #1 03-24-2008, 01:28 PM

The first callas of the season are also opening...and the GH smells awesome late in the afternoon. The little papery yellow flower is one of many on my Ilima tree--it's a Hawaiian native that throws flowers for me year round, it seems to not mind the cool nights that the rest of the plants get, and it sure brightens up the GH year round.
Adam

Tindomul · #2 03-24-2008, 01:39 PM

Gorgeous! How do you care for the Callas? I have Z. aethiopica and a few bulbs of the multi colored ones you get at the supermarket. Have had them for two or three seasons. I haven't been able to get either to bloom. How much substrate do they need, and water (are they bog plants?) and lighting etc.. Any and all help much appreciated!

Dorothy · #3 03-24-2008, 01:58 PM

I love callas

I made my first attempt to grow some last year outside and they were overcome with slugs ..

This year I am going to incorporate some Diatomaceous Earth ..
I am also looking into online sources for bulbs as the local nurseries only sell a limited variety ..
I know I can probably do better online with price also

Adam - Did you get your bulbs locally?

Tindo - I found this for you but there is nothing like getting advice from the growers themselves

Calla Lily Bulbs, Calla Lilies, Lillies sold grower direct from Z Callas

Tindomul · #4 03-24-2008, 02:31 PM

Thanks Dorothy! I keep getting conflicting advice. One sourse tells me to keep it in with wet feet, and another tells me to just keep it moist.
Any advice for the white Calla lilly?

stonedragonfarms · #5 03-24-2008, 03:13 PM

Hey Dorothy & Tindo...
The big white one in the pic came from McClure & Zimmerman; I have had it for probably 4 years or so. It usually starts to bloom at the end of March, and will continue to throw spikes until mid October or so (provided I remove the spent spikes). I have others as well, quite a few of the colored ones (I am prefernetial to the purples/mauves in the colored bulbs), but I also grow a miniature form of the white species, as well as a couple of other cultivars... (Green Goddess & Hercules I think...)
Cultivation wise--I can only tell you what works for me:
Grow your callas in a fairly deep pot (Scotch pots work great). I use a peat based mix with extra perlite and some pea gravel/aliflor added in. You will want to plant the corms so they are about 2" below the soil level of the pot. After they are potted, water them in well, put a layer of gravel on top of the pot, and set them someplace warm. Do not let the pots dry out, and watch for the first green shoots to appear (for most it will take 2 weeks or so, though the colored ones always seem to take longer). From here on out, as long as they have foliage, it is almost impossible to over water them--provided that you keep them warm. Callas do not like to be cold and wet, their foliage will quickly become mush and turn yellow if they get below 40F or so. All of my plants, except for the colored hybrids, grow year round with their pots plunged in water. If the pots are bursting at the seams I usually repot in March/April, moving them to roomier pots. The colored hybrids seem to bloom once, and then slowly loose their foliage throughout the summer. After the tops die down, I pull the pots out of the water, dry them down, and put them under the bench with the clivias for the winter. I remove them from the old media at the end of March and repot them. They are usually forming new growth in their old dry pots, and are ready to be reawakened for the season.
Hope this helps, basically just give them lots of moisture, plenty of sun and heavy fertilizer and you will do just fine.
Adam

Ross · #6 03-24-2008, 03:20 PM

Adam, it's things like this and days like today that make me jealous of your growing conditions. Great job!

stonedragonfarms · #7 03-24-2008, 03:24 PM

Thanks Ross...it was a balmy 76F out in the GH today (all the vents were open and the exhaust fan whirring away) the best thing about the GH is the equator is never far away...