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In this article, you'll find everything about arum lilies and calla lilies, and about bulbs and rhizomes. Where do they originally come from? The versatility of calla lilies and the enormous color variation. Calla lilies as garden plants, houseplants, and cut flowers. How to grow a flowering plant from a bulb. Are they hardy or not? Many questions and many answers resulting in calla lilies getting the attention they deserve.
What’s in a name?
In 1687, special plants were sent to the Netherlands by the then governor. There, the plant was named Arum aethiopicum.
Eventually, all eight species occurring in Africa, including the very first one, were named Zantedeschia after the Italian physician and botanist Zantedeschia who lived from 1773 to 1864.
The calla lily (Zantedeschia) symbolizes beauty and happiness. Legend has it that the Greek gods drank their nectar from the flowers' chalices. This referred to the large white flowers of Zantedeschia aethiopica.
All parts of the Zantedeschia are toxic, so be careful with children and pets. However, an advantage is that deer and rabbits do not eat them.
Calla lilies
Zantedeschia is a difficult name, which is why they are commonly called 'calla' in everyday language, which means 'beautiful'. Why calla? That's because they were called 'calla lily' in England. But not all Zantedeschia are called calla lilies. Zantedeschia aethiopica is usually just called arum lily.
Rhizome and Arum Lily
Two of the eight species of Zantedeschia, Zantedeschia aethiopica and Zantedeschia odorata, have a rhizome, while the remaining six have a bulb (you'll find these six further in the article). The two species with a rhizome prefer marshy soil and are usually referred to as arum lilies instead of calla lilies.
The first one, Zantedeschia aethiopica with a rhizome, is the most well-known species that thrives in a marshy area beside a pond and also blooms with large white flowers. Several cultivars of this species have been developed, such as ‘Green Goddess’, white with green stripes.
These plants are hardy when placed in the right spot in the garden. This means that with proper care, you can leave them in the ground during winter. Interestingly, this species has been known much longer than the bulb-forming ones.
The second one, Zantedeschia odorata, only occurs on the Bokkeveld plateau in Africa, has no bulb but a rhizome, and prefers moist soil. The Zantedeschia odorata also smells like freesias.
Bulb and Calla lilies
The following six species have a bulb instead of a rhizome. They do not like overly wet soil, and colorful cultivars have been bred from some of these species and hybrids, which are traded as dry bulbs, houseplants, or cut flowers. And precisely these species and hybrids are called calla lilies.
- Zantedeschia albomaculata;
- Zantedeschia elliottiana;
- Zantedeschia jucunda;
- Zantedeschia pentlandii;
- Zantedeschia rehmannii;
- Zantedeschia valida.
The flowers of these species are smaller and come in colors ranging from white, to yellow, orange, red, purple, and pink.
Especially with the species Zantedeschia elliottiana, there has been much crossbreeding, and these crosses or hybrids are classified into the Elliottiana Group. The flowers are usually yellow, and the leaves are speckled. The same applies to the Rehmannii Group, which is derived from the species of the same name. The flowers of this group are white, pink, or dark purple and remain somewhat shorter.
Flower and Inflorescence
The female flowers grow at the bottom of the spadix, and above them grow the male flowers. After pollination, berries form, which are protected by the bract. Particularly characteristic of the arum family is the spadix surrounded by a large, conspicuous bract.
The swimmer Ranomi Kromowidjojo has her own calla lily: 'Captain Ranomi'. The breeding company Kapiteyn from Breezand has named a two-tone flower after her. This calla lily is purple with a golden yellow edge. Kapiteyn didn't choose Ranomi without reason. They saw many similarities between Ranomi and the new calla lily. Zantedeschia 'Captain Ranomi' is a tribute to Ranomi as a person and as an athlete. They are both determined, strong, and graceful with a golden edge.
Versatile Plants
They are exceptionally versatile plants. The bulbs are traded dry. These dry bulbs can be planted in the garden or in a pot. In the garden, this should be done in spring when the frost is out of the ground. A bulb in a pot can be planted a bit earlier and only placed outside when there is no more risk of frost.
Garden Plant
Due to continuous breeding efforts aimed at crossing and selecting the best plants, calla lilies can also thrive in the ground of the garden. However, it should be noted that they are not truly winter hardy. To survive winter, they need a layer of leaves or straw as winter protection, or the bulbs should be dug up and stored dry and frost-free for the winter.
The placement in the garden should be carefully chosen. They bloom best in the sun or partial shade in a location sheltered from the wind. Calla lilies dislike having wet feet but also don't want to be too dry. Provide them with sufficient water during dry periods and occasionally treat them with some organic fertilizer.
Houseplant
Flowering plants are available all summer, but it's also possible to put a dry bulb in a pot and force it to bloom. But be careful, calla lilies dislike temperatures above 15°C. Place them in a cool spot and make sure the potting mix never dries out. Feed them once every two weeks with plant food.
From mid-May, the plant with its pot can be placed outdoors. Preferably in a larger pot so that the soil retains water better and you don't have to water as often. Plants bloom even longer outdoors than indoors. Only remove the faded flowers when they turn brown; if they turn green, there's no need yet. The old flowers can be plucked from the plant.
Once the calla lily has finished flowering, the leaves slowly wither and turn brown. Stop giving the plant water at that point; it needs a resting period. Bring the pots indoors for the winter so that the bulb can rest (do not water) and bloom again next year.
In Japan, they have discovered that a calla lily reduces stress. Place a calla plant in your office, on your home desk, and your creativity will soar.
Cut Flower
Cut the flowers with a sharp knife at an angle and place them in a vase with not too much water. The best location is cool and out of direct sunlight. Also, to prevent damage, always hold the flowers by the stem rather than the funnel-shaped bracts.
Due to the enormous variety in colors, calla lilies are also appreciated for various floral arrangements, from bridal bouquets to funeral wreaths. Growers ensure that the flowers are available for sale from May to October through successive plantings and also by cultivating calla lilies in greenhouses.
The Classification into Groups of Zantedeschia
Group 1
The hardy calla lilies, including Zantedeschia aethiopica and Zantedeschia odorata, form Group 1. These species have a rhizome and are called calla lilies or arum lilies.
Group 2
Group 2 consists of Zantedeschia species that have a bulb and are not or less winter hardy. They are classified as summer bulbs. The plants in this group are called calla lilies or callas.
Another classification is based on the flowering time. The two Zantedeschia species with a rhizome, Z. aethiopica and Z. odorata, form Group 1 in this classification based on the fact that they retain their leaves in winter and bloom from late winter to late spring. However, this only applies to plants kept indoors or in a greenhouse.
In our climate, the leaves die off in winter and they bloom only in spring. The other species form Group 2 and have leaves from spring to late autumn, losing them in winter. They bloom in summer.
Neither of these two classifications is foolproof, not only because only the species are classified, but also because hybrids resulting from crosses are also (more or less) winter hardy.
Urinating in a flower. How special is that? We first saw them in a garden center in Ireland. More and more giggling ladies emerged from the men's restroom. What turned out? The gentlemen could urinate in a colorful flower. The flowers ranged from an orchid to a lily, hibiscus, and ... a calla lily. The ladies found flower-shaped fountains in their restrooms. American ceramist Clark Sorensen provided a very different interpretation of watering flowers.
Symbolism and Art
In the Victorian era, there were rules for everything you had to adhere to. You couldn't just openly express your feelings. During that time, the language of flowers emerged. Each flower had a meaning, and flowers were used to express feelings. Even the color of the flowers had a special significance.
Each flower was associated with a symbolic meaning. The lady who received a bouquet of calla lilies most likely blushed deeply. Because the flower resembled female genitalia, the message was clearly sexually suggestive. The flower paintings by American painter Georgia O'Keeffe (1919-1986) were interpreted by Freud enthusiasts of that time as unambiguous sexual symbols.
The Mexican painter Diego Rivera (1886-1957) extensively painted Zantedeschia in many of his artworks. He created colorful murals of flower vendors. Rivera was a socially conscious man, and with his paintings, he wanted to express the dominance of the rich over the poor. The flower vendors are burdened with enormous loads of white Zantedeschia lilies. At the same time, he also wanted to showcase the beauty of their difficult lives. The beautifully depicted flowers were the white calla lilies, Zantedeschia aethiopica.
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