Growing Call Lilies: Tips at a Glance
Calla lilies are a bridal bouquet favorite with velvety leaves called spathes which we think of as flowers. Grow them as annuals or in zones 8-10 as perennials.
- Type Flowering tuber
- Lifespan Perennial
- USDA Zones 8-10
- Light Sunlight
- Water Moist soil
- When to Plant After last frost
- Design Tip Not just for brides
- Peak Season Late spring
- Companions Hostas, geraniums
Calla Lilies: A Field Guide
A bridal bouquet favorite for more than a century, calla lilies have large, velvety leaves—called spathes—which we think of as flowers. Grow Zantedeschia aethiopica as annuals in colder climates or as perennials in zones 8 to 10.
Native to southern Africa (and perennial in USDA growing zones 8-10), calla lilies are tuberous plants that grow best in moist (and well drained) soil that is warm, so plant them after the last frost date. Although it’s the pure white trumpets that are best known, Calla lilies come in varying shades of yellow, orange, pink, green and purples which can be almost black.
