Calla (Zantedeskia) is a beautiful culture growing in garden plots and indoors. This flowering perennial belongs to the Arononic family. The birthplace of calla lilies is the tropics of South Africa.
Calla Description
Another name for the Zantedesia plant is due to the Italian botanist with the same name. Plant height - 30-150 cm. Outwardly nondescript flowers are placed on the cob-cylinder.
They have a pleasant vanilla aroma. A cob surrounds a veil that looks like a flower. As pollinated, it changes color: from milky white to green.
A flower of a specific tubular shape with wide bright green leaves in the form of arrowheads. Fruits ripen on the cob - small ruby berries.
Calla lilies containing alkaloids, glycosides, are extremely poisonous plants, therefore, the crops are planted in protective gloves.
A distinctive feature of the plant is resistance to fungal diseases. Flowers are not invaded by pests.
Types of garden calla lilies
The family consists of 8 species of rhizome and tuberous plants. Three main varieties and a wide variety of selection varieties are grown in the garden.
| Type of calla | Description | Growing conditions | Varieties |
| Ethiopian (Aronnik) | Tall plant with a snow-white flower bedspread. The underground part is the rhizome. Leaves with a glossy bright green surface, do not die during dormancy. | The time of active vegetation is spring - autumn. In September, the rhizome is dug up. Together with an earthen lump they are stored in a dry, cool place. Watering is moderate. |
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| Remanna | Short flower with narrow leaves. The underground part is the tuber. Flowers of various colors - pink, lilac, burgundy, peach, purple. | Falls foliage in the fall. In winter, it is at rest. Dry areas are selected for cultivation. |
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| Eliot | A plant with large, variegated, heart-shaped leaves. It has a slightly wavy veil: marble white in the inside, cherry - outside. Height - 0.5 m. | Prefers slightly acid fertile soil. Grow it on the sunny side. Fertilizing with fertilizers is carried out weekly. It responds well to the introduction of organics. |
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Planting callas and caring for them outdoors
A sunny, spacious place is prepared for growing a flower in the garden. The best option is planting callas near shrubs, tree branches. They will provide protection from scorching sunlight. Callas do not bloom in the shade.
To obtain a high-quality substrate, garden soil, river sand, peat, humus are mixed in equal proportions. A necessary condition is the creation of a drainage layer. Unacceptably close to the surface location of groundwater.
Selection of material for planting
First of all, it is necessary to choose a variety suitable for growing conditions. The most common are Calla Ethiopian, Remanne. Capricious in leaving, they possess decorative properties.
Quality tubers are large. There are no spots, dents on them. When buying planting material, you should carefully inspect each tuber. Quality is guaranteed by specialized flower shops, breeding exhibitions, fairs, nurseries.
Planting material is etched in a fungicide solution. The exposure time is 10-40 minutes. Popular biofungicides are Phytosporin, Gamair, Gliokladin, Alirin-B.
Landing Features
The technology has certain nuances:
- The optimal time for planting in the ground is the beginning of May. In some areas, the period is delayed by 7-14 days due to possible frosts.
- On the dug up area, 1 dm deep holes are formed.
- Tubers are pre-treated with a growth stimulator - potassium nitrate, superphosphate.
- Seedlings before planting harden 7-10 days.
- A drainage layer is laid at the bottom of the dimples - pebbles, expanded clay, brick fragments.
- The distance between neighboring plants is 40 cm.
- When planting use mineral fertilizer (diammofosku) - 30 g / m2.
- Tubers are placed in prepared wells.
- Seedlings sprinkled with earth.
- Watered with the formation of the first leaves.
- Wells with seedlings moisten immediately after planting.
Watering, fertilizing, fertilizers
Having landed calla lilies in the ground, they wait 14 days. Moisturize the soil to form a healthy root system, preventing water from entering the tubers directly. The next watering is done after the formation of the first true leaves.
The soil is moistened weekly. In drought, the amount of water is increasing. After watering, the soil is gently loosened. Experienced gardeners use earthworms. Watering is regulated as the soil dries.
Top dressing activates the rapid growth of foliage, the formation of peduncles. 14 days after planting, fertilizer for tuberous plants is applied under each plant. Each month, the soil under callas is watered with a solution of water with acid - acetic, citric or succinic (20 g of the drug is dissolved in 10 l of liquid).
Methods for storing tubers
In the fall, preparation of callas for winter begins. Tubers are picked from the ground in the third decade of September, before the onset of frost. They are cleaned of dirt, washed gently without damaging the weak roots. Then immersed in a solution of potassium permanganate: 5-6 crystals per glass of warm water. Existing foliage is left. After half an hour they take it out, dry it in the dark.
Two weeks stored at a temperature of + 5 ... +15 ° C. Due to the leaves they are stocked with nutrients. Thin roots are cut off from dried tubers, leaving the children for spring planting. Disinfect in a solution of potassium permanganate.
Keep them in the winter should be in paper containers. At home, they use a refrigerator for maintenance, placed in a sphagnum moss.
Tubers are checked weekly. When the first kidneys are formed, calla lilies are planted in a pot. Contain as a houseplant. After the threat of frost, put into the ground.
Propagation of garden calla lilies
Flower cultivation is available to every gardener. Ways:
- seminal;
- vegetative - tuber reproduction, division of the root, bush.
Seeds
Such propagation is used to breed new unusual varieties. As a seed, choose a strong, healthy plant, leave the ear. After withering, the seeds ripen. The inflorescence is cut, disassembled into parts. They contain seeds. The collection is performed with extreme caution.
For 6 hours, the seeds are kept in a growth stimulator - Emistim C. For a week they are germinated in a moistened gauze. Then placed in the prepared substrate. Keep in a warm place. Fortified seedlings are planted in the ground. The right time is the end of May.
Vegetative
Rhizome division is suitable for Ethiopian calla lilies. Do it in the fall. Separate the plant’s neck from the root system. Store in a dark place with high humidity at a temperature of +15 ° C. During the winter, healthy roots are formed. At the end of the spring season, seed is prepared for planting on the site.
Tuber propagation is the most affordable way. The growth of healthy planting material is stimulated by special preparations - Humate, Fumar, Succinic acid.
Tubers are placed in containers with a quality substrate. Maintain air temperature +25 ° C. Watered as the soil dries. With the advent of summer, corms are deepened into the soil by 10 cm. This method allows you to accelerate flowering.
Design application
Overgrowing, callas form a lush floral carpet. They are chosen to form bizarre compositions. Callas are placed along the curb paths, framed by flower beds, flower beds, planted near artificial ponds. Tall varieties are used in single compositions.
Growing amazing tropical flowers and caring for callas in the open ground is a low-cost process. The result will be a bright decoration of the infield.
