Calla Lily Care: Cut Stems, Potted Plants and Saving the Bulbs for Next Year

Calla lily care comes down to steady moisture, bright indirect light and a rest after flowering. Cut callas want a clean vase with only a few centimetres of water. Potted callas want soil that stays evenly moist but never soggy. And because calla rhizomes can't survive a Canadian winter in the ground, you lift them in fall and replant in spring.

This guide covers all three: callas in a vase, callas in a pot, and callas in the garden. For what the flower means, see calla lily meaning; for its quick facts, the calla lily guide.

Calla lily care at a glance

The essentials:

• Cut stems: 5 to 8 cm of cool water, fresh cuts every two or three days, 7 to 10 days of vase life.
• Light: bright, indirect light indoors; morning sun outdoors, with afternoon shade in hot weather.
• Water: keep the soil evenly moist while the plant is growing and flowering, never waterlogged.
• Temperature: about 16 to 24°C. Protect from frost; most callas sold for pots aren't hardy in Canada.
• Feeding: a balanced liquid fertilizer every two to four weeks while in leaf.
• After flowering: let the leaves yellow, then give the rhizome two or three months of dry rest.
• Pets: toxic to cats and dogs.

How to care for cut calla lilies in a vase

Calla stems are thick and full of water, and they keep drinking after they're cut. Deep water makes them soft and slimy, so use a clean vase with just 5 to 8 cm of cool water and a packet of flower food. Cut 1 to 2 cm off each stem at an angle with a sharp knife or clean scissors before you put them in, and again every two or three days when you change the water.

Calla stems can split and curl back at the cut end. Some florists wrap the bottom centimetre in clear tape to stop it; it's harmless and nobody sees it. Callas are also phototropic: stems bend towards the light, so turn the vase daily if you want them straight, or let them curve for a looser look. Keep them out of direct sun and away from heat vents and fruit bowls, and expect seven to ten days. Our how long do flowers last post compares callas with other cut flowers.

Potted calla lily care indoors

The coloured callas sold in pots at Easter and Mother's Day are hybrids of Zantedeschia that grow from rhizomes. Indoors, give them the brightest spot you have out of hot midday sun, such as an east window or a few feet back from a south one. Water when the top 2 to 3 cm of soil feels dry, enough that a little runs out of the drainage hole, and empty the saucer so the pot never stands in water. Soggy soil rots the rhizome faster than anything else.

Feed every two to four weeks with a balanced houseplant fertilizer while the plant is in leaf, and snip off spent flowers at the base. Callas like ordinary room temperatures of about 16 to 24°C and dislike cold drafts. A healthy potted calla flowers for several weeks, then its leaves begin to yellow. That isn't the plant dying: it's getting ready to rest.

Getting a potted calla to bloom again

Callas need a dormant period to flower again. When the leaves yellow after blooming, cut back on watering and let the foliage die down naturally, then stop watering altogether and move the pot somewhere cool and dark, around 10 to 15°C, for two to three months. A basement shelf works well.

In late winter or early spring, repot the rhizome in fresh potting mix with the growing points facing up, about 5 to 10 cm deep, water lightly and bring it back into the light. Increase watering as new leaves appear. If a calla produces leaves but no flowers, the usual causes are too little light, too much nitrogen or skipping the rest period.

Calla lilies in the garden in Canada

Coloured callas are hardy only to about zone 8, and even the tougher white calla (Zantedeschia aethiopica) struggles below zone 7. Outside the mildest corners of coastal British Columbia, treat callas like dahlias or gladiolus: plant the rhizomes outdoors after the last frost, 10 cm deep and about 30 cm apart, in rich, moist soil with morning sun.

After the first light frost blackens the leaves in fall, dig the rhizomes up, cut the foliage back to a few centimetres, and let them dry in a shaded, airy spot for a week. Brush off the soil and store them in a paper bag or a box of dry peat moss or vermiculite at around 10°C until spring. Check them once or twice over winter and discard any that go soft.

Common calla lily problems

Drooping or soft stems in a vase usually means too much water or old water: shorten the stems, refill with a few centimetres of fresh water and flower food. Yellow leaves on a potted calla are normal after flowering, but yellowing while it's still budding points to overwatering. Brown leaf tips come from dry air or a build-up of fertilizer salts; flush the pot with plain water now and then.

Pets: every part of the calla contains insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, which cause burning in the mouth, drooling, vomiting and trouble swallowing if a cat or dog chews it. Keep callas out of reach, or choose from our flowers safe for cats instead.

Calla lilies we deliver

Our florists use callas mostly in elegant and sympathy designs, such as Stately Lilies and the At Peace Arrangement, and in mixed bouquets like Nature's Bounty Bouquet. If you want a plant that keeps going for months instead, a Peace Lily is the easier houseplant: it has a similar white spathe, tolerates lower light and flowers on and off all year.

Every order is made by a local florist and delivered anywhere in Canada for a flat $19.99, with same-day delivery when you order by 1:00 PM in the recipient's time zone, Monday to Saturday.