Surely every gardener at least once met callas, which are grown as a pot plant.
Few people thought that you can plant callas in the garden, the main thing is to provide them with proper care.
How to grow callas in the open ground
During flowering, callas are quite beautiful. Each peduncle lives for a month.
If you decide to grow callas, then give them enough space. Plants prefer open glades, but in the heat of the day they need a saving shadow. It is good if bushes or trees grow nearby.
The soil for growing callas is selected fertile. Poor land is enriched with humus and peat. Before planting, the soil must be drained, as the plants do not tolerate moisture stagnation at the roots.
In addition, calla lilies have their own characteristics that must be considered when planting:
• rhizomes are planted shallow, barely sprinkled with earth to avoid rotting;
• sprouts appear only after a month, calla lilies grow the root system for a long time;
• the tubers of the plant are quite fragile, they must be handled with care.
It is not difficult to grow callas in the middle zone of Russia, but tubers must be dug up and stored in a cold place for the winter.
How to plant calla lilies in the garden (photo)
Tubers are planted in the open ground in spring when the threat of frost passes. Autumn planting is not provided.
As a rule, callas are planted in mid-May, after preparing the tubers.
1. Planting material is kept in a solution of potassium permanganate for 30 minutes.
2. Tubers are dried and cut out all the affected areas, capturing healthy tissue.
3. All sections are treated with brilliant green.
Pickled tubers are planted on a bed, which is pre-digged with mineral fertilizers. The depth of tuber embedding is about 5-10 cm. Larger bulbs are dug deeper, and small ones are located almost on the soil surface. The distance between the plants in the flower bed is from 30 to 40 cm.
After planting callas, be patient. Remember that the plant does not emerge for a long time until a good root system is formed. All this time, you do not need to water the bed, the moisture that remains after planting will be enough.
There is another method of planting callas, which is often used by gardeners. In mid-March, tubers are planted in bowls and well watered. Any floral soil that is sold in stores is suitable. A month before planting the plants on the flower bed, the pots are taken out for hardening. Callas are transplanted together with an earthen lump, by the method of transhipment.
How to care for calla in the open ground
Calling care does not cause worries. All that plants need is watering and loose soil.
Water the flowers sparingly, but regularly. In the dry period, watering is increased. In addition, after each watering, the soil around the bush is carefully loosened, being careful not to damage the roots.
Callas are fertilized only if the soil in the plot is poor. Mineral fertilizers are suitable for dressing, a solution of which watered flowers once a month. If during planting, the wells were filled with fertilizers, then you do not need to additionally replenish callas.
Rest period
In Russia, callas are grown as an annual plant, since they do not tolerate severe winters. Therefore, every autumn, the tubers are dug up and stored until planting.
After flowering, the tubers are removed from the ground, washed well and dried in a ventilated room. At the same time, they try not to remove the leaves, since during this period nutrients are lowered into the tubers. Tubers are dried for about 1.5 weeks, until the leaves themselves dry and separate from the roots.
After 10-15 days, the tubers are examined, damaged or diseased are removed. The rest are trimmed with small roots so that the tubers do not begin to sprout before the due date. If children are formed, then they are left with the mother plant, not separating.
Bulbs are stored in a cool room where the temperature does not rise above + 7C. If this condition is not met, then calla bloom can be forgotten. Many gardeners store tubers in the basement, but it should be dry. It is very important to monitor the air humidity so that the plants do not start to grow or begin to rot. Regularly inspect tubers, select suspicious ones.
You can store rhizomes in the refrigerator on the bottom shelf. Previously, each tuber is wrapped in paper and placed in a bag. The duration of the resting period is from 1.5 to 2 months.
Calla propagation
Callas are propagated by children, which are formed on the roots of the uterine plant. They are carefully separated from the tubers and grown in a bowl or on a bed.
On one tuber can form up to 30 children. They are separated and placed in plates with loose soil. The depth of incorporation of children is 5-6 cm. Use nutritious soil, which is pre-mixed with mineral fertilizers.
After emergence, the nodules are planted at a distance of 6-7 cm from each other. In the room where callas are grown, the temperature is maintained at the level of 15-17 degrees. They take care of young callas as well as adult plants. Children regularly, but gradually watered, the soil in the pot is loosened.
As soon as the calla lilies grow and release the second leaf, the plants are fed with complex fertilizers. They must contain nitrogen and potassium. The frequency of feeding - 1 time per month. The first year, young plants are grown in room conditions without a dormant period, and next summer tubers are transferred to the standard scheme.
What sort of calla lilies to plant on the site (photo varieties)
In the breeding of new varieties, only three types of callas are involved:
• Ethiopian;
• Remann;
• Eliott.
Ethiopian calla is a large rhizome plant that does not have a bulb. The flower stalk height of this plant reaches 1 meter. Ethiopian calla prefers moist soil, it does not have a pronounced period of rest, it does not discard leaves. The following varieties are most popular among this variety:
• Green goddess - the height of the plant is about 90 cm, the coverlet is green;
• Pearls - a low-growing variety that is convenient to grow in pots;
• Nikolay - a green coverlet, large, with a diameter of up to 12 cm, flower stalk height up to 1.5 meters.
Calla Remanna - the plant's height barely reaches 70 cm. The peduncle cover is pale pink with a lilac hue. The underground part is represented by a tuber, which resembles a gloxinia tuber. Calla drops leaves, a period of rest is necessary for regular flowering. Popular varieties:
• Evening - a cover of black and purple hue;
• Indian summer - a pomegranate shade;
• Chameleon - peach-colored peduncle bedspread with golden tints.
Calla Eliotta - large flower stalk cover The height of the plant is about 50 cm, the leaves are large, heart-shaped with specks. Varieties:
• Vermeer - peduncle cover wavy dark cherry color;
• Yellow corner - bright plants, leaves with yellow dots;
• Black-eyed beauty - a lemon-colored bedspread, speckled leaves.
Other calla lilies growing in the wild are not suitable for garden cultivation.
