How to Plant Indoor Calla Lilly Bulbs

Calla lilies produce large, attractive leaves and colorful, trumpet-shape flowers. They grow from a bulb-like root storage system called a rhizome, which stores nutrients. New plants grow from pieces of the rhizome. As a tropical plant, callas prefer warm climates and do not tolerate frost, so they aren’t suitable for year-round growing except in warm, mild climates. Instead of planting them outdoors where they may fall victim to cold, consider planting and growing calla lilies indoors.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You’ll Need:

• Pot
• Potting soil
• Fertilizer

1. Fill a 5- to 6-inch diameter pot one-third full with a well-drained potting soil. Use a pot that has at least one drainage hole on the bottom so water doesn’t collect in the bottom portion of the soil.

2. Set a calla rhizome on top the potting mix. Add or remove soil from under the rhizome until its top sits about 2 inches below the rim of the pot.

3. Cover the rhizome with soil until the top of the rhizome sits 1 inch beneath the soil surface.

4. Water the soil until the excess begins to drain from the bottom of the pot. Set the pot in a south-facing window that receives full sunlight throughout the day.

5. Water the soil when the surface begins to feel dry to the touch. Fertilize once every two weeks with a soluble, balanced houseplant fertilizer in the spring and summer months. Apply the fertilizer at the rate recommended on the package label.

Tips & Warnings

• Set pots of calla lilies outside in a sunny area in the summer for outdoor color, if desired.

• All parts of the calla plant are toxic if ingested.