Anyone grow Calla Lilies?

[TundraKev]

Or rather I should say - Has anyone really been successful with these?

Over the years, I've grown a lot of different varieties, but never felt they were delivering what they should. At most I would get a few flowers once during the year and that was about it. I finally tossed them all a few years back.

What do these things want and how prolific are they at producing blooms?

[Piper]

I was just reading about callas today, Kev. I guess the rhizomes produce fewer eyes as they age, so younger grow and bloom hardier. The older ones get spindly and puny. Hope that helps!

Julie

[TundraKev]

Julie

I remember reading that too. One gardening program also said to remove the center eye on older rhizomes to force new, younger eyes to grow and bloom.
Didn't work for me.

[RSJ]

I think these guys like tons of water. They grow like hedgerows in some places on the Washington Olympic Penninsula, near the rainforest. Dumps water there for days, then sun for a day or two, then dumps, then sun. They get huge and flower all summer long, rain and shine. Nobody ever bothers with doing fancy stuff to the rhizomes there, they just let them go. However, these are the common big white ones I'm talking about, not the pink or fancy colored ones. This area also gets snow, but didn't have hard freezes below 0 and rarely below 30 for more than a day or two in the winter.

When I lived in the wettest town in Washington, I had one under a large overhang that rarely got sun to it. It didn't grow as tall and had fewer leaves than those under open sky, but it flowered just as often and they lasted a long time.

RSJ