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But on sale it is not she who is more common, but "colored" calla elliott and Remann , which form tubers and reach a height of 40-50 cm. They will be discussed in this article.
How to store calla tubers before planting
Until the beginning of March, calla tubers are stored in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator. Wrap them in paper and place them in plastic bag by making several holes in the bag for ventilation. Please check carefully before buying planting material. should be dense, smooth, without visible damage, have live kidneys.
Planting calla tubers
In late February - early March, before planting in the ground, calla tubers are planted for germination. If the tubers are a little wilted, hold them for 2-3 days before planting. wet tissue until they become elastic again and the buds are clearly visible on the surface of the tubers.
Carefully inspect the tubers. If you notice damage or signs on them, which often appears during improper storage, clean the tuber sharp knife to healthy tissue.
Lubricate the wound surface with brilliant green and let it dry.
To prevent fungal infections, before planting, treat calla tubers with any fungicide designed to treat tubers and bulbs. drugs are well suited for this purpose. Fundazol and Vitaros with systemic action. They not only destroy fungi on the surface of the tuber, but are also absorbed by the plant, providing it with long-term protection. Dry the tubers a little before planting.
Fill a small pot about 2/3 full with potting soil. The mixture should be slightly acidic. The composition of the soil for planting calla lilies: peat, humus or compost, leaf or garden soil, washed sand (2: 1: 1: 0.5). Compact the soil in the pot and place the tuber on top.
Cover the tuber with the prepared soil mixture. The planting depth of the calla tuber is 1.5-2 cm from the top of the tuber to the soil surface.
Water carefully, being careful not to erode the soil. Put the pot in a bright place. Calla thrives well at daytime temperatures around +15...+20 °C. It does not matter if at night the temperature of the calla content drops to +13 ... +15 ° С, the difference between night and day temperatures is useful for the plant.
Calla roots grow in all directions. So that they do not come to the surface of the soil, as soon as the sprouts reach a height of 5-7 cm, add more soil to the pot with a layer of 2-3 cm. Keep the soil moderately moist. Tubers do not tolerate excessive watering and stagnant water, so drain the water from the pan immediately after watering. Feed once every 2 weeks with a solution of complete mineral fertilizer for seedlings. Good result brings top dressing with liquid gummed fertilizer.
When the soil in the garden warms up to + 15 ° C and the threat of frost has passed, calla lilies can be planted in open ground. Calla doesn't like straight lines sun rays, so choose for her a place that is illuminated by the sun until noon. Prepare a 30x30 cm hole for planting, add half a bucket of humus to it and mix well.
Carefully remove the plant from the pot. Despite the fact that calla roots are powerful, they are very fragile and cannot be restored if damaged. Install earthen clod into the hole.
Gently cover the area around the roots with soil. When planting, it can be deepened again by 1.5-2 cm, so that when leaving it does not accidentally damage the surface roots.
Water, wait until the water is completely absorbed into the soil. After watering, mulch the plantings with peat to prevent the formation of a soil crust.
Callas: care during the season
Learn more about how to grow plants, . Also, please pay attention to the information block to the left of the text. The links in it lead to related articles.
Calla - a flower belongs to the Aeroid family, its homeland is considered South America. By its nature, the flower is considered unpretentious to the place of growth. In addition, many people think that calla is one of the most exquisite and very beautiful flowers. The calla flower grows well at home, as for nature, it is suitable for both wildlife and river banks and even swampy areas.
To date, more than 100 varieties of calla flower are known, all of them differ in shape and shade of the bud. Florists divide the calla flower into wetland callas and terrestrial callas. Wetland callas - grow in wild nature and are more common, the color of the buds white color. Terrestrial callas - in Everyday life are rare, and the lily is a kind of white calla.
Since the calla flower symbolizes love, florists add them to wedding bouquets.
Calla flower description
The calla flower has a thick root system located on the surface of the soil. The leaf plate of the calla has an oval-heart-shaped shape, the location is single. The leaf plate is thick and shiny, its length is from 6-14 cm, and its width is from 5-12 cm. The leaf at the top is pointed and resembles an arrowhead. Leaves are rich in color green color. In some species, white blotches are found on the leaf plate. On a thick vertical stem there are high cobs, which are formed due to small same-sex flowers. The flowers themselves are surrounded by a veil - this is a funnel-shaped bract, in nature with inside has a white color. BUT outer side bedspreads are light green in color.
Under natural conditions, the flowering of callas begins from the end of May and lasts until mid-August. Calla fruits are bright red berries that form an ear in the shape of a cylinder. Their ripening period is 30 days after the end of the flowering period.
calla flower care
An integral part of the growth of calla lilies at home is regular watering and fertilizers, it is recommended to apply once a month. It is best if you plant a flower in a small pot or container.
Temperature regime for calla
To grow calla lilies at home, you must adhere to optimum temperature 22-23°C. Make sure that the room temperature does not fall below 18 ° C, as calla belongs to heat-loving plants and does not tolerate cold well.
Humidity for callas
High humidity for callas is optimal. When planting a flower in a pot, it is better to use a pot with a pallet. It will be possible to add additional water, over time it will evaporate and thereby saturate the air with moisture.
Please note that the calla flower photophilous plant and feels the lack of light in winter time(recommended in spring time years with increasing daylight hours gradually accustom the flower). Does not tolerate drafts.
Watering and spraying callas
Callas are moisture-loving plants, they need to be watered regularly and often. Do not allow the soil to dry out, otherwise it will contribute to the manifestations of diseases and the death of the plant.
During the growing season, plants need to maintain moisture at the same level. Only when ripe do we reduce the number of waterings (we water when upper layer dry).
Calla leaves should be wiped regularly with a damp cloth.
Calla pruning
Ways to propagate a calla flower
Three methods are used to propagate calla lilies:
- The first way, reproduction by tubers. It consists in the separation of small nodules from the maternal root. Planting material can be purchased at a flower shop. The daughter nodule is 0.5-1.5 cm in size. For planting, it is recommended to grow it, that is, it is necessary to plant planting material in nutrient soil to a depth of 4 cm. Optimal time the year for planting tubers is April. The temperature in the room should be 20-22°C.
- The second way, reproduction by shoots. This method is based on the separation of shoots from the main plant and their rooting in nutrient soil. In the future, it will be necessary to transplant them into nice pot with drainage.
- The third way, propagation by seeds. The downside is that these seeds have a very low germination rate. Before planting, it is necessary to soak the calla seeds for 6 hours in a solution that stimulates their growth. You need to get it out of the solution and place them on wet wipe, put them for two weeks in a warm place. Observe, during this time shoots will appear on the seeds. In this form, they can be planted in a pot.
Calla transplant
As soon as the plant becomes stronger, it is desirable to perform the first transplant. In advance, you need to prepare a high pot with drainage (pour sand on the bottom), and pour soil on top. Then make a hole in the soil and plant a sprout in it. Before transplanting, treat the root system of the sprout with drugs (biostimulants). In this procedure, be extremely careful, no matter what damage young plant.
At first, the transplanted young plant is watered with distilled water (in small quantities). For quick adaptation, during the irrigation process, you can add peat-humic fertilizer.
If you bought a calla plant in a store, then bringing it into the house, it is recommended to transplant it into a spacious pot. Optimal conditions it is a slightly acidic soil for growth. Composition: some sand, peat and hardwood. In autumn, in the month of November, it is recommended to transplant adult plants.
Calla feeding
On the year-round flowering nutrition affects. It is recommended to carry out top dressing from January-March, fertilize 1 time per week. So for full bloom plants will be satiated necessary quantity micro and macro elements.
calla fertilizer
Calla fertilizers are solutions that stimulate flowering and growth (these include potassium nitrate superphosphate). In specialized flower shops you can find special feeding packages containing trace elements and nutrients. It is also recommended to feed calla lilies once a year with organic fertilizers.
Unsurprisingly, translated from Greek word"calla" means "beautiful". This showy flower will decorate the coast of the reservoir, but beginners do not always manage to grow it. After all, for this you need to know some subtleties. We will tell about them.
Many flower growers love calla lilies not only for their beauty, but also for the vanilla aroma that the flowers exude. By the way, in a non-flowering form, this plant is no less attractive due to its rather large and dense leaves. Often they have a variegated color.
Tuberous callas need warmth, so middle lane they are grown in open ground only from spring to autumn, and in winter the tubers are stored in conditions that are comfortable for the plant. In addition, calla can be grown all year round in a warm room, in a container. But mere compliance with the temperature regime is often not enough to enjoy the spectacular flowering of calla lilies. Let's see what difficulties beginner growers most often face and answer the most common questions.
1. Where is the best place to plant tuberous calla?
Callas prefer open sunny places or sparse penumbra. In order for the plants to bloom profusely, they are grown in moist and well-drained soil with a slightly acidic reaction. At the same time, in landing pit it is desirable to add peat, compost and bone meal. To prepare an ideal soil mixture for calla lilies, take turf and leaf soil, peat and sand in a ratio of 2: 1: 1: 1.
Calla lilies do not bloom in the shade, so choose a well-lit area for it.
2. When to plant calla tubers?
Tubers are planted in the spring when the daytime air temperature rises above 13°C. Before planting, it is recommended to soak them for 15-30 minutes in a bright pink solution of potassium permanganate or in any fungicide (for example, in a 0.2% solution of Fundazole). This is necessary to prevent root rot.
3. How and at what depth should a calla tuber be planted?
The calla tuber is placed horizontally with the buds up (they look like tubercles) so that it is covered with a 4-5 cm layer of soil. With a deeper planting, the leaves and buds of the plant can rot, and if you leave the tuber on the soil surface, then in the heat it dry up.
The distance between plantings should be at least 30-50 cm so that the plants do not shade each other. Otherwise, they will stretch out, may get sick and stop blooming.
4. How to properly care for callas?
Calla is watered regularly throughout the growing season. And for the plant, fertilizing with any phosphoric and potash fertilizers(they are used in accordance with the instructions).
The soil for callas should be moist all the time, but not too wet.
The soil near the calla roots is mulched with peat, compost or bark. This technique helps retain moisture. With this care, tuberous calla lilies bloom 8-9 weeks after planting.
5. How to achieve lush flowering of callas?
If you are not going to propagate calla seeds, cut off fading inflorescences in a timely manner. Then the nutrients will be distributed correctly and help the plant form new flowers.
6. When and how to dig up calla tubers?
In autumn average temperature below 12 ° C, watering the plants is stopped. After the soil has dried, the tubers are dug up.
7. How to store tuberous calla?
First, the tubers are cleaned from the ground, after which they are immersed in a fungicide solution for 20-30 minutes. After this time, they are dried in the sun for 2-3 days.
Then the withered leaves are cut off, and the tubers are stored in a container with sawdust, peat or vermiculite. The container is placed in dry room with an air temperature of 10-12°C. In winter, make sure that the tubers do not rot and dry out.
The calla tuber must be at least 7 cm in diameter. Otherwise, flowers are unlikely to appear from it in the first year.
8. What to do if the tubers sprouted ahead of time?
If the sprouts appeared in winter, the tubers are best planted in a small container with fresh, light soil and placed on a window located on south side. After about 2 weeks, the first leaves will grow. If the light day is still short, the plants need to be illuminated. When the street is settled warm weather, callas are transplanted into open ground or into more spacious containers.
Please note: for calla lilies to bloom well, the tubers must be at rest for at least two months a year.
9. How to grow calla as a container culture?
For planting calla lilies, a pot with a diameter of 30-40 cm is used. Drainage from expanded clay or sand is placed on the bottom of the container, and a permeable nutrient soil mixture is poured on top. Tubers are planted to a depth of 3-5 cm (depending on their size) and watered abundantly. The pot is placed in a well-lit room with an air temperature of 13-18 ° C.
After the germination of the first leaves, the calla is transferred to a warmer place (with a daytime temperature of 22-25 ° C and a night temperature of at least 8 ° C). There should also be a lot of light here.
Moist soil and good lighting the necessary conditions for the appearance of calla sprouts
10. How to grow callas from seeds?
Seeds are sown superficially in a container with loose soil (for example, a mixture of peat and sand in a ratio of 1: 4). An interval of about 8 cm is maintained between them. The container is placed in a well-lit place with an air temperature of at least 18 ° C. When the seedlings become crowded, they dive into separate pots. Callas grown from seeds bloom 2-3 years after sowing.
Do not forget that calla lilies are poisonous, especially its tubers. Therefore, plant in protective gloves and isolate the flower from small children and pets.
Calla(lat. Calla Lily) - very beautiful plant, which many flower growers grow at home. But the opinion about these flowers is not unambiguous, since some have seen them at weddings and consider them to be wedding flowers, others have their grandmothers on the windowsills, others - in chic houses and apartments, fourths - in well-groomed gardens and flowerbeds, and fifths - at funerals, and Therefore, they are called "flowers of death." And yet, due to the similarity of calla flowers with the bride's outfit in our country, they are most often called wedding flower. Feng Shui, in turn, claims that calla lilies transmit only good energy to their owners and establish harmony in the house, so all negative knowledge about the "snow-white bedspread" of flowers in the form of a watering can can be safely discarded.
There are probably no people who would not be fascinated by the large delicate green waxy leaves and the snow-white wavy veils of calla flowers along the edges. These plants, surrounded by peace and tenderness, evoke only positive emotions, and therefore people say that they lead to family happiness.
General information a callah.
callas have a second name Zantedeschia"(lat. Zantadechia). These plants belong to the Aroid family (lat. Araceae). This highly decorative flower with large beautiful leaves and snow-white or colored flowers come from South Africa. Calla is a tropical plant natural conditions growing in silty soils on the banks of lakes and rivers. Domesticated or garden plants love well-fertilized and moist soil. Calla lilies have rather thick rhizomes, from which young plants sprout annually, capable of good conditions quickly cover all the free space with a "veil" of leaves and flowers.
Like many plants, callas have different colors: white, pink, orange, yellow, purple, etc. But not all of them are grown in the same way. For example, white callas do not have tubers or bulbs in their root system, while "colored" callas are tuberous. They all need to rest winter period(rest lasts from 2 to 6 months). At this time, "colored" callas completely stop growing, their leaves fall off and they overwinter in the form of tubers. White Ethiopian callas hibernate differently. They do not stop growth, but only suspend it. White callas bloom in winter and spring, and rest on hot days in summer. Therefore, they are most often found in houses, apartments and offices.
Regardless of which type of calla lilies you have purchased, the first thing to do is determine the correct "sleep" period for the plant. Most often, this is not easy to do, since store plants are stuffed with growth stimulants and therefore bloom at any time of the year, even when they should have peace under natural conditions. This knocks down the natural cycle of the plant, but after a while (sometimes up to a year) it still restores it. For the calla owner, the main thing is to establish the correct temperature regime, watering, lighting, air humidity and top dressing. This contributes to the transition of the plant to a dormant state after a long flowering.
It is the white Ethiopian calla that grows in my house, and in this article I will focus on it.
White calla care.
In principle, caring for callas is not difficult, but you still need to know what and how to do it right.
Temperature regime for calla.
AT summer time At home, a temperature of about 20 0 C is recommended for white feces, and 20-24 0 C for colored feces. In this case, it is advisable to avoid sudden temperature changes. It is strictly forbidden to take plants to drafts, for example, to a balcony. During sleep (in winter), the temperature must be reduced to 10-13 0 C. Callas rest in such conditions for about two months, after which the temperature must be gradually increased to summer.
Colored tuberous callas can be kept dug up in winter. To do this, at the end of flowering, they stop watering for a whole month. This causes the leaves to dry out and the plants to go dormant. Then the tubers are dug up, sprinkled with sawdust and placed on dry storage cellar or refrigerator. The temperature at the same time should be about 3-5 0 C, and the tubers themselves should lie with the growth point up. They are stored in this dug form until March or early April, after which they are planted.
Calla lighting.
White callas, in principle, like colored ones, love bright lighting, but without direct sunlight. Good lighting is necessary for them even during rest. During wakefulness, feces need 10-12 hours of daylight. If the lighting is artificial, then for the normal well-being of the plant, it must be at least 700 Lux. With a lack of light, white calla lilies may not bloom, and colored flowers will be pale.
Window sills with windows to the west or east are best suited for growing this plant. If the pot with calla is on the southern windowsill, then it must be shaded, and if on the northern one, then artificial lighting should be added.
Watering callas.
White callas, like, for example, spathiphyllums, are very fond of water, so proper attention must be paid to watering. During the period when the plants are in a state of wakefulness, rapid growth and flowering, they should be watered abundantly, but the water should not stagnate in a pot. If this happens, then the earth will simply turn sour and the plant will die. It is necessary to water when the top layer (about 1 cm) of the soil dries out. At the same time, all excess moisture should go to the drain. Know that colored and white callas do not tolerate drought and die quickly. For these plants, it is strongly not recommended to delay with watering. The dormant period of the white calla is summer. At this time, it is necessary to stop watering and put the plant in a cool dark place.
Unlike white ones, colored callas need to be watered less often - when the top 2-3 cm layer of soil dries up. This is due to the fact that they can retain moisture in their tubers, and if there is a lot of it, then rot will form on them. In colored callas, the dormant period is winter.
When both of these groups of callas have completed flowering, the frequency of their watering should be gradually reduced. As I wrote above, white callas do not sleep in winter, and sometimes even bloom, so they continue to be watered periodically throughout the winter, and the “colored” ones stop moistening at all a couple of months after flowering ends (with the onset of winter). This will give an incentive to their tubers for wintering to draw out useful substances from the upper part of the calla, as a result of which its leaves die off and the plant falls asleep until spring.
The following conclusion can be drawn about watering calla lilies: if you grow it at home in a pot, then water the plant abundantly and regularly, especially during flowering. During dormancy, watering is reduced. If you decide to plant a calla in the garden on fresh air, then do it in a place where there is a lot of soil moisture, for example, near a pond. If there is no such place, then all plants of this species planted in the garden will also need regular watering.
Air humidity for white calla.
All types of callas require high humidity air at a level of about 70-80%. If the air in the room in which the pot with the plant is located is too dry, then it must be placed on a pallet with wet expanded clay from which moisture will evaporate, improving the growing conditions of the plant.
soil for house calla.
All callas love acidic soils. At home, they prefer well-fertilized mixtures consisting of:
- Woody ground - 2 parts;
- Greenhouse land - 2 parts;
- Compost land - 2 parts;
- Clean river sand- 1 part;
- Peat - 1 part.
If there is no greenhouse land, then take wood and compost land in 3 parts.
Also, a high-quality mixture specially prepared for callas can be purchased at a flower shop.
Calla nutrition.
If callu during the period active growth not planted in open ground, but grown in a pot, then it must be well fertilized. As a top dressing, store-bought fertilizers for home use are best. flowering plants, superphosphate, ammonium nitrate.
For proper feeding calla lilies need to be alternately applied once every 2 weeks complex mineral and organic fertilizers. Nitrogen top dressing during the growing season is not recommended. As soon as the first flower stalks appear, urea can be used as a fertilizer, and after the beginning of flowering itself, eggshell tincture can be used.
Transplantation of callas by transshipment.
When growing white Ethiopian calla lilies on a windowsill, sooner or later the time comes when it needs to be transplanted into a larger pot. They do this in November after the end of flowering, and no more than once a year. It is best to use transshipment for transplantation. For this, use the earth that is described in the "Soil for home calla" subsection. Also be sure to make good drainage from 1-2 layers of fine expanded clay or pebbles at the bottom of the pot. They will be excellent drainage, and expanded clay will also serve as a soil moisturizer from the inside. Then sprinkle the drainage with soil, the layer of which depends on the size of the bush, or rather its root system and pot. Remember that on top the roots should be sprinkled with only a couple of centimeters of earth. Then carefully remove the plant with soil from the old pot and remove the top layers. old earth. Be careful not to damage the roots while doing this. Then center the plant in new pot, in which there is already drainage sprinkled with earth, and add the soil mixture on all sides. A layer of earth should cover the roots by 1-2 cm. It is not necessary to compact it. Just water abundantly, and the earth will sit down by itself. The following moisturizing must be done after the top 0.5-1 cm soil layer has dried.
Planting callas and their reproduction.
You can buy calla tubers or bulbs in flower shops and flower markets from January to April. Before buying, be sure to check the quality of the tubers (they should be elastic with a light yellow even skin). They must have live apical buds. Calla tubers are planted in the ground from March to April. For each of them you need a pot with a volume of about 3 liters. Expanded clay drainage is laid on its bottom. The soil for planting calla tubers is made up of equal parts leaf and sod land and compost. Also, in every 3 liters of soil mixture, add 1 tbsp. a spoonful of superphosphate. If you want to plant your overwintered tubers, then I recommend taking them out of the cool (from the cellar or from the refrigerator) 2-3 weeks before planting, and placing them in a bright and warm place. Before planting, it is necessary to disinfect the tubers. To do this, they need to be placed for 10-20 minutes in a weak solution of potassium permanganate, and then dried. Calla tubers should be planted in pots with a height of at least 15 cm. At its bottom, make drainage from fine expanded clay, sprinkle it with 2-3 cm of earth and lay the tuber on top. Then fill it with earth so that the tuber is at a depth of about 10 cm.
Some growers do things a little differently. They install drainage, put a calla tuber and cover it with 2-3 cm of soil. Then, as the leaves grow, they fill up the soil mixture.
Pots with planted tubers should be in a warm and well-lit place. It is recommended to water the tubers no earlier than a week after planting.
White callas can be easily propagated by cuttings. Usually they are just cut off, as they take a lot useful substances from soil and mature plant languishes. If you decide to propagate the white calla with the help of shoots, then leave the required amount of them so that they grow. The best time for this operation is spring or autumn. This is done very simply: carefully separate the process with roots from mother plant and plant it in a small pot with drainage. A small pot is needed so that the plant does not grow to the root, but into lush greenery. In this case, it is impossible to deepen the plant much into the ground, that is, young leaves should be on the surface. Then water it well and put it in a warm, bright place. The next watering is carried out after drying 1 cm of soil.
Diseases and pests of calla.
Calla leaves lose their luster and wilt.
This is due to the lack of nitrogenous fertilizers.
The pointed ends of calla leaves rise up.
Most likely, this indicates a lack of potassium in the soil.
At home, callas may appear aphids, scale insects and false scale insects, as well as spider mites . To avoid this, run preventive treatments and periodically inspect the plant for pests.
