Question
My Calla Lillies are forming big seed pods (which I don't think has ever happened before).  If I remove the seeds, dry them out, and plant them, will these seeds grow into new Calla Lilly plants next spring/summer? If so, do you have any advice to ensure a more successful outcome?

Answer
Dear Kay

Thank you for your question.

Yes, it is perfectly possible to propagate Calla Lily from seed and now is the time to do it. You will get lots of seed from your plants, but they wont all germinate, so in order to determine which are fertile here's an old trick:

Separate the seeds from the seed pod;

Stage 1:

Put some damp paper towel into the bottom of a sandwich box (a large plate or plastic tray will do if you don't have a sandwich box);  

Spread the seeds out on the paper towel so that they are not touching and cover them with another piece of damp paper towel;

Place the the container in a cool, dry place (check regularly to make sure the paper towel is still damp);

After 2 or 3 days check the seeds to see if any are showing signs of germination (little green shoots).  If no growth is visible, leave them for another day of two and check again.  Any that are not showing signs of growth can be thrown away at this stage - they probably wont germinate;

Stage 2:

Fill small plant pots with multi-purpose compost and place 2 seeds into each pot, just covering them with compost;

Place the pots in a tray of water about half to 1 inch up the pots and mist the top of the pots if they seems dry;

Once shoots begin to appear pull out the weakest looking one from each pot;

Allow to grow on for a further 3-4 days:

Stage 3:

Now the new plants can go into larger pots (if you intend to grow them in the wet margins of a pond, use an aquatic basket lined with hessian or other water permeable material, and use a aquatic compost, if not then ordinary pots will be OK, but use a soil based compost (available from the garden center);

Give the plants lots and lots of water now (they are bred to have their roots in the muddy edge of ponds and pools;

When the plants are growing sturdily place the pots or plant the aquatic baskets containing the Callas into their permanent positions.

You should have plenty of new plants flowing next summer, but don't be surprised if they are different colors from the parent plants - they do inter-breed and sometimes come up with some amazing combination of colors.

Enjoy!!