QuestionQUESTION: I just planted 8 Cala Lillies and most are turning yellow and dying. I mixed planting mulch and fertilizer when planting and covered with a redwood mulch. Any suggestions. I live in the Sacramento, CA area.
ANSWER: Hi Greg,
Thanx for your question. What kind of calla lilies do you have? The smaller, colored (maroon, red, yellow, pink, orange) calla lilies go dormant after blooming. Their leaves will turn brown and they will disappear for three months while they "rest". They will re-emerge in about 90 days and start the foliage and blooming process all over again. The large white ones (Zantedeschia aethiopica) will bloom and bloom and bloom and are somewhat hardier than the colored callas. There are some yellows I've had before with spotted leaves that bloom for a long time in the summer and the foliage does not immediately start to wilt. In fact, the foliage lasts most of the summer. Callas don't really need a lot of fertilizer and this may be what is causing the leaves to tunr yellow. How long has this process been going on? Make sure they get enough water (once a week if no regular rain) and make sure the soil drains well. The best thing you can do for feeding callas is use a handfull of bone meal. I hope this helps.
Tom
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QUESTION: I have a mixture of all of these. Yes i did put a hand full of fertilizer in each hole when planting. I just planted a couple of weeks ago. Shouls i pull up and replant using bone meal or can i just sprinkle around the base of the plant and try an revive?
AnswerHi Greg,
Thanx for the additional information. You can sprinkle the bone meal aroun dyour plants and it should work fine. If you put too much fertilizer in the hole when planting this can cause leaf burn on your plants. In the future, when planting, till in some composted cow manure and this should work well and then you can sprinkle bone meal around the plants or mix it in with the soil before planting the tubers so the fertilizer is not concentrated. I hope this helps.
Tom
