Question
I received a potted calla lily this past Friday. There were yellow. I left them on my desk and today on Monday, there were green and one of the leaves are turning yellow. Are they dying? They are so beautiful, I need help to save them!
Thank you

Answer
You see tinges of green on your Calla spathes?  Could be normal, I'm afraid.  See the Dade County Coop Extension cheat sheet on Callas:

http://miami-dade.ifas.ufl.edu/programs/commorn/publications/calla-lily-producti...

and I quote: 'As the 'flowers' grow and age, they do not wither and dry out as most flowers do, but remain erect and seemingly fresh as the seeds develop within the spathes.  Their color darkens, taking on tones of red or green.'

I lift that language not because I think your Calla is reaching the point of seeding -- it may be, or it my not be -- but as a guide to some of the color changes you can expect from a perfectly Normal Calla.

Note also that in today's plant world, Perennial in commerce does not always mean 'perennial' in Webster's dictionary.  Modern science breeds for profit.

As a result, many so-called perennials are not vigorous enough to return the way they were originally programmed, before we messed up their genes.  The Dade County government plant people warn their fellow Dadeians, 'Seven seasons of trials in S FL have shown that the decid Callas are not garden perennials here.  They grow and flower well, then go dormant, never to be seen again.'

Remember, 'dormant', by definition, means 'temporarily out to lunch', not 'permanently out of business'.

But these Callas make people rich.  Calls are HOT right now.  Keeping one that came from one of those very intense Calla-making machines means rescuing a bulb that has been heavily chemicaled up with all kinds of alien hormones and cell-enlargers -- like Giberellic Acid, which artifically expands individual cells the way force-feeding a duck will get you foie gras.  There's a lot of recovering to do after you go through one of those machines.

Much of the time, those mills sap every last ounce of energy to get those plants to bloom so that you or someone who loves you will buy one.  For every horticultural extension scientist studying ways to keep a Calla healthy, there are a dozen scientists studying the effect of chemicals with names as long as a sentence, and hyphens and numbers, on cells, to discover the next patent-worthy plant drug.

So...

Get some air in your Calla roots -- it is probably way too moist for its own good.   Give it some light, but not too much light.  Don't water it unless it feels almost dry.  Wait and see if the leaves all drop or if a few hang on.  Take a deep breath.  Calm down.

Sometimes, these can be saved.  Sometimes, not even a Nobel scientist can do that.  Given what your Calla went through to land on your desk last Friday, that MIGHT be the situation here.

One more thing: There is no such thing in the world as a Green Thumb.  We learn from our mistakes, and from our experiences -- and remember, this is not always about mistakes.  You may have a Calla that is like a candle that will burn until the flame is gone.  And there's nothing you can do about that.

But if you do love these, it is always nice to know that someone gave you one that you adored, and you can grow another one.  And get better at it.  This will after all ALWAYS be your first Calla.  It can still be the start of something new.

You're right.  They are so beautiful.  See what happens.  Keep me posted.  Let me know what's going on, I'll watch for your question.  If you love this one, get more.

Thanks for writing.