Colorful Calla Lily Varieties

Single-stemmed callas make great cut flowers. While the white varieties are often used in weddings, these trumpet-shaped blooms pair beautifully with roses, hydrangeas, orchids and other flowers for all kinds of arrangements. They even look elegant and striking when they stand alone.

Easy to grow calla lilies aren't true lilies, explains Tim Crockenberg, head grower for Stargazer Barn, a source of stunning, fresh-cut flowers that include callas, tulips, stargazer lilies as well as other products, such as wines and confections. (The availability of the cut flowers varies by season.) These south African natives are Zantedeschias, and they grow from bulbs (a term, Tim adds, that encompasses rhizomes, corms and tubers). While most of us are familiar with the common garden variety of these plants, which is white, Stargazer Barn grows many different hybrids that bloom in brilliant gold, yellow, orange, red, purple and even near-black.

You can grow callas in your garden from bulbs. If your winters are mild, they should come back each spring if you protect them with straw or another mulch. If your winters are harsh, Stargazer Barn recommends digging the bulbs in the fall, brushing off the dirt and letting them dry. Then store them in a paper bag or some peat moss at about 50 degrees F. and keep them in a cool, dark place until you're ready to replant.

Plant your calla lily bulbs in early spring, says Tim Crokenberg of Stargazer Barn. Just don't plant more than 2 or 3 inches deep, and then water them in. "We root our bulbs in a crates in a special rooting room, without light. It's roughly 50 degrees F., and we keep them there while their roots develop. When we bring the bulbs into the greenhouse, the plants are ready to start photosynthesizing and growing to their optimum potential." Giving them a good start helps them fight off pests and diseases later, he says.