Golden calla lily (Zantedeschia elliottiana)

Golden calla lily (Zantedeschia elliottiana) is an herbaceous ornamental stemless plant that grows up to 24 inches tall. It has large, arrow-shaped, deep green leaves spotted with white. The flowers are like arum flowers with the central erect spadix surrounded by a showy spathe.  It flowers from May to October. The spathe is bright yellow inside marked with purple at the base and greenish-yellow outside, forming an open trumpet around the yellow spadix which occasionally produces a spike of bright yellow berries that are attractive to birds.

Scientific classification

Family: Araceae
Genus: Zantedeschia
Species: Z. elliottiana
Scientific Name: Zantedeschia elliottiana
Common Name: Golden calla lily or Golden arum.
Synonyms: Calla elliottiana, Richardia aurata, Richardia elliottiana, Richardia rossii

How to grow and care Golden calla lily (Zantedeschia elliottiana)?

Light

It thrives best in bright indirect sunlight to partial shade. Provide at least 6 hours per day of indirect bright sunlight. Avoid direct sunlight to prevent the burning of the leaves and flowers.

Soil

It grows well in rich, moist, well-drained soil. Use a good peat moss based potting soil.

Water

Water regularly and keep the soil moist but not soggy. You can allow the soil to dry out between each watering.
But never let your plants totally dry out.

Temperature

It prefers ideal room temperatures between 50°-75°F (10°-24°C). If temperatures go much below 50, the plants will tend to go dormant. Keep Calla Lilies away from heating and air conditioning vents. If planted outdoors, be sure to dig up the Calla Lily bulbs and bring them inside before temperatures dip below freezing.

Re-potting

If your plant becomes root bound, transfer them to a slightly larger pot. One way to determine whether your calla lilies are ready for a bigger pot is if the roots look crowded. Root-bound plants are not likely to flourish. Repotting calla lilies is really pretty simple. You should simply carefully lift the calla lilies out of the smaller pot and gently place them into the larger one, all without harming the delicate roots. Then, fill the pot with soil until you reach about an inch from the pot’s edge. Calla lilies should be kept moist for a couple of days after repotting, so make sure to watch out for the soil’s moisture levels.

Fertilizer

Fertilize your calla lily with a bulb fertilizer monthly. Stop fertilizing once the calla lily plant has bloomed. If the foliage has dark tips, you may be adding too much fertilizer.

Humidity

Golden calla lily does well in average humidity.

Propagation

Golden calla lily can be easily propagated by seeds or by dividing rhizomes, tubers, corms, or bulbs (including offsets). Simply divide the rhizomes in the early spring and plant a single rhizome (bulb) in a deep 6-inch pot of slightly moistened potting mixture and treat them as mature plants.

Pests and Diseases

The golden calla lily is susceptible to various viruses and bacterial infections, especially rhizome rot and gray mold. These problems become evident when leaves and stems start to turn yellow before the plant is normally entering its dormant phase. Kill any small insect pests on your calla lily with insecticide soap or spray safe for plants.