Re: Calla lilies - sun or shade?
Yes, Wesley Whiteside in Charleston, ILL, zone 5/6, overwinters
"Crowbrough" by growing in pure sphagnum and treating them as drier bog
plants and heavy mulching them heavy in the winter.
He has them growing in half day sun where the sun does not hit the ground.
In Washington state they grow in roadside ditches next to cranberry bogs and
grow 7 feet tall. If you grow the yellow or albomaculata in very much shade
in the Midwest the corms won't get much growth. I have the spotted leaf
Callas in full sun and they always bloom but I think they would like a
little bit of shade. The Callas that I dig up will bloom the next spring
now matter what I do with them. I store them by just putting the corms in
empty pots and storing them in the garage, they do not dry up. I think the
problem with them outdoors is probably not being able to dry out in the
winter.
Frank Cooper
central Illinois
zone 5b
min. -15 F max. 98F
