Beauty and the beast
Calla lilies, skunk cabbage are relatives worth growing
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Calla lilies grow wild in California. Photo by Henry Homeyer |
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By HENRY HOMEYER - Published: April 5, 2009
During a recent trip to California I was, once again, bowled over by the majesty and simplicity of the simple white calla lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica) that thrives outdoors there.
These beauties are not true lilies at all, but members of the Arum family (which includes jack-in-the-pulpit, skunk cabbage and the house plants dieffenbachia and philodendron). Calla lilies are perennial in warm climates, but, like dahlias and gladiolas, must be dug and brought inside before the winter here. Now is the time to start some calla rhizomes (a bulb-like modified stem) indoors.
Members of the Arum family produce flowers that consist of a "spadix" composed of clusters of tiny flowers on an upright axis that is usually partly surrounded or hidden by a leafy bract called a "spathe."
My favorite calla lily has a brilliant white spathe and is a tall plant (24 to 36 inches) that likes moist soil and full sun.
Grocery stores often sell pink or peach-colored calla lilies, which are smaller and do well on a sunny window sill for months at a time.
One of the advantages of growing calla lilies is that they are not true lilies, hence not bothered by that dastardly red bug, the lily-leaf beetle. The lily-leaf beetle attacks Oriental and Asiatic lilies that I do so love but have given up growing.
As an organic gardener, I have not been able to find a repellent for the lily-leaf beetle that works. When they first arrived, I picked them daily. Later I picked twice daily.
But the pests still devoured the leaves of my favorite lilies, and I have given up. However, the calla lily is not of interest to the beetles. Calla lilies also bloom for a much longer time than true lilies, though they lack the fragrance of Oriental lilies.
To start calla lilies indoors now, buy rhizomes at your local garden center or from a reputable supplier such as Dutch Gardens or White Flower Farms (I am always leery of buying plant material from lesser-known companies).
The rhizomes need to be planted about 3 inches deep, then covered with potting mix. It is a good plant for people who tend to overwater their houseplants, as it thrives in moist soil. (By the way, start doubling the water to your rosemary plants if you over-wintered any. Otherwise they will dry out and die.)
Once summer is here you can either transplant your potted calla to a nice sunny spot that stays moist, or you can keep it in the pot and move it outside. Come fall, you will need to bring them inside, as temperatures around 20 degrees will kill them. Callas need to go dormant in winter.
I grow two other plants in the same family as calla lilies: skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) and jack-in-the pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum). Both are worth growing.
I grew up in Woodbridge, Conn., where skunk cabbage was one of the first signs of spring. Its bright green and/or purple leaves would pop up in wet places near our shady stream, even when the ground was still frozen.
Like others in the Arum family, skunk cabbage is thermogenic, meaning that it can use chemical processes to generate heat. Some arums generate heat in their blossoms to attract pollinators.
Skunk cabbage — which really does smell skunky if you pick the leaves – generates heat to melt frozen soil, getting up and growing before other plants do. The heat, I've read, attracts beetles that like to "party" inside the flower.
Growing up, skunk cabbage was considered a weed, as its flowers are hidden inside a hood of green and not visible unless you kneel down in the mud and take a close look. As I kid, I never knew they had flowers.
As an adult I wanted some and had the perfect place to grow them: dappled shade with acidic soil that never dries out.
It isn't possible to dig up and move skunk cabbage due to the nature of the roots, so all are started in pots by seed. It is not generally available to purchase, but I found it at Sunshine Farms in Renci, W.Va. They have an amazing list of rare plants that will do well in our climate, so check out their Web site if you are adventurous — www.sunfarm.com or (304) 497-2208.
Skunk cabbage is a slow-growing plant, and after five years mine is still small, but I am patient.
Another related plant is jack-in-the-pulpit. They grow well in dappled shade with humus-rich acidic soil that drains well but stays lightly moist. A pH of 5 to 6.5 is recommended.
The spathe (flower) is shielded by a striped hood, so Jack is slightly hidden. In the fall they produce very striking-looking red berries.
I pick the berries when they start to get mushy and plant them an inch deep. In a few years you can have a good-sized colony if you do so.
One word of warning: All members of the Arum family are poisonous. They contain oxalic acid, which is bitter and nasty (and found in rhubarb leaves), so I can't imagine toddlers munching on them. Some people may find the juices of the seeds irritating to the skin.
I recently bought some pink callas in a pot. They grace my table and, late at night, whisper to me that summer is coming.
Henry Homeyer lives in Cornish Flat, N.H. He is the author of the "Vermont Gardener's Companion: An Insider's Guide to Gardening in the Green Mountain State." He can be reached through his Web site, www.Gardening-Guy.com.
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