ZANTEDESCHIA 



ZANTEDESCHIA 



3535 



April, when they will show signs of starting. They 

 should be potteu then, but kept rather dry until the 

 roots develop. The pots will be fairly well filled with 

 roots before much growth shows, and they can be kept 

 under benches in a coolhouse, or even in the cellar, for 

 two weeks after potting. With the roots well started, 



they come along 

 quickly, coming into 

 bloom in ten to twelve 

 weeks. A good bright 

 intermediate house 

 suits them best, and 

 some liquid fertilizer 

 will help them when 

 the flower-stems ap- 

 pear. The blooms 

 last a long tune, open- 

 ing greenish yellow, 

 turning to pure 

 orange - yellow, and 

 finally green when 

 aging. Seeds are 

 formed plentifully; 

 and by these, though 

 slow, is yet the surest 

 and quickest method 

 4029. Common calla lily. Zante- of propagation. Dur- 

 deschia aethiopica. Left-hand speci- ^ ^ ne 



must have the very 

 best attention. They usually do not become thoroughly 

 ripened until August. Pot-grown plants are better stored 

 in pots. The whole culture is easy when it is known. 



Seeds of Z. Elliottiana sown in November usually 

 come up strong, but the plantlets are difficult to handle 

 and liable to go off when very young. It is the safest 

 way to let them stay in the seed-boxes, ripen there, and 

 plant them farther apart next season. Seeds have been 

 sown outdoors with very gratifying results. Almost a 

 year is gained in this way, as the roots (or bulbs) are 

 considerably larger than box-grown seedlings. Older 

 roots held over until settled weather and planted like 

 potatoes bloomed freely all summer, making fine roots; 

 they were green when cut by frost in October, but 

 ripened seeds. To do this successfully takes a longer 

 season, and the plants must be started indoors. 



The calla in California. (Ernest Braunton.) 



In considering the calla in California, it is necessary 

 to treat it under two general heads: first, as an orna- 

 ment; and second, as an article of commerce. The 

 popular and growing demand for calla bulbs (or tubers) 

 speaks much for the plant as an ornamental. Many, 

 indeed, are the uses to which it is put. It is, perhaps, 

 most commonly used as a belt along fences, and not 

 infrequently as a hedge between two properties; or 

 nearly as often is found along one side of a house in a 

 long narrow bed. For effective planting it is much in 

 demand for grouping around hydrants and unsightly 

 objects in damp places, at watersides; sometimes as a 

 border around a fish- or lily-pond, oftentimes growing in 

 bunches or masses in the water itself; or massed on a 

 slope near water; mixed with other tropical vegetation; 

 or as a border to tropical jungles; and very effective, 

 indeed, is it in the lower tiers of basins around a large 

 fountain with myriophyllum hanging down from the 

 base of the callas. For all of these purposes the foliage 

 is of even more importance than the flowers. As it 

 grows luxuriantly here in almost any location, it is very 

 seldom seen as a pot-plant either in the dwelling or on 

 sale at the nurseries. In the most favored places only is 

 it entirely secure from the frost, although the damage to 

 it from this source is not serious in or around Los 

 Angeles. Although doing fairly well in the full sun, our 

 summer climate is too dry for it to attain its greatest 



beauty and luxuriance wholly without protection, and 

 it may therefore be seen in perfection only when grown 

 in partial shade. A good supply of water and manure is 

 also an important factor in its proper development. 



The spathe is subject to many variations in form, both 

 in size and shape, some being long, rather narrow and 

 pointed, ending in a decidedly recurved awn, while 

 others are nearly circular, with the sharp point almost 

 wanting and standing upright the same as the remainder 

 of spathe. It frequently happens that the spathe is 

 double and even triple, sometimes in its entirety but 

 often only partially so. In the latter case it often 

 assumes some very strange forms. The spadix is not so 

 variable and seldom departs from the type, although 

 an occasional double or abnormal spadix is found. 

 Most other species or varieties than Z. sethiopica are 

 found but sparsely in California gardens, the most com- 

 mon ones being the spotted-leaved and the dwarf form 

 known as the Little Gem, but Z. Elliottiana is grown 

 extensively in certain areas, especially about Santa 

 Cruz, which is the center of the bulb-growing industry 

 in California. 



Commercially, the growing of the bulbs for eastern 

 and foreign markets is a sure source of revenue, and is 

 conducted extensively throughout southern California. 

 The local market for the so-called flowers is of course 

 limited, but if grown in a practically frostless belt, the 

 blooms will more than pay for the cultivation of the 

 winter field, as in that season of the year flowers of all 

 kinds are scarce. The average retail price for good 

 blooms in midwinter is 50 cents a dozen; the whole- 

 sale price about $1 a 100. Bulbs at retail cost about 

 one-half, or even less, what they do in the East. The 

 commercial growers get at present (January, 1916), $25 

 to $60 a 1,000, according to size, the market calling for 

 tubers 1^ to 3 inches in diameter. Larger sizes are 

 quoted as ' 'fancy 1 ' and command extra prices. Although 

 they can be grown hi almost any soil with some success, 

 a free cool blackish loam is best, and they do not 

 thrive in a hot gravelly or stony soil. The lands near 

 the coast, where swept by the cooling sea-breeze, are 

 productive of the best results, both in bloom and tuber. 

 Land containing sufficient alkali to prevent the growth 

 of many common crops will produce good callas if other 

 requirements are present. In field-planting it is much 

 better to put in small bulbs about 4 inches apart than 

 to sow the off- 

 sets promiscu- 

 ously in the row; 

 when the sets 

 are thus sown, 

 they should be 

 taken up the fol- 

 lowing year and 

 the small bulbs 

 properly plant- 

 ed. Offsets sown 

 as above and 

 left four to six 

 years (the usual 

 tune for a good 

 crop) have never 

 produced satisfactory results. No pest seriously attacks 

 foliage or bloom, but in dry years more especially, the 

 common sow-bug eats into the tubers very seriously and 

 receives considerable assistance from millipedes. Both 

 these pests are a considerable nuisance to the California 

 nurseryman and gardener. 



INDEX. 



4030. Calla with double 

 spathe. Z. asthiopica. 



