The Calla Lilies 
Among the best known of the tuberous rooted plants are the Calla Lilies. They 
do not have true bulbs, but some botanists call them rhizomatous plants. They are 
all native to South Africa, from whence come so many of our interesting bulbous 
subjects. 
The best known are the white Callas, of the Zantedeschia (Richardia) aethiopica 
group. Grandma grew a white Calla in her window 60 years ago. They can be 
grown outdoors in warm climates, where freezing weather is at a minimum, or can 
be handled in pots indoors and under glass. The giant white Calla is Zantedeschia 
aethiopica, the type of the species. Then there is the semi-dwarf or Godfrey Calla, 
of medium height, and to our thinking, the best for pots and ground beds. It grows 
about 2% feet tall at its optimum, and may produce five to seven blooms under 
good culture from a bulb 1-1 % inches in diameter. The bulbs go dormant, so to 
speak, in summer and are dug and planted again in the Fall. 
There is an interesting “‘Baby Calla’, a miniature variety of Z. aethiopica, which 
makes small pot plants, but is weak growing and hard to handle in our experience. 
For years we have been extensive growers of the Godfrey Calla. In the Winter Park 
vicinity are several acreage plantings of these bulbs for florists’ cut flower purposes 
and shipping. The Godfrey variety seems to prefer an acid soil and is not widely 
grown in California, where the large aethiopica type is favored. Accompanying this 
piece is a photograph of a vase of our Godfrey Callas, taken last spring. They are 
lovely things and coming to have more popular use in every-day arrangements and 
bouquets. 
The yellow calla, (Z. Elliottiana) is one of the choicest tuberous rooted plants of 
all horticulture. They are planted in late fall or winter as pot plants, and if held 
until April may be planted outside in the garden in the North. The foliage is light 
green and dotted white. By all means try half a dozen yellow callas in season. 
The white calla with spotted leaves, Z. albo-maculata, is an unusual and inter- 
esting plant, but usually blooms only once, which makes it less valuable to the flower 
lover than the aethiopica types, which flower several times in a season. The bulbs 
are rather small, and the flowers not as large as the Godfrey calla. 


GODFREY WHITE CALLAS 
semi-dwarf type 
