AboutTom Alonzo Expertise I have been growing plants from seeds for at least 20 years. I have grown literally hundreds of different kinds of vegetables, trees, shrubs, annuals, perennials, tropicals, some cacti, water plants, iris, rose, lilies, cannas, etc. I enjoy starting from seed.
Experience I've been growing my own seeds for 20 years with indoor propagation equipment I built myself. I am also an Allexperts volunteer on the perennial forum. I have completed the Master Gardener course through the Kansas State University Extension. I have experience with a wide variety of seeds and I have also read through Norm Deno's books on seed germination.
Question QUESTION: Mine are growing fine What do I need to do to get the flower to turn color? They are curled but stay green green.
ANSWER: Hi Gail,
Thanx for your question. Are these the white calla lilies? What color were you looking for? Normally, the large white ones will maintain some green in the lower parts of the spathe as it opens up. The spathe is the hood or large wrap-around petal? If you have pink or other colored callas, they should have come out that color. How long has it been since the scape and flower bud appeared?
thx,
Tom
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: The spathe is a large wrap-around and had a coral colored flower when I bought it. Now I have more wrap-around and they are staying green not the color I bought. The buds or wrap-around leaf have ben there for two weeks and just stay green.
Answer Hi Gail,
Thanx for the additional infromation. Are the calla lilies getting enough sun? If they are indoors in pots, they need to be in a south or east facing window. If they're outdoors, they will need some protection from afternoon sun if you're in a place that gets hotter than 90F in the afternoon. Are you feeding them? High nitrogen fertilizers can cause a lot of green growth. Stop feeding. I hope this helps.
Tom
