help! calla lilies ?rot?

[Jennifer]

Please someone help me, calla lilies are my most favorite flower and I am
so very sad to see them dying...having never ever attempted to grow plants
that have bulbs or corms (i am not entirely sure which callas are) i am at a
complete and utter loss

situation:

1) got bulbs, planted them in a clay pot with drainage holes (stones on the
bottom, used commercial potting soil with a bit of peat and some course sand
for drainage)

2) they sprouted, sent up healthy leaves, then flowers and are even now
sending up new leaves and new flowers (tho a few of the flowers have gone to
seed)

problem:

1) a few weeks ago i noticed one of the stalks was brown and mushy from
the base, to a bit up...the leaves and flower had fallen over...then about a
week later the same thing happened to another one...in each case i removed
as best i could of the rotten, mushy, stinky bulb (i could only smell it after
i dug them up) without disturbing the other bulbs and their roots...odd thing
was that the roots on the rotten bulbs still looked very solid and healthy

2) today another one fell, so i gently dug up the 4 remaining bulbs...two of
which were solid and showed no sign of any problems, the other two had parts
that had softened and smelled (but again, the roots on these two were very
healthy looking) -- i could see no sign of insects, worms, fungus or disease
(in the soil or on the bulbs...or at least none that i could detect)

3) i re-potted the 2 healthy ones (new pot, new soil, stones...added a bit
more coarse sand for even better drainage)...the two that had mushy spots
on i washed off (to remove the mushy parts), swiped with alcohol and
re-potted the same way i re-potted the others (in a separate pot of course)

i am at a loss as to why the bulbs are rotting...i have been very careful to
let the soil dry out completly before watering again, and i believe that i
have provided proper drainage

can someone please give me any advise on how to save my remaining bulbs??

thanks in advance

jennifer

[DABouldin]

Are you watering them enough? They can take bog conditions. Are they in
part shade? Might be best in Ohio. My calla is not doing well right now
because of a heat wave- a scorching 75 degrees! Callas are naturalized
here in northern CA next to cool streams. usually they're fool proof. good
luck!-deborah

[DABouldin]

Disregard previous post. i hadn't read your whole messagfe. i would say
you need to have these plants in the ground in partial shade. they don't
like to be potted. A certain amount of dieback is normal; just pull off
the leaves. new ones will grow-deborah

[Charles Brendan Callaway]

In article <3urtav$n...@newsbf02.news.aol.com>,

Hmmmm... Maybe it depends on the species. Mine is potted along with some
dianthus, vinca and Mexican bush sage all in one big pot, in full sun.
And it's been 98 degrees every day for the last 3 weeks. I do water them
a lot, though.

I think it's similar to someone else's recent suggestion about putting
rosemary and clematis together... The calla lily draws all of the water
in, which keeps the bush sage from rotting, and the dianthus keeps the
roots cool.

-Charles

[Julia Crosswell]

In article <3uucr0$b...@firewheel.cs.utexas.edu>, theo...@cs.utexas.edu
(Charles Brendan Callaway) wrote:

> Hmmmm... Maybe it depends on the species. Mine is potted along with some
> dianthus, vinca and Mexican bush sage all in one big pot, in full sun.
> And it's been 98 degrees every day for the last 3 weeks. I do water them
> a lot, though.
>

My calla is growing in a 3 gallon pot that is sunk in my pond (full shade).
The rim is 2 - 3 inches above the water line and it's been in the 100's
here all week. The plants been in there since April and is doing great! I
believe these plants are from the tropics where they grow wild in roadside
ditches.