Calla lilies? How to divide?

Bernice H
by Bernice H
I believe these are Calla Lily's. I am not sure. The previous homeowner did not say. But there is a huge mass of them. I love them, they are so tropical and so hardy. And they are crowding everything out! Will they do well in pots?
  14 answers
  • Nancy Turner Nancy Turner on Sep 08, 2017

    They may not survive the winter in pots like they do in your soil. Could you divide them and maybe intersperse them along the back of your garden as they are now. If you decrease the width it will not crowd out your other plants. If I need quick info on plants I am not sure how to care for, I go to gardeningknowhow.com and they are many articles on care, propagation, problems, pest and diseases of each plant. Easy to use site and they use language that most anyone can understand. Sorry I can't tell you how to split them, I have never had them before.

    • See 1 previous
    • Nancy Turner Nancy Turner on Sep 10, 2017

      I didn't either until it was too late for some huge hostas I planted in huge half barrels last year. They were mush in the soil in the spring despite the huge pots they were in and all the mulch I piled on for top protection. Even the ones in the center of the pot didn't make it.

  • Mar8197641 Mar8197641 on Sep 08, 2017

    I had one in the house and just split the plant at the root and both grew fabulously

  • C. D. Scallan C. D. Scallan on Sep 09, 2017

    The first one I got was in a pot and spent the winter in my house . I planted in the spring and it multiplied .

    • Bernice H Bernice H on Sep 10, 2017

      Wow,sounds easy. Mine is the size of a bush now. Poor thing looks so crowded,but is doing way better than the Hostas.

  • Babette Babette on Sep 09, 2017

    Calla lillies are are a bulb. Just Dig Them Up And Separate The Bulbs And Replant. They Do Very Well. I Dug Mine Up Last October And This Spring They Bloomed Like Crazy.

  • Vicky Hatton Vicky Hatton on Sep 09, 2017

    Dig them up when the leaves start to turn yellow and wither, then separate the bulbs. I grow them in pots in OH, but put the pots in the basement after the 1st frost.

    • Bernice H Bernice H on Sep 10, 2017

      Thanks,it's not that cold here and we don't have a basement-thinking I could put some pieces in pots but these have grown to at least three feet high! They are staying in the ground!

  • Apa24689513 Apa24689513 on Sep 10, 2017

    I keep mine in pots outside from spring to fall. Then I put them in the basement before frost hits. (I am going to split some up into new pots now in Sept.) When in the basement, do not water them till spring, they usually will start popping out of the soil in late winter. Start watering them then. Take them outside in the spring when it is warm. Keep outside in partial shade. I am in Ohio

    • Bernice H Bernice H on Sep 10, 2017

      Thanks,we are in Oregon,not so cold here. This plant is the size of a bush now,so I can go ahead unafraid and divide!

  • Ginsum Ginsum on Sep 10, 2017

    I had a black calla Lilly which I split and put into pots and planted one in the garden in a pot (I actually gave one away and planted one on the patio and planted one in its pot in the garden with the intention of bringing it in for the winter) I forgot to bring them in when winter arrived. Alas I thought we start again . . . but come spring imagine my surprise when the pot in the garden had the Lilly growing again! Through trial and error (major!) I have discovered that the one on the patio would survive mild winters, but the one in the pot in the ground survived tougher winters. Oh and as far a splitting them plant aficionados stop reading here . . . I took a kitchen knife (you know the one with serrated edges that "would cut through a can" and just stabbed it into the ground and cut the main plant into smaller manageable sizes

    • Bernice H Bernice H on Sep 10, 2017

      Haha...yes I have done that with my Hostas...thanks...new to Oregon...these are new plants to me here in Oregon , never had them,but they flourish..so many yards have them. Whereas the Hostas do NOT look so good. Even mine in the shade. So I think I will switch loyalties and do the lilies. So tropical looking!

  • Gpa5514109 Gpa5514109 on Sep 10, 2017

    Need to dig them out and can be pulled apart easy. And just plant them in separate pots or in the ground

  • Kitty Kitty on Sep 10, 2017

    I live in NY on LI and have my Calla Lilly in the planted in ground. It multiplies and it also spreads to other parts of my garden. I don't do any thing to it. I am going to break it up. this fall and plant and share with others. Good Luck! Easy Breezy!

  • Babette Babette on Sep 10, 2017

    You can put them in lots as well. They'll do fine.

  • Ginsum Ginsum on Sep 11, 2017

    Hostas do well on this side of NA but because of our damp climate they do fall prey to slugs (have you seen the size of some of them)