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oh!oh! ... did i start too early?

16 years ago

my 1st experience with calla liles ... last summer they were planted in the ground in their original pots ...last fall i brought them, pots, soil & all, inside to store for the winter ...

brought them up from the basement a couple weeks ago & they are an inch or more tall already!! i am thinking i jumped the gun; as it will be a long time before they can go outside ... could i somehow slow them down ... or ?

thanks from phyl who is so very, very sick of snow ...

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Comments (7)

mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
16 years ago
Mine are in the basement, potted up under lights. It takes a while for them to grow enough to start blooming, so this is just the normal routine. The dahlias are sitting next to them, and mimulus and tomato seedings are on the other side. When I run out of room down there because of more seedlings, the bulbs come upstairs because by then the rosemary and bay can go outside. Actually, I should probably get those two outside.

Callas are shade tolerant enough that they should be more than fine in a sunny windowsill. It's a big reason I have them. They'll spend the summer in my north-facing windowboxes.
phyl345
Original Author
16 years ago
hey, madgal, thanks for the answer ... you also told me something else i didn't know ... last yr. i had them planted in full sun! ... no wonder they looked sorta pitiful all summer ... i *almost* didn't bother to dig them up for overwintering!

thanks, phyl
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peter826
16 years ago
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phyl345
Original Author
16 years ago
you wouldn't believe how tall they are already ... i just measured them ... the tallest ones are 7 & 1/2" tall! ... not only that, but i dug them up last fall in their original containers; & just let them start up again in the same pots ... *sigh*

i have no experience with bulbs; (can you tell!) & there are TEN sprouts in one little 4" sq. pot ... that can't be good, right? ... the 2nd pot has only 5 sprouts ...

common sense is now telling me i should have taken them out of their original dirt & then ... idunno ... split them up; or something? ... why oh why didn't i come here & ask questions BEFORE i made this dumb mistake?

i just tried to take a picture, but my batteries are dead ... so i will try again later ...

thanks from phyl ... who is wondering if she could still separate them at this point without killing them???
phyl345
Original Author
16 years ago
here is a picture showing my *crowded*, *tall* sprouts!! what say you? ... should i try to divide them now; or will that kill them for sure??

i am wondering why i didn't post this on {{gwi:8968}}the bulb forum ... maybe i should do that now ... thanks, phyl
mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
16 years ago
Each tuber or corm or whatever they are puts up multiple sprouts. So I'm not sure how crowded they really are. They don't look all that different from mine, which are either one big or two small ones in a 3" pot.

Part of the answer may be how many you want. I have two large and one small window boxes that these are the height interest for. So I've planted them as 2+2+1=5, or 3+3+2=8, or 3+3+1=7, depending on how many corms I've got.
phyl345
Original Author
16 years ago
hi mad, your answer has somewhat relieved my worries .. well, maybe, *sigh* ...

i don't *know* how many bulbs there are ... i never *unearthed* them, sotospeak ...

just so i know for next yr., when *should* i have brought them up from the basement?

do you think (at the astonishing rate they're growing) that they will reach their blooming stage while they are still in the house? ... that can't be good ...

thanks, phyl

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