Growing Calla Lily: A Complete Profile

By Growing Home Greens Team · August 20, 2026

Calla lily is grown from a rhizome rather than seed, and where you live decides whether it is a permanent planting or a summer one.

Zones 8 to 10 in the ground, everywhere else in a pot

NC State Extension gives its hardiness as zones 8a through 10b. Inside that range it stays in the ground and returns each year. Outside it, the two normal approaches are lifting the rhizomes after the foliage dies back and storing them somewhere frost-free, or growing it in a container that comes inside.

It reaches two to just over three feet tall and one to two feet wide, and flowers in June and July.

Shade helps in hot climates

It takes full sun or partial shade, and the extension entry is specific that partial shade is preferred in warmer climates to stop the leaves and flowers scorching. That is the opposite of the advice most flowers here get, and it makes calla lily a candidate for the part of a bed you struggle to fill.

Toxic in every part

Calcium oxalate runs through the flowers, leaves, roots, sap and stems, rated medium poison severity. Chewing any part causes oral irritation and swelling of the mouth, tongue and lips, and it is listed as a problem for cats, dogs and horses.

This is not a reason to avoid it, but it is a reason to think about placement if children or animals use the space. A bed they can reach into is a different decision from a container on a table.

Our planner treats it as a bulb rather than a seed crop, so the buy-seeds guidance elsewhere on the site does not apply to it.

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, Zantedeschia aethiopica.

Companion planting guide for Calla Lily · Find your planting dates

Typically viable in USDA zones 8-10. Not sure your zone? Look it up by ZIP code.

Method: Direct sow: Direct-sow outside. Calla Lily doesn't transplant well, or doesn't need the extra time indoors.

See exact start-indoors, direct-sow, and harvest dates for your zone →

How many Calla Lily plants fit per square foot?

Spacing: 1 per square foot (square-foot-gardening spacing). Mature height: 2-3.5 ft.

Where to buy calla lily bulbs

We haven't vetted bulb/tuber suppliers yet. Our seed-supplier list doesn't carry these.

See it growing

Search YouTube for "growing calla lily" videos → (a live search, not a hand-picked video; results vary and aren't vetted by us)

Pin this for later

Growing Calla Lily: A rhizome-grown flower for zones 8 to 10, toxic in every part, and lifted for winter anywhere colder.

Save to Pinterest