What do I do with my Calla Lilies?

[StillCantDecideOnaUsername]

Hi, hoping someone can help me please!

I inherited a patch of Calla Lilies in our garden from the previous tenant (pic attached) They looked lovely in May when there were in flower but they now look terrible and I'm just not sure what to do with them- do I pull them up from the roots or cut them back with secateurs? This is the first garden I've ever had so I'm a bit clueless I'm sorry!!!

There are plenty of on-line sites that advise on Calla Lilies, and they can be grown indoors in containers: this can start you off:

www.ehow.co.uk/info_8105221_can-plant-calla-lilly-outside.html

But from your picture I notice you have many weeds, including brambles that need to be dug out (roots may go very deep and under the fence), and Herb Robert, (which has an unpleasant smell, though the flowers are quite pretty, in the Geranium (cranesbill family). There is also a little nasturtium seedling, which can be left and may survive the winter, to flower next year.

The Calla Lily rhizomes should be dug up, and dried to over-winter in a frost free location:

www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/bulbs/calla-lily/growing-calla-lilies-and-care-of-calla-lilies.htm

Thanks for your help! I will take a look at the link you posted. The weeding is next on the list!

The leaves do go a bit manky after flowering as the foliage dies back. The bulb is basically calling all the energy of the plant back into itself as it gets ready for the dormant season over the winter, so that it can power growth next season. It looks to me like the plant is healthy and doing really well. Maybe give it a feed to help it bulk up (just some normal plant food, or some chicken manure pellets will do), then, as Ferguson says, dig it up to overwinter it when we're nearer the frosts.

It depends on where you live. I've always left all my lilies (canna, calla, oriental, etc.) in pots outside and water with weak tomato feed. I do wait for the leaves to yellow and wilt before I trim them. For oriental lilies, i wait for the stem to dry before cutting them. They've always grown bigger and better next year.