Need help "wintering over" a calla lily.

[Suich]

It's been on the deck in a plastic pot. I've got it in the basement now because it was either below freezing or raining ALL the time. What SHOULD I be doing with it? If it stays in the basement, do I water it?

Thanks much!

[plantwomyn]

1. If you are going to keep it in the house

either take it our of the soil and like it dry out or cut it back and grow it like a house plant. If you want to "overwinter" it, I'd cut back any green growth to just above the tuber, shake off any soil, and store it in dry peat in a dry dark area that stays above freezing. My mom has a Calla that she keeps as a house plant year round. If yours is starting to wilt already, just cut it back and place it in a partial sun area of the house that is above 55. This is a good time to transplant to a different pot but tubers do not mind being crowded so just fertilize it if you want. The big thing is to make sure it DOES NOT sit in water and has good drainage because tubers will rot!

[Suich]

2. The green part is gone. It's just a tuber in the dirt now!

If I want to put it back outside in the spring, do I keep it watered? It has good drainage.

:hi:

[plantwomyn]

4. No.

Let it go dormant if you can't plant it outside. Check the tuber and see if it is solid, then store it in peat not dirt. Let it stay dry and cool. If you have mice you have to protect it or they will eat it. The you can repot it in say March, start it indoors to get a jump on Spring. If you get a chance you can still plant it outside in Seattle like "in search of sanity" said. I'd mulch it though, leaves or grass clippings will do. It has to be in the ground though about 2X the depth of the bulb, and make sure your tip is up. If its in a container{cold on all sides}it may freeze unless you sink the contained into the ground to overwinter.

[Sanity Claws]

3. It can survive a Seattle winter

I lived in Seattle and had calla lilies for 20 years in my yard. They came back every year without a problem.
Do you have a yard or just a deck? If you have a yard, place the pot in a corner near the house.