When to begin growing calla lilies for my wedding

by Ashley
(Silver creek, Ga, USA)

Hi. I am getting married next sept. and would love to have calla lilies in my wedding. I thought it would be neat to try to grow them my own instead of buying these pricey flowers. My questions are: When is the best time to plant these flowers and how long will they stay bloomed? I live in georgia where it gets very hot! Will they grow good here? Can you give any info on when to plant if I plant some next spring will they last until sept ( which it is still hot here and they will not be any frost)? Thanks for your help.- Ashley


Doug says - Ashley this isn't what you're going to want to hear but...

My best gardening advice to you (having been the father of the bride and a gardener) is to forget trying to grow your own plants.

Here's why. The darn things seldom bloom when you want them too. They're either a week too late and the buds are still closed or they're a week too early and the flowers are dying. Either way they create a ton of stress in your wedding plans that you won't need at that time.

It's tough enough to time plants in the greenhouses to get them to bloom on time and those are controlled conditions. In the garden, it is next to impossible and I have stories of more than one bride (and bride's mother) who had meltdowns over the garden's uncooperative nature.

And if you depend on the garden to look great to add to your special day - it can be a really big thing (particularly if you're hoping for pictures) and you'll wind up spending the last minute bucks to buy them anyway.

My advice (and the florists always hate me for this) is to not tell one florits you're doing this for your wedding (prices inflate for weddings) and simply pick up as many flowers as you can or special order them for a family get-together rather than a wedding. If you have a local grocery store that handles flowers, or a wholesaler - try getting them to special order you a ton of them for that week. A lot less money and a lot less stress than trying to grow your own.

I know that's not what you wanted to hear but...

p.s. by September, they'd be pretty much finished in Georgia anyway