How to Care for Calla Lilies With Fluorescent Lighting

Calla lilies grow outdoors as tender perennials, but you can also enjoy them inside as houseplants. The plants require bright sunlight and warm temperatures to produce healthy foliage and flowers. Bright sun is sometimes found by placing the plant near a sunny window during the long, summer days. Supplementing natural sunlight with a fluorescent grow light allows you to enjoy the calla lily during the short, winter days or if you don't have a suitably sunny window in your home.

Things You'll Need

Fluorescent light and fixture

Soluble 5-10-5 fertilizer

Instructions

- 1
  Place the calla lily beneath a fluorescent grow light. Set the plant so its top is six to eight inches away from the light source.
- 2
  Leave the light on for 10 hours daily if the calla lily receives no natural sunlight. If the calla lily receives some natural light, supplement it with two hours of fluorescent light for each hour less than five hours of natural light received. For example, a plant that receives three hours direct sun requires four hours of fluorescent lighting.
- 3
  Water the calla lily when the top inch of soil begins to feel dry but before the soil in the pot dries out completely. Water until the excess drains from the bottom of the pot, which indicates that the soil throughout the pot is properly moistened.
- 4
  Maintain a temperature between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit in the room where the lily is placed. Fluorescent lights provide very little heat, so do not depend on them to keep the plant warm.
- 5
  Fertilize the calla every other month through the spring and summer. Apply a 5-10-5 soluble fertilizer blend at the recommended rate on the packaging.

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