Calla Lily leaves turning yellow is actually a pretty serious sign that the plant isn’t receiving proper care or is being heavily neglected.
This can be fixed so you can get back on track to growing a healthy plant.
Year after year these flowers can fill your garden right up and provide an extra appeal to your already established garden.
If you’re here then odds are your Calla Lily has developed yellow leaves or maybe just yellow spots and you want to know what’s causing this to happen.
Common reasons for Calla Lily leaves turning yellow include overwatering, nutrient deficiency, transplant stress, pests and natural causes.
Unfortunately these leaves will not turn back to their original color but by reading about why these issues are causing the yellowing, you can know what to look out for.
Overwatering A Calla Lily
The main cause for yellowing Calla Lily leaves in general will be caused by overwatering this plant or by using the wrong type of soil whether in a container or garden.
If you have been overwatering then odds are you will notice not only the leaves turning yellow, but they may appear mushy or droopy as well.
This is because overwatering or having poor drainage will starve the roots of oxygen which in turn doesn’t allow the plant to get the nutrients or water it needs once the damage is done.
Calla Lilies like to stay at least slightly moist but they do not like standing water for long periods of time which can and will lead to rot.
Ideally you will want to water your Calla Lily when the top few inches of soil are near completely dry which means the lower part will be slightly moist.
This could mean weekly watering or less depending on how fast the soil drains and you want to water much much less during the dormancy in the winter as this will be where most of us go wrong.
When it comes to soil, you want a loose well draining soil mix to prevent that standing water from occurring and causing all sorts of damage.
Whether or not you have root rot, you want to remove the yellow leaves so the plant can use less energy in trying to keep them going and more so on fresh new growth.
Nutrient deficiency
Nutrient deficiency may also be the cause for your Calla Lily turning yellow due to chlorosis which means the leaves will lose their original color as the chlorophyll will not be working properly.
The nutrient deficiency can be caused by the roots being damaged for whatever reason or by using soil that has just had it’s time and needs to be replaced.
If you suspect a nutrient deficiency is going on then have a look at the roots.
They should be firm and white if they are healthy but if they have turned dark, mushy or easily fall apart then they are no good and you may have rot.
If the roots look fine they consider how long you have been using the same soil for and odds are it needs to be replaced with fresh soil, or your Calla lily may need some fertilizer for once.
This would be a good time to repot the flower and do both, just do this during the spring for best results.
Speaking of repotting, this can also be an issue.
Repotting stress
Unfortunately it’s pretty common for Calla Lily’s to experience repotting stress or transplant stress.
This occurs when a plant is recently repotted in a new container, especially if the container is not the right fit or the soil being used is completely different in nature.
You can expect to see yellowing of the leaves, wilting, drooping or maybe even leaves falling off for a short period of time depending on how big a change was made.
This is nothing to really worry about as it’s only temporary.
Just be sure to only go up one pot size when repotting to prevent further problems down the road as a too large container can make rot and other issues that much easier to occur.
As for the yellow leaves, you can either remove them or let them do their thing it’s really up to you.
Pests on Calla Lily
Pests really can cause issues for just about every type of plant including Calla Lilies.
Specifically you may be dealing with fungus gnats or spider mites if you are noticing yellow spots or the leaves turning yellow on your Calla Lily in general.
Spider mites will hide on the underside of the leaves and feed on the sap, causing yellow spots and overall dehydration of the leaves which can cause wilting as well.
Fungus Gnats will be buried in the soil unfortunately so you may not notice them for quite a while until damage is being done and the leaves have already turned yellow.
For either of these pests a good solution will be to use some good quality neem oil spray for the spider mites and a good soil drench for the fungus gnats.
This will be an effective way to get rid of the pests and help keep them away for good.
Once again you can just remove or trim back the leaves until there isn’t yellowing going on so you can get easier healthy new growth.
Natural causes
Lastly, if everything else seems to be in order, odds are it could just be the natural process of the leaves beginning to die right before the dormancy period.
You will notice the leaves turning yellow before they fall off for the year and this is nothing to worry about as they are meant to do this.
Just be sure there isn’t anything else going on before you come to this conclusion, especially if the winter isn’t near but if it is then I wouldn’t worry.
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Calla Lily leaves turning brown