Calla Lily flowers look great just about year round whether grown indoors or in your outdoor garden.
Thankfully even though they die off at the end of the year, they always come back strong the next growing season as long as the care has been at least somewhat good.
With that said, maybe your Calla Lily has been looking a little more unsightly this year due to browning of the leaves or leaf tips.
So if this has been cause for concern lately then I recommend checking out each of the possible causes and checking off the ones you know aren’t an issue.
Causes for Calla Lily leaves turning brown include improper watering, sunburn, frost damage and fertilizer burn.
Improper watering
The main issue causing brown leaves, especially brown tips on Calla Lilies is caused by improper watering whether it be overwatering or underwatering.
This is because if the plant doesn’t get enough water, the leaf tips will have a tendency to turn brown so underwatering may be obvious.
Now on the other hand, overwatering can cause damage to the roots which will not allow them to provide water to your Calla Lily later on, mimicking the effects of a dehydrated plant.
When your Calla Lily has become overwatered you may notice the leaves yellowing before they start to turn brown or black.
You have to find that middle ground where hydration will be plenty but not to the point where you have standing water blocking oxygen to the roots.
This could also be a soil issue as you really want well draining soil for Calla Lilies or you have a good chance that there will be standing water and eventual root rot.
So you should use a soil mix that drains well but also allows there to be at least slight moisture able to be retained as Calla Lilies like to stay moist just not constantly soaked.
A good way to tell when your Calla Lily needs to be watered is when the first few inches of soil have completely dried out.
This could take anywhere from a week to several weeks depending on a variety of factors.
Also you don’t want to be watering very often during it’s dormancy later in the year as you want the plant to die back.
As for the brown leaves or tips, you should remove them or at least cut them back to where healthy leaves are the only thing that’s left.
Sunburn
Although there are conflicting reports as to whether or not Calla Lilies like to get full sun, I would say it’s fine that they do, just not too much or too often as this can cause the plant to burn.
Too much direct sun and you can see the leaves turn brown or get brown tips from sun damage as these plants really like to get bright but indirect light most of the day.
Sunburn will be much more common during heat waves or just very warm days so keep that in mind but in general, indirect light will be the way to go for these flowers.
Once again, you should remove the affected leaves or at least trim them back so the plant can use less energy on the damage leaves and more on fresh growth.
Frost damage
Another cause for browning or darkening of the leaves can be attributed to frost damage or just cold weather in general.
Calla Lilies like to be grown in warm humid environments, think in the 70’s or better for the most part.
Once the temperature drops below the 50’s then you are chancing that your plant will get some sort of frost damage or at the worst, your plant won’t survive the cold.
It’s a good idea to go ahead and grow indoors during the colder months if you can.
Just be sure your Calla Lily isn’t touching the window it’s growing by as this can cause frost damage if the window itself gets pretty chilly.
Unintentional rhyme.
The damaged leaves should also be removed or trimmed back for the reasons listed above.
Fertilizer burn
Lastly, another cause for a Calla Lily to get brown tips can be caused by what is known as fertilizer burn or just too much fertilizer so to speak.
Excessive fertilizing will cause a buildup of salts in the soil over time which can and will damage the roots thus causing brown tips on your Calla Lily leaves.
Calla Lilies don’t really need to be fertilized all that much and just using a small amount every few months will suffice just fine.
Think a quarter strength on the recommended amount every few months.
Otherwise you run the chance of this happening, especially if you don’t change the soil.
If fertilizer burn has occurred then you will need to flush the soil or just use completely new soil instead, either way you can’t have that excess salt accumulation going on.
Also you know what to do with the brown leaves.
Pests
Pests can not only wreck havoc on your Calla Lily, but they can also cause discoloration such as black tips after they have been feeding for a bit.
Signs of a pest issue include white patches or webbing, yellow leaves, droopy or wilted leaves, holes in the foliage, brown tips, and small black or white dots.
In my opinion, the best way to remove pests and help keep them away in the future is to use neem oil.
If you’re looking for some good quality and affordable neem oil then I recommend this neem oil.