Zantedeschia 'Orange Pitcher' (Calla Lily)

Calla lily hybrids like 'Orange Pitcher' are descendants of years of breeding work that expanded the genus far beyond the original white aethiopica species. The flowers are the same distinctive form, a smooth, funnel-shaped spathe curling to a pointed tip, but in 'Orange Pitcher' that spathe is a warm, saturated orange with a creamy yellow throat that deepens toward the base. The color sits in the warm range without veering into red, genuinely rich and clean. Cut stems last a week or more in a vase, and the architectural, unfussy shape of calla flowers makes them useful in arrangements both formal and loose.

In the garden, 'Orange Pitcher' grows from a fleshy rhizome that prefers moist, humus-rich soil and a position in full sun to part shade. Bloom time is late spring into summer. The large, arrow-shaped leaves are attractive through the season even before the flowers appear. On the Oregon coast, callas can often be left in the ground through winter with a layer of mulch.

Plant rhizomes about 2 inches deep and 12 to 18 inches apart in spring after soil has warmed.