As Easter approaches, the stores are going to be filled with Easter Lilies. They are quite beautiful but the blooms don’t last very long. My favorite “houseplant lily” is the Calla (Zantedeschia aethiopica).  Alternate Names for this plant are Trumpet Lily, Lily of the Nile,  Arum Lily, and my favorite, Varkoor Lily (an Afrikaans name meaning Pig’s Ear).

The Calla Lily is a beautiful plant whether grown outdoors in your garden or indoors in a decorative pot by a sunny window. This elegant plant, native to the marshes of South Africa, is not really a lily at all but a member of the Araceae family. The extraordinary funnel or trumpet shaped waxy flowers of a Calla Lily grow on tall thick stems and have a yellow spadix emerging from the center of the spath. Faint white or yellow spots may dot the long tapered green leaves. Today, thanks to the many new hybrids developed by breeders throughout the world, Calla Lilies can be found not only in white, but also pink, orange, fuchsia, red, yellow, and cream. The long lasting flowers are especially popular in wedding bouquets where they are used as a symbol of purity and beauty.

There is a picture of a Calla Lily and complete care instructions for this plant in the Popular HousePlant Section of the website.