Susan Seath Writes
I live on the Bluff, Durban, and need some advice on how to grow Arum lilies. When should I plant them, and should I buy seeds or seedlings? Do they grow from slips? Where in the garden is best for them – do they prefer shade, light or full sun? Can they be grown in a vase of water?

Home’s Gardening Editor Replies
You cannot plant Arum lilies (Zantedeschia) in a vase of water, simply because the plants are too big. However, you can plant them in a plastic pot placed at the bottom of a water feature, or even in a bog garden because they love wet feet. Arums are indigenous plants; the white variety (with dark green leaves) is evergreen, flowers in summer and loves sunshine and lots of water. The other varieties – for example, the ones with spotted leaves and yellow, pink, red, cream or orange flowers – are not evergreen, which means the plants will ‘go underground’ in winter. Because it is easy to disturb the bulbs when you can’t see them, it is wise to grow them in pots. They also love full sun but will tolerate dappled shade.

The evergreen arum is really easy to grow, and the plants can be divided – they grow by means of bulbous tubers, and the bulbs multiply in two to three seasons. I would advise you buy your first healthy plants from your local nursery, and soon you will be able to fill a bed with them. As for the other arum varieties, bulbs are available at local nurseries towards the end of winter, to be planted for summer.

Arums really need lots of water, especially if you want to see flowers, which means you have to add lots of water-retaining organic matter to sandy soil – ask at your local nursery what they have available.

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