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bad smell in calla lily bed

10 years ago

I have had this bed planted with calla lilies for probably 8 yrs. or more and it has never had a bad smell. I pulled some dead leaves off in this bed about a week ago and did not notice any smell. But today it is b-a-d! You can smell it just walking by.

As you can probably tell, these are zantadeschia albomaculata except for 1 hybrid - Pink Blush or something like that I think. The leaves always fall down like that when the weather gets hot (see my post http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/4053743/thinking-of-giving-up-on-zantedeschia?n=5 )

What in the world could this smell be?

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10 years ago
I apologize for not googling before my previous post. I found this at SFGATE:

"Throw out any calla lily rhizomes that have a foul odor like rotting potatoes. This is a telltale sign of soft rot, caused by the bacteria Pectobacterium carotovorum, and one of few serious problems of the plant."

The author, Patricia Reed, was referring to checking rhizomes before you plant them but I assume soft rot can also develop after planting. I pulled abt 4 bulbs and 2 smelled bad and 2 did not. But I'm going to get rid of almost all of them any way.

I'd really like to save the pink one. Should I dig it up and pot it? I know this isn't the best time of year to do that. Leave it in the ground, hope for the best and dig it up in the fall?
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