Lilies: What is happening to these calla lilies?, 1 by zenhog

zenhog wrote:
Hi all, hopefully I can get some good advice on what is going on with my calla lilie collection.

Please see the pics attached. I have two problems that I'd like some advice on:

1. Why do they not flower like they used to several years ago? You'll see in the wide shot that there are a LOT of plants now (I've never thinned them out in the last 4 years) and yet I only get one or two flowers. Could they be too crowded? If so, when is the best time to split them, and is there a best technique?

2. Why do the flowers that I do get go black in the middle? The pestal (is that the right word) turns black within the first week or 2 of when the flower appears. And the only other new flower to show up is grossly disfigured.. What is causing these conditions? Pics of the black pestal and the wierdly configured flower are included.

Thanks for the help!

Craig