Cannas - Aggressive Pruning?

Hey ! This canna info is great. I spent a pretty penny on some "Pink Sunburst "canna from a highly recommended nursery. I have them planted around my birdbath. They have looked "ratty" from the git-go. I ordered them for the foilage as well as the bloom. You guys have given me the courage to prune those buggers. Any advise on how far to go ?
Lynda

To the ground.

Thanks Jim 41,I'm gonna trust your advice and do the deed. Small world, I was watching you two talk about Jackson,Tn. That was my home too. It has gotten so big since I grew up there. Back then, you really did know almost everybody in town ,but now, so much industry and many many new people. I still get homesick.
Lynda

one other thing i'll throw in here. if your cannas continue to look ratty and you've determined that they are free of canna leaf rollers, then they need feed. cannas are heavy feeders and i feed mine once a month with an all purpose granular feed that contains N-P-K plus minors. minor elements are very important, imho, for all plants. too often the fertilizers we buy contain only the big 3 and it's especially important when a plant is getting a lot of water because the nutrients wash out so quickly.

Thanks, I was told when I first started with cannas that they only need feeding when they come up in spring. Maybe mine does need some nourishment.

Trackin - thanks for that information. I've never fed them. I guess this is a good time to start!

I've never fed them either.

if you have a lot of brown edges on your leaves, that is usually a potassium deficiency. they seem to need that almost more than anything. that is the K in the N-P-K.

Trackin - does a potassium deficiency cause browning on the edges of leaves on other plants as well? I have a couple landscaping plants (can't remember the name - the ones with thin trunk stalks and dark-light waxy purple leaves that grow out of it the entire length from the ground to the peak) that have the same browning edges/tips.

Trakin
Can you recommend a good food for them by name ? I usually have to send my hubbie out for me and he usually needs specifics.
Thanks again- Lynda

Trackin
Sorry I spelled your name wrong. It's definately nap time. lol
Lynda

yes, brown edges usually mean a lack of potassium in pretty much all plants. it can be due to other things however. nothing is written in stone with plants. you have to observe and think of all the things it could be, then start ruling things out.

lynda, i don't know if you have the same fertilizers there that i have here. let me get mine and get back with you. i'll give you the numbers on mine and you can compare.

this thread slipped my mind and i wanted to give you the fertilizer info you asked for.
i use sunniland professional nursery fertilizer and i doubt you can get that outside of florida but basically what you need to look for is this:

major nutrients which all general fertilizers have unless it is made for a specific plant (like a lawn)
N nitrogen
P phosphorus
K potassium

secondary nutrients
Ca calcium
Mg magnesium
S sulfur

Minor nutrients
Zn zinc
Fe iron
Mn manganese
Cu copper
B boron
Mo molybdenum
Cl chlorine

every one of these nutrients plays a part in plant health and development to varying degrees and whether you're going organic or chemical, can be found in many sources different sources.

some plants need very little of the secondary and minor nutrients and some require much more. that is where the research comes in.


on another subject, we discussed cutting down the flower stalk when it was finished. some cannas will only produce one flowering segment and then be finished (as evidenced by a seedpod forming) and others will form a seed pod but send up additional flowers on new segments. you will come to know the habit of your particular plant the longer you have it. sometimes you have to wait for the second and third flush on a canna. i posted a bloom from Cleopatra on july 20th and left the seedpod to form and did not cut the stem down.

now, on august 6th, here is a picture of the seedpod and a new bud developing next to it but farther up on the stem.

and here is a picture from a little distance to show another bud which has just opened.

my point is to not cut your stems/stalks down until you know for certain that no more flowers will form and that just takes experience with your individual cultivars.

edited to add that the new buds and flowers will always be a little higher than the original one. the bud to the very right and down lower on this picture is a bud from a totally new stalk.

This message was edited Aug 6, 2009 10:30 AM

Awesome information, trackin! The sad part is my cannas haven't bloomed flower stalks in months. I've been cutting ratty-looking stalks for a while now, and am watching with anticipation as the new growth coming out of the ground makes its way skyward. It's growing slowly - still only 6" from the ground - but the leaves look good, and the sluggo-type pellets are working as I see empty shells all around the plant all the time. They really do a number on the cannas and it's sad to see all of those holes and ratty plants. I need to stop being lazy and start taking some pics.

how often do you water? is it possible that perhaps there is too much salt in your soil? i had the problem when i lived south. we were right on the ocean and between salt in the air and salt washing in from storms, it was very hard on certain plants. i kept my cannas in pots down there.

When we get good rain I don't water them, obviously. Between rains, when we get dry periods, I never let them go longer than a couple days without a good soaking. We've been rain-less for almost 2-weeks now, and I've been watering them every 1-2 days. Wellington is pretty far inland. I don't think our salt levels are that high. I used to live in Palm Beach Gardens right next to the ocean. I think I would've had more problems there. Where did you live, trackin?

we lived in Tavernier, in the Keys.

your cannas need a bloom boost! they really should be blooming like mad right now. i have friends in PBG. they have horses so they aren't right at the ocean.

About cannans, I have a ? of my own . A friend gave me a few roots, the first year they were so pretty , but they grew so tall I move them to a back ground area. They have not done any thing sence. the ones that come back will develope.a worme that make the leaves roll up and never do any thing . I have poisned
the plant but I cant`t get rid of. It has about destroyed them and the ones that come back never amount to any thing. Any help or advice would be app
reciated .

if you read further up in this thread, i think we talked about the canna leaf roller. it can be totally controlled with Bt or (brand names) Thuricide or Dipel. when you spray or dust it on your cannas, it only kills the rollers, nothing else. it is considered organic and basically harmless to people and pets.

I use a systemic in the ground ,. D

I lived in eastern PBG, almost considered North Palm Beach - we were on the intracoastal which borders the two. I moved about 25 miles SW to Wellington. Western PBG is where I saw most of the horses when I lived there.
Speaking of bloom boost - do you recommend anything I can use to supplement the blooming? I haven't really gotten around to fertilizing them, but hope to do so this weekend. Thanks.

aha, the truth comes out. you don't need a bloom boost, just feed them. use a good granular fertilizer similar to what i posted above if you can find it. even a liquid like miracle gro is better than nothing.

Yeah, guilty as charged. I'll feed them this weekend and see what happens. The ones I chopped down are pushing up some very attractively-colored leaves and look healthy. A boost wouldn't hurt! I'm in a serious battle with these snails. I find dozens of empty shells around the cannas and hibiscus (the granular killer works well), but I'm still finding small holes in some of the leaves. They won't even give the cannas a chance to grow back!!! I retreated and am hoping for the best, but the things multiply faster than they can eat the killer...

you probably have access to some top-notch feed stores. i think i'd try to find some crushed oyster shells and put that around your vulnerable plants. sharp or builder's sand can work too (not beach sand) but the oyster shell is better. diatomaeous earth is the best but you have to put fresh down after every rain. it would cut down on the population though.

Thanks Trackinsand, I did read about thuricidein in a previous post. But I appreciate you replying to me. I had just about given up on my cannans ,But I`ll give them one more try. I`ll let you know how it truns out. mincey1

Not to brag but my cannas are amazing year round and I am lucky to have them in my garden.

My secret?

I keep the soil moist or never dry longer than a week, feed once a month and have apparently the only place in America where there are no harmful root snails you speak of. They are multiplying and I have no doubt they will take over the entire plot I have them in based off what you say about the plant. I have never had to cut them back - only pull the dead nearing winter.

My canna are somewhat seasonal where they are tall, have beautiful leaves and blossoms and have more and more flowers every year. Then in winter they die off and grow short stalks of leaves only. Which makes me wonder if I can't plant something amongst them to bloom at that time in the same area that won't jeopardize my cannas?????

I feed them with a local nursery's all purpose plant food made by gro-power 4-8-2.

Howdy!!
AND WOW!!!
Lots of great info here!!
First time canna planter. I bought it at Lowes and it has 4 plants coming from it. It's yellow which I love!
I have seeds too that a kind and generous member sent to me,
I'm going to try the beer dish method for the snails since I have pets around.
Ill be checking back.
Thanks so much for being on Daves Garden!!
Carol =^•.•^=__?

Howdy! When I made my last message I should have said I have 8 Cannas coming out if this plant. I put the whole thing in the ground.
I have to dig it up come before frost.
When do I separate the pieces?
Thanks, Carol

you can dig them out after the first frost. a frost or light freeze will knock them back to the ground but the tubers won't be dead. it's only when the ground actually freezes that they would die. just cut them to the ground and dig up the whole clump at once. you can separate them in your garage or just stick the whole clump in a pot and put in a dark place with no water until spring.