....darn it...I could have been playing with a few! lol you know I forget sometimes that everything starts with a seed. if i had the space i would expieriment more ...maybe one day...
Canna's in a Container
If you've already got cannas, leave 1 or 2 flower stalks on (don't deadhead) till late this fall. There may be little spikey pods develop where each flower was. Each pod contains a single seed if it was pollinated. They're not 'golf ball' sized either. Each seed is about 1/2 long I guess. You'll be able to tell of there's a seed when you get ready to harvest by squeezing each little pod. Most will crush if not already deflated. If you have a seed, you won't be able to crush it with your fingers.
Here's some trivia that will give you an idea of the seed size. Canna seeds were used to make rosaries and thats how they originally came to this country.
Some 'self cleaning ' canna will not produce seeds ;-(
But some are so prolific in seed setting that even up here in zone 5 ,
I get volunteer seedlings popping up all over ;-D
Seeds from one pod
seeds were from p. Patens
Really cute flowers with that little sepal that looks like a yellow tongue with red speclkes.
OOOOH Scooter, would you consider sharing some for postage? I would love to try growing some from seeds.
Pati
Very interesting thread and I learned a lot. Next year it will be containers in my sunny courtyard for them.
Oh Pirl .
............that really paints a pretty picture in my mind.
Can hardly wait to see pics.
Scoot - perfect timing and great picture. Volunteer cannas is not something I've ever had because I cut them all down and lift them on Halloween. The stalks I've left for seed have never opened on their own. How do you get volunteers? I was surprised to get volunteer Carmencita castor. I didn't think those seeds would make it through the winter.
same way you prolly got your redhead girlfriend Carmencita, let Mother Nature take it's course.
I planted the giant green instead this year , Ricinis communis
I haven't tried saving Canna seeds as the tubers multiply so fast that I don't have space for them. LOL Might try it though.
I think Zone 5a is probably borderline for seeds making it through the winter. In a really mild winter I've had the occasional tuber that I didn't lift survive and the seeds may be in the same situation. Also, the amount of snow cover you have and the time snow arrives would probably make a difference.
Ann
I sorta feel the same way Viola...I am intimidated by seeds and I dont have the space or the patience. :(
scooterbug -- Liked your seed trivia :)
Will try saving some. Have been cutting the seed stalks off thinking it would help with more blossoming.
This is my first season with some cannas, thanks to the feb05 FL roundup. They are salmon with speckled yellow kinda like yours and are multiplying with their first season in pots and a few in the ground. They are stretching taller where slightly under the roof overhang. I have grouped the four potsful near the one plumeria to keep it from getting too much water from the sprinkler.
Thanks Scooterbug with the info. I think if I get seeds in the pods I'll just have to wait and try in March or so..I'm also in zone 5 and don't dare leave them in the ground over winter. Too cold..I have to dig up in fall. Any tips for storing..I tried last year in paper bag and they all died then too.
WOW I came into the container gardening forum for my first time today to look for ideas for some kind of evergreen I could put into a large container I am bringing home from mothers. I had absolutely no idea i could put my cannas in containers! I am so excited. Next year I will definately save the trouble of having to dig them out of the ground come fall! Thanks everyone!!
Do yourself a favor Jos - make sure you have that container sitting in something that will hold a few inches of water. Big planter tray or something. They really need lots of water to do any good in a container. Unless you've got one that doesn't have drainage holes. Then you still have to make sure it doesn't run dry. :)
: ) Well that is the amazing thing....mom is giving me this container because it has no holes!! I was going to try and drill some, DH said it would be no problem. I don't have to worry now! This is my first year with cannas and I love them, but I have been dreading the yearly digging up part! If I get a chance I will try to get some pic's of my first year cannas. I am really quite proud of myself....lol I only have 1 bloom so far but they are so pretty even without blooms.
Hi Jos,
I'm also in zone 5a and I hate to tell you, but you will still have to empty out those pots and save the tubers unless they don't grow much. I find that by the end of the summer, plastic pots are sometimes getting misshapen by the growth inside them.
It's marginally easier than digging them from the garden but you still have to deal with them and prepare them for winter storage unless you've got a lot more space in your basement than I have and your tubers don't get crowded.
Ann
Hi Ann,
I did plan on digging them up, my problem is the spot they are in is fairly tight when trying to get in there and move around. I just thought getting them out of a container would be much easier than manuvering in the space by the deck where they currently are. I can put them in containers and put more perennials where the cannas are now. Then it will be much easier to maintain, not to mention more plants!! Thanks for your concern though :)
Hey guys, are there is any rules for digging Cannas? I never dug any because mine have always been in pots. My little girlfriend is digging up her Canna bed and gave me some....some have eyes and some dont. not to mention she dont even remember the color...:) Do they look good to you guys?
opps...wrong pic...that was the patch.
Sylvia those look fine..I noticed that one I had planted didn't have an eye and one came up anyway..I think as long as they have a piece of root/root with a few stringy roots they are fine..those in your pic look great!
Great!!...I thought so...she will be happy to know she did a good job. lol ...then she will dig more cannas. lol l even had this kid join the group.;)
She need something to do. lol
Sylvia
Get them started young and they'll have beautiful gardens by the time their our age!
What a great forum. This may be the wrong one for this question but after reading this I got to try. A few weeks ago was at the Green Bay, WI Stein Garden Supply store where I bought "The President, Miss Oklahoma, Black Knight, Liberty Pink Splash, Liberty Yellow and three other one gallon containers of canna's that were not identified with plant tags for fifty cents each. All the ones I picked out had at least 2-3 small shoots coming up beside the larger plants. Some of the larger plants had the seed pods developing. I have planted them and water often. I have read several remarks about winter storage here, but nothing in detail. My question is how do I store the bulbs over winter. Zone 5. I only have a semi-heated basement to use. Any sugestions would be most helpful.
This message was edited Aug 24, 2005 7:58 AM
This late in the season you could've just left them in the pots.
Let the first couple of frosts hit 'em then cut them back to about 1" and set them in a dark cool corner of the basement or anyplace they won't freeze.
I do a little overkill compared to some.
Halloween I dig or dump, cut all the foliage off. I wash all the soil off the rhizomes and trim roots back to a couple of inches. I then let them lay and dry off while doing other things.
Finally I layer them in just damp peat moss in buckets, plastic storage containers or plastic trash cans. Peat... layer of rhizomes try not to let them touch, peat, layer of rhizomes..... with a couple of inches of peat to top it off.
Put the lid on and shove them under my plant tables in the basement, hopefully in the dark. Sometimes I don't get around to taking a peek or opening until Mar or Apr and am always surprised to find leaves all pushed up under the lids.
The most common cause of failure I've found with friends who try to overwinter the first time is putting them away too wet or with foliage and they rot. Or it's too dry and they dry out.
Gee Blaine...what a great 101! My friend whom just dug up all hers ... are all here in the house....in a plastic bag....thrown over in a corner...will they rot or dry out? How long can i keep them like that? I dont want to deal with them right now...too many mosquitos outside.
.....no over kill for me. lol
Sylvia
Many thanks for the 101 on canna bulb storage "8ftbed".
Think I'll follow your overkill method. Let the better half pass out the candy!
Sylvia, I'm assuming the foliage was cut off and they're clumps with dirt attached? Fine, close the bag and stuff them back in the corner in the dark and basically forget about them. The attached soil will have enough moisture to keep them from dessicating when the bag is closed. Maybe check them in a couple of months and mist a little water in the bag but the moisture content should stay consistent if the bag is closed. No Foliage though... or they'll release even more and you'll get some rot.
you welcome seme. Halloween has pretty much become my turnover day. Dig cannas, one last grass cut at near lowest level, cruise through with another winter grass application then drag all the power equipment out. I start EVERYTHING and tie the handles down and run it at full throttle: 2 lawnmowers, rototiller, 2 weekwhackers and the chipper shredder are running OUT of gas and I fire up the Snowblower and let it run till the others stop. While thats happening and then they're cooling off, I blow out the garage and do some wipe down. Then it's clean all the equip off and put it back in with summer stuff in the back and snowblower out front. Then go gather up all the cannas and if I'm not too hammered yet, start layering in their containers. :) Otherwise they can sit in the garage until I get them all tucked in.
Wow Blaine...you get all that done in one day? Its snowing in october? Oh my! October here, the heat index has reached 90 degrees at times. lol much better than this 110 we are having now! :(
Sylvia
No, not snowing yet but by that time we've had several frosts and the growing season is really over. Somewhere along there the city quits picking up stuff as well. So I try to have everything cut back/cleaned out by then and should've already hauled home and shredded all the leaves I'm going to do.
Sure wish I'd found this thread earlier, but can anyone tell me if cannas can be salvaged even if they've gotten too dry? I planted them in a clay pot because it's old fashioned looking and thought it would be so pretty. Y'all are right, though. It's hard to keep them wet enough ... especially down here in the south. Would it be okay to dig them up and put them out in the yard. We have some great big ones that were here when we bought the house that have red flowers which are approximately 6-1/2 to 7 ft. tall, but I have no idea what kind they are. I'd like to put these with them. They were just babies when I received them in a trade, though, and thought it would be best to put them in a pot. So, now with all that said, do y'all think they'll live even though the leaves are too dry? Will they come back out? Thanks for any help or advice.
I dont see why not...Cannas always dry out around here....then people chop them down and they come right back the following season. anyway try it and see what happens. Do you have pics of your red one and the others. 8ft can probaly tell you the name of them.
Sylvia
edited for clarification:)
This message was edited Sep 17, 2005 10:14 PM
Yes I do know:) I got a bag of them now i need to do something with asap. My girlfriend dug out her whole patch ... gave them to me and I used them to trade for other stuff! lol I dont even know what color they are and she dont ethier! lol I still got my pots to dump so I can trade them too. I am waiting on some other colored ones to come in from gardening buddies too. I also ordered a white one.... went to the dollar store and bought eight pots that look alike so I can make a statement back there where all the sun is. :)
Sylvia
I bought a bunch of those pots from the dollar store, also. Aren't they great? All sizes, you know. Some really small ones for starting rootings and my babies. Others are nice size for plants to have room to grow. They're great for that time when you want to give a plant away along with the pot. I was rather impressed with them as they drain and all, also ... and all for a buck!
My container Cannas are in the HOT sun most of the day, and I have them sitting in big shallow plastic saucers. These are my first and I didn't know too much about them but I read that they are "bog" plants and will grow on the edges of streams. With that in mind I water them untill there is water in the saucers and when it had all been used up, I water them again. So far it's worked well. I have my first bloom and all of them have put out new shoots!
Pati
yeah plastic saucer will be good too...and I just thought of something 101, dont punch out the holes in the bottom of our dollar store pots if you are using them for cannas. ...their holes dont punch out very well anyway. I have a tore up a few trying to punch the hole out! LOL
Sylvia
Yeah, NOW I know that ... *smile* That is ... thanks to you! Sure didn't before. Poor babies sure haven't been getting enough water in that clay pot. You don't know of anything that's drout tolerant that would like that pot for a home, do you? (didn't mean to get off the subject of cannas) I'm taking them out of it and putting them in the yard with my others.
SEDUMS, STONECROP! I had them in pots for years! What is this thread about anyway? lol
you sure you want them in the ground? My girlfriend thought she had dug all hers up...about a month ago.
Friday she reports they had come back. lol She looked so defeated. :) they mutiply so fast.
I have some in the back corner of my yard that haven't been a problem. I don't know ... maybe it's because it's woody out there, and they don't get much attention that they don't take over. I might regret putting more with them, though. Hmmm, this is so new to me. Thanks for the advice. Maybe I better reconsider.