Preparing canna bulbs for the winter storage

I dug up my canna bulbs. This is my first year growing cannas. I waited till after the first frost, dug them up, cut stalks down to about 10", broke into smaller segments, removed excess soil, washed and dipped into fungacide for ten minutes. My questions are: Do I cut back the long roots? Must I store in cool (40* - 50*) or is a warm (60* - 70*)storage area OK? If I pot them up for early starting how many weeks before planting out should I start? Thank you for remediating my ignorance :-) Padre

well Paddy ... I wouldnt have cut them up until next year when they eyes start to grow. Dont cut back the roots as these can in the right conditions grow new roots from the side. You dont want them warm at all. Frost free is all the need and to be stored on damp peat, coir or sand. If you can get them into growth deep in a pot around the end of March you will have Cannas in bloom before everyone else.

Thanks Mark. Will do as suggested. Padre

one converted to my thinking. We/I need more shephards and less sheep

Now Mark, don't you go telling your Northern Ireland friends that you converted a Padre. Baaah humbug. LOL :-)

LOL

Padre, here in my 6b zone, I left my cannas in the ground last year. They all survived and multiplied.

Now, I must admit I only left them because they were just average yellow cannas, and came free, and I didn't much care about them. 2 years before, a local friend gave me some wonderful cannas. I left some in the ground, and saved some in the cool, dark basement. NONE survived.

if Cannas have a deep mulch over their main body they will be insulated from some of the frost. It needs to be 12 inches+ high to work. It was done like this on TV recently