I've grown cannas before and always waited until after the first frost to dig them and then store them for winter . I'm wondering if it's necessary to let them freeze before storing? I have gotten some canna in trades that have come from Southern states and just been dug up, cut down and shipped. Are these ready to store now or do I need to grow them outside here in zone 5 until they freeze?
Susan
Canna Question
Susan, I don't know what would be correct, but you really don't have time to grow them outside. Are you talking about growing them inside in a pot? I'm not sure I would do that, but it may be the only way to insure your roots are still alive next spring. If the rhizomes haven't been out of the soil long, they should be okay to store. I don't let mine freeze or frost before I dig them. I just dig when the mood hits me.
I'm guessing you have them in the ground now? I still have mine blooming their heads off. I usually let them get a slight frost, before digging. The longer they are in soil, the more solid the rhizomes will stay over winter. If you dig them too soon, and don't replant them in soil, they might shrivel into nothing before you can plant them in the ground next spring. If you are going to dig them now for trades and they are going to states that have them in the ground year round, think that would be ok.
I just got a box of them that came from Texas. I was thinking about putting them in pots just until it freezes the first time. They do look fairly dry, so maybe I could just put them in the basement now.
Susan
This message was edited Sep 13, 2004 11:18 PM
If it were me, I would pot them up, keep them growing as long as possible.
Good luck!
Last year we left a hard frost set in before we dug ours. Big mistake! They were all mush on top! What a slimy mess. When the roots were out of the ground, I made sure I cut off or threw away *anything* that was even remotely mushy, left them dry out a bit on the back porch (between frosts and protected in large empty pots), then to the basement they went. Most faired well and we had tons of cannas this spring (tooooo many!) I always thought it was good to let all the "juice" go into the roots before digging (bulbs, especially), but just a word of advice, don't wait too long, unless you like playing with mush with freezing fingers! My question is, would it be better to store them in dirt in the basement instead of just "naked" in plastic flat trays?
Here is what Horn's Canna Farm had to say about overwintering Cannas. http://www.cannas.net/faq.asp