IS IT TO LATE FOR CANNAS?

I JUST REMEMBERED I DUG CANNAS LAST FALL. I FOUND THEM TODAY 5/26/05 . IS IT TO LATE TO PLANT THEM HERE IN MI. ? HOW DEEP SHOULD I PUT THEM? I DON'T WANT TO LOOSE THEM. CAN I KEEP THEM STORAGE UNTIL NEXT YEAR? IF IT'S TOO LATE.

You still have plenty of time! I just got some of mine in two weeks ago. I dig a hole about 6" deep, add some better soil then lay them in and cover with 2-3" of soil at most. The ones I just put in are up 2-3".

Hazy - I hurt myself (back, muscles, etc.) digging up Japanese Irises and never got to plant the ones I got in a trade until about 3 days ago so we might have blooms around the same time even though I'm a 7a. I doubt if bloom times are any different for us. Which ones will you be planting?

don't worry, mind are not in yet. This darn weather is so cold yet, that they are warmer in the house!! LOL

Cannas like it hot and they love warm soil. They do well here in Texas and most of mine just got going about a month ago and are just starting to bloom. Trust me where you are it's not by any means "late".

I am so happy I found this thread. I was given some canna bulbs and have never tried bulbs either. How far should they be spaced when I do plant them? Plan on doing it ASAP.
Also do squirrels eat the canna bulbs? If so what do I do to protect them until they sprout?

Jos,

Depends on the variety. Some cannas get BIG - like 6 or 8 feet tall. I would say average is 3 to 5 feet. In your area they will not likely overwinter so you can contain them by pulling every year, though here they spread aggressively and therefore need lots of room. I would say how far apart depends on how "lush" of a look you like and how big the plant would likely get in one season. I would say three feet apart should be fine for a 3 to 5 ft canna.

Ok well I got the canna bulbs in the ground Monday afternoon. Monday night it started raining and rained pretty much straight through till early this morning. They said about 2 inches total. I hope that wasn't too much rain? Any opinions on how much rain is too much for newly planted canna bulbs?

Some people soak those and many other types of bulbs/rhizomes/corms before they plant them. So long as you are having warm days, they should be fine. I watered mine a LOT when I first planted them.

Jos - as long as you have good drainage I doubt if any harm will come to them especially since Badseed said you could soak them in water. Let us know when you spot your first leaves, please.

Awesome...I will keep you updated.
It did get warm today so hopefully all is well!

I planted the cannas June 5th and I just looked at them today and their up about 4 in.
The weather here took a dramatic change from the cold rainey . Today it's only supposed to get in the mid 80's .For the past week it's been around 90 and very high humidity All the flower's and vegtables are reaaly going crazy

Yeee haw! LOL I'm glad you went ahead and got them planted. :)

I don't have mine planted yet either but I started mine in pots . This one got a little shredded by wind but its doing ok. Hubby just got a new tiller so I think I can get them in the ground tomorrow. I heard they like a lot of water to start with too. Yvonne

So glad I found this thread. Does anyone know it this could be Canna "The President"?

I don't really know but yours look almost exactly like mine....my bulbs were given to me. Would be nice to find out though.

doubt it. President is solid green.

That's what I read, so I thought I'd check with the pros! Several people sent me trades, so I must've mislabeled the packages. Drat! I hate it when I do that - I really like to share photos with the traders who I represent in my garden. Bad Janice! Maybe I can get them ID'd once they flower! I love the foliage so far! Keep your fingers crossed - so far none of the other bulbs I planted this Spring have popped up. I think I may have planted when the ground was still too cold - boo, hiss!