Can any one tell me the proper way to keep a Canna blooming? I have several varieties and they are just beautiful their first bloom then it is down hill from there. After mine bloom they seem to get a seed pod on them and it takes for ever to put on a new bloom. I have tried cutting them back in several different places but can't figure out the correct way to get them to rebloom. Thanks for any help on this. Phyllis
Help with Canna's
Phyllis,
I believe once that one bloom stalk has finishing blooming and set seeds, you have to wait for the next stalk to come up. And it will, because it is sending rhizomes out under the ground as we are sitting here typing.
So if you see new little stems popping up in the ground, don't cut them off, they will make more stalks and flowers.
As for fertilizing and that, I'm sure someone has some very good advice for you tere.
Molly
:^)))
Thanks so much for the response!
So do I understand you that I get one bloom per plant and that same plant won't bloom again? I know mine keep increasing in number but I was wanting to keep the same plant blooming over and over. Does that not happen? Mine seem to bloom one time and then go to seed. In spring when they first bloom they are all blooming. But then once they have bloomed one time I have these ugly seed pods on the majority of them and just one or two plants with a flower on them. Does this make sense. I am not that good at explaining this. Hope I don't sound too dense...... Phyllis
Hi Phyllis,
I believe on mine, one bloom stalk allows for 2 or 3 flowers. Then after that, I believe you just enjoy the foliage until it gets tired and dies back giving room for the next huge leaf to come up with a bloom stalk.
Quite frankly, although I have had a whole lot of cannas for the past 2&1/2 years, I'm not yet sure what the true total bloom season is. That could be because of my mild climate the cannas aren't all in a rush to perform at the same time.
I am hoping someone with more experience will pop in here and interject a more intelligent response.
Molly
:^)))
Hi Molly,
I really appreciate your response. I guess I will just let them do their thing and not worry with it. Here is a picture of my orange ones. I also have yellow ones & red ones. I don't know the name of any of them. I just know what color they are... but that is ok with me (:>) Phyllis
Phyllis,
Those look fantastic. You are doing a great job with the cannas.
Mine never looked so good. But then I have been plagued with leaf rollers and other problems since I moved them here from my other house.
Have heart dear girl....you are doing an FINE job.
Molly
:^)))
Thank you Molly..... that makes me feel better. Are leaf rollers those big fat worms that can almost eat a whole leaf in one night? They roll the leaf around them self, right? I had trouble with those a while back on my cannas and roses. Here is a picture of my red ones. Both pictures were taken at the end of June. They just have a couple blooms on them now. Have a good night. Phyllis
Yep Phyllis,
Those slimey blackish/grey wormies that do just that. Your's look great tho!!!
Nitey nite now
Molly
Thanks... good luck with yours. Phyllis
heres another thought. i have always heard that when the stalk is done blooming you are supposed to cut it down, dont allow it to form seeds. a new stalk will come up much faster that way. also, for those leaf rollers. BT is the spray to use to control any caterpillars/worms and is completely safe. you can also get one of those dust puffers (i dont know what you call them) and put diatomaceous earth in and dust them. any soft bodied crawly gets cut up and also another completely safe product to use. debi
Look at your canna flower stem carefully ...
After a segment of flowers is dying back, another "sub" stem with unopened blooms will often begin to shoot off a little lower on the stalk below the dying flowers. CLIP the "sub" stem with the dead/dying flowers to afford energy to the new ones. Unless you're trying to collect canna seeds, there's NO reason to leave them there ... it's just stealing energy that the plant could other use for tuber, leaf and flower production.
After the 2nd, sometimes 3rd, sub-flower shoot trimming the main stalk should be about spent and won't sprout another sub-shoot to bloom from. At this stage, clip the entire stalk back to a point just above one of the last leaves on that stalk. Your cannas will then expend their energy on other shoots while leaving you with some fine looking tropical foliage while waiting. This sort of pruning really helps keep cannas in top blooming fashion.
Insofar as fertilizer is concerned ... they don't seem as piggish as many of my other tropicals can be, but they enjoy it all the same. I typically hit mine once a month with a 20-20-20 mix and then every other week with a "bloom booster" formula which has a higher 'P' value (such as 15-30-15, etc.). I shoot for a twice a month feeding of most everything, but this year I've slipped a bit. This year, my main canna area is being fed with pond scraps (discarded floating plants) and some Osmocote that I dug-in at planting time. I've had slightly stronger blooms in years past, but for mid August, things are looking pretty strong! These cannas seem to go nuts towards end season, so time will tell in the 6 weeks or so I have left here. I've tried working with some fertilizer "stakes" (the little 2" ones they typically sell for potted plants) on a new canna I've not grown before and it's working out quite nicely. I tend to plug a bunch of those in the ground close to many of my elephant ears and bananas (I actually use the larger tree stakes for them) and with great success (they're fertilizer pigs, so it's a good supplement for them)
Thanks for your help Buck, I was hoping more would provide some input here.
See, I have basically given up on my cannas and sent them to new homes. Just kept a choice few. The leaf rollers have been winning the battle eating holes all over. Yep I have tried the treatments, but they get washed off with the daily rains here and tried the systemics and they just don't last either.
I have friends that just do so much better with this down here. It must be me, I'm just a worm magnet.
My only pleasure with these is walking by the plants and pinching the worms curled up in the leaves. I love the cannas, but here in my garden they are just plain ugly.
Molly
buck, could you possibly identify a canna for me? its on page 5 of tropicals, part way down, posted by oriole, thread says "a couple of my tropicals". i love the look of it and want to try and find one. thanks much! debi
Track: link me, I was unable to find the thread in question.
ok, but how, ive never done it. shameful blush.
if im not allowed to do this, i guess i will hear. heres the picture if i am. debi
just so everybody knows, this is orioles picture, not mine.
Are you looking at the the dark leafed one in the back?
the reddish leaf on the right. it looks like a banana. thanks.
One variety that comes to mind that has the reddish leaves is, I believe, "Ambassador." It is one of the larger cannas, which is my personal preference. I can look some more up for you, but I would imagine a perrusal through the PlantFiles here would also turn up some handsome specimens. :o)
i am looking for ones (like this one) where the leaf doesnt "hug" the stem. i really like that more drooping look. there are so many in the plant files i dont know where to start! i will look up ambassador. thanks. debi
Molly... Every morning I check my cannas looking for those destructive worms. There haven't been any for a month or so. When I find one I take it off and squash it. I can always tell when one is on my plant because it leaves it's little pill droppings behind him as he eats.
Buck... WOW..... Thanks that should really help. I will go look at them right now and see if I can figure out what you are telling me! That sounds like some really good advice. I love it when they bloom!
track... Thanks also for the advice. I was looking at the canna you were asking Buck about. I may have one like what you are looking for. I have lots of different kinds. I don't know the name of any of them. I will check to see if one is blooming and take a picture even if not so you can see the foliage. That way you can see if it is what you want. I have no clue as to how to mail you one but would be willing to if you tell me how. If not maybe I can get some seeds off of it to send you.
thank you! we can figure that out! debi
In the past few hours I have looked at a bunch of pictures of cannas and came to this conclusion.
Everyone else's cannas look absolutely wonderful and the reason is, all the leaf rollers in the country found mine and have left yall alone.
Geesh, a year ago I even moved about 3 miles over, and they found me again.
The bad news for everyone else, I have reduced my cannas by sending them to new homes, so the worms will be hungry and come looking for yall. So sorry........
Molly, I have the darling leaf cutters to. Here is my recipe: so far it works, 3tblspoons of ferti-lome oil dormant spray. 1tblspoon of Dithane m-45. 1teaspoon of funginex. Mix in gallon sprayer. Use the d-- earth on the ground. Spray the leaves stalk etc. w/ the spray. I use this once a month more often if it rains a lot and it kill the ugly nasty worms. xoxoxo, me This also works for rust. No mulch and keep the bed raked up. I also found don't plant them close together let air circulate around them. Bye again xoxoxo me
trackinsand,
OOPS I was thinking I had the canna you were looking for but when I went to look mine & get a picture it is not the same. Senior moment, I guess.... LOL......Sorry it took me so long to respond... Have a great day! Phyllis
no problem summer. i ordered a canna book. i cant wait to get it and hopefully will have lots of pics and advice too! debi