Ive got to figure out what to do with my black magic EE and Black stemmed EE for this winter..Can they both be made to go dormant?..My friend said she thought black magic couldnt go dormant..any thoughts?..we had a frost scare last night and I brought everything in....Judy
Winter care of Black Magic EE
Hi Judy,
Same here.
We lucked out and the frost missed us last night , how about you ?
I hope you get an answer on this , my black magic is already pouting ;-(
TTYL
Pot'em up and grow them like Houseplants.
They can't be stored dormant.
Ric
Ric thats what I heard but my source wasnt a definite so I had to ask...now to figure out how Im going to grow it in a pot inside....
And where I live along Lake Michigan I am closer to zone 6/7 but I couldnt take the chance and brought everything in...this morning when they said it was 35 in Grand Rapids, it was 49 here....scooterbug, we missed the big bullet...lolo....Judy
It won't take much of a pot.
Unless you have killer lighting it will die down to next to nothing.
Turning green as it goes.
Don't water much at all till you see Spring growth.
Ric
Ric, isnt that making it go dormant?....or its just resting..lol....Judy
Mine don't go dormant inside if the temp is 50 or above. But they do outside. I'm in zone 7 and am trying a few of mine outside this winter. I have several, so I'm leaving the biggest one out. I left Illustris out last year, in three places, and they all survived. I also have a Wentii I may leave out too.
The others I pot up and bring inside. As long as they have high light and water, they do fine. You have to spray them to keep the mites off them though.
NancyAnn
I keep reading that canna rhizomes can be stored in a cool dry place for the winter - that it's common. The trouble is, this is Florida - there are no cool dry places. The Mrs won't let me put them in the fridge.
Steve
I pot mine and bring them in, I cut off the big leaves as most of them will die anyway after digging up and potting. They pretty much do what Ric said above, they will almost go dormant they won't grow as much and at times you might think they have died. I water sparingly. You will get new leaves shooting up every once in awhile. Don't be surprised if they are not black.
Stever, you should be able to keep your canna outside all year in your zone.
I vote for potting them up. :)
As mystic says they go allmmoosstt dormant.
In fact I have had them w/ no leave blades and just a green stem sticking out for weeks on end.
You can actually give them killer light and heat and grow them all Winter.
I did that w/ 'Illustris' one year.
I had 5' tall plants in an indoor pond.
The problem is cost.
You have to heat the water, air and then there's the light bill.
Much easier and cheaper to stick them in a window and forget them.
Watch for mites though especially when they just start Spring growth.
Those tender new leaves are mite magnets.
Ric