Can somebody give some advice on how to store Canna rhizomes for the winter? I've read in a cool place, but there's a shortage of cool where I am. Do you pack them in peat moss, or something else? Do you do anything to them to prepare them?
Steve
Storing Canna Rhizomes
Hi Steve,
You shouldn't have to store them in your location. They grow all year. Are you doing them in pots, or in the ground and digging them up?
Chris
Chris - I just traded for some rhizomes. It's a long story, but I have to move my entire garden. I'm not sure what's going where yet. I have some Cannas planted, and I can leave them where they are and move them in the spring, but I need to store the rhizomes that just came in the mail.
I suppose that I could grow them in pots, if that's a better solution. I just thought that it was a common thing to store the rhizomes..
Steve
Steve, in zones 7 and above you should not have to store canna. I am in zone 6 and I do have to bring mine in. It is possible for them to winter over in 6 if planted close to a foundation, protected in soil that drains but it is iffy. I tried leaving some out about 25 feet from my house and they turned to mush.
If you really don't want to plant them in the ground, I would opt for potting them like Donna said. There is absolutely no reason you should have to keep them chilled or inside. Do you have a garage or crawl space under your house? They can survive with minimal water so long as you do not let them dry out. I might be worried with your temps they would sprout anyway.
If you are tight on pots or soil, you can put them in ice cream bowls, butter bowls, ice cream pails, etc, depending on the size of them. That is out I pre-sprout mine to get them out of dormancy early.
I sure feel for you having to move a household of plants. ;) I am doing that now, seriously. I am moving about twelve years of plant collecting to a new house. It's work but worth it!
steve,
If you can't pot them up, you can get some sphagnum or peat moss, and keep them in plastic grocery bags. Just give them a good mist. Don't keep them soaked, but don't let them completely dry out. Planting them up in pots though is fine where we are, and is just as good if not better than storing, as they will get some growth on them, and give you a head start on your re-planting.
Chris
Just get a bag of topsiol or gardening mix.
Lay it flat.
Slit a bix X in the bag (corner to corner) and plant them in that.
By Spring just stick them where you want them.
Ric
It looks like the think to do is pot them. We do get light frosts here, but I can move them into the garage when I know a frost is coming.
Steve
Ric - will they be OK in a frost like that?
Steve,
I wouldn't leave them out, if there not under the ground. They can handle the frost in our soil, as the cold doesn't penetrate deep enough, but above ground, the temps will be cooler and can harm them.
I'll pot them. Sounds like the safest way to go. Then I can plant them wherever I want to in the spring.
Steve
I agree.
You need to be mobile unless you tent them under plastic or glass.
Ric.
I was just telling someone about how bad I want a greenhouse. We have restrictions where we live, and one of them is no external structures of any kind, no excpetions. The back yard is fenced in, and we keep a dog house in the yard. We'd probably get busted for that, if anyone knew it was there.
I'm going to buy one of the small cheap portable greenhouses, to overwinter some tropicals. If I get caught, I can put plants in the garage. The frost season only lasts few weeks here.
Steve