Help with cannas

I saved quite a few of my cannas from last season and am not quite sure when to start them. They all look pretty plump and not dried up. Should I do it now in the house, or wait until I can put them right outside?
I am z6 in PA., still cold, last frost date is about the middle of April.

Thanks , Ronnie

Cannas normally grow very fast once they get planted outdoor in frost free conditions. You can start them up in a very bright sunny window or warm greenhouse. Keep in mind that cannas like it consistantly warm. I usually plant them out when night temps are consistantly at least 55 degrees.

Thank you frankford!!

i find when i put them directly in the ground they will not bloom until late july-mid aug in my zone. so here they are very slow starters when directly put in the ground. but finish nicely. and i'm still blooming in early nov! (used the stalks in nov. instead of corn stalks at my front door...looks so cool! ) usually i pot some up about the first of may to give them a running start. the ones that go into directly into the grown will bloom slower than those started in pots. when becoming root bound is when the flowers will shoot up. since i plant hundreds...i'm ashamed to say ...i do both. (i have so many stored it's terrible!)some in pots near the house and some in the field gardens for later color in the gardens.

If I had room in my greenhouse, mine would already be potted! LOL I usually put each rhizome in a butter or ice cream bowl about now so I have a growing plant to set out between late April and May. I just got around to doing my canna seeds last week and some of those are about 3" tall. Oddly enough the seeds I saved are sending up top growth already and the ones I bought have barely broken the seed. Hmph.

badseed...i don't start them from seed. i dig them all out and store the rhizomes...mostly all of them!! is that nuts or what! so....last fall i'm thinking i'm really good and label them all by color and size. right....good idea at the time but all the labels rotted!! so now i'm not sure on who is what and what is who. (except a few that i know) ! what fun this is going to be:)

I also save them and store them but I enjoy growing them from seed too. I don't mark them or pollenate them or anything and it's fun to see what I get. This year I also bought 100 each of two types. They grow and bloom as quick as ones started from tubers and take up a lot less space. :)

It sounds like yours will be a lot of fun this year. LOL Do you start them inside?

badseed, i only start about 20 in the portable greenhouse i'll be using this year. i'll start them around may 1st and keep the temp in the house about 70. the rest will go directly into the ground and as i know come up much slower than those i started earlier. the ones started in the pots will go directly into containers while the others will go into the field gardnens. i do the same with my elephant ears. for here the jump start is so important since our season is so darn short! and it is fun to see just what comes up when they are all mixed up!

your right about the fun...between these and getting 30 trees in i may be in trouble!! oh yeah...and the 20 or so bushes! yikes oh yikes!