canna bulb or tuber?

Not sure where to ask this question .I cautiously planted 7 cannas. I am not sure if I planted them upside down or not. There were many root looking stringy brown lengthy things (roots?)in the middle, and on the ends I didnt know what end went in the gound. I planted it sideways and figured the canna will figure it out and grow toward the sun like evrything else.
If I am wrong let me know and I will dig them up and redo. As you ca tell I am new at this. Also is it a bulb or tuber? I bought it at costco and am not sure.Thanks for any help!
Angela

Canna is a rhizome.

Thank you J Morth,
Can someone tell me the correct way to plant the rhizome?

dig about 3" deep. place rhizome, cover with dirt. water, being careful not to overdo it, as rotting in the early stages is the most common problem. THe ratty looking roots are supposed to go down, but I think your move to plant sideways was a safe one.

This message was edited Mar 29, 2006 9:22 PM

Yes, it is a rhizome, an underground stem. Plant it as described above, horizontally. The rhizome will grow new roots on its own, and the buds/eyes on it will find their own way 'up' as they grow (gravity is a wonderful thing).

I grew a Richard Wallace canna last year from a purchased rhizome about as big as my thumb. Over the summer, the 16" pot gradually filled with new shoots, and I ended up with six 5' flowering stems. They bloomed all summer and well into the fall, a bright, clear yellow.

I dug up the root mass in the fall and it was full of inter-connected rhizomes from the first one, all growing horizontally about 2-3" under the soil surface, so this is obviously where they like to be. I wintered this over in a cool basement and just two weeks ago I separated it all. I ended up with 13 good-sized rhizomes for this year.

Good luck with yours. --Andy