Canna ~2013~

Got them from jungleseeds , and I think I should start them now , indoor .....finger cross

ps as there are too many nice cannas , I`ve decided to start collecting the variegated and chimeras only ....I`ve managed to find almost all of them except for the thai rainbow , I`ve seen one in a restaurant in Thailand and was really tempeted to ask for one

(Picture from Google)


if anyone can help to find one will really appriciate .....
also a list of all variegated variety would help a lot

 

Rhizomes from Jungle Plants that arrived at the start of the month seem to think its spring in my greenhouse..


--
Canna Rosemond Cole
Canna Konigin Charlotte
Canna Cleopatra

Hopefully I can keep them over the winter although I will need to move them out for a bit at some point soon 'cos the glass is filthy !

 

Now the Thai Rainbow has stunning leaf patterns. So , as Sal , I would love to know a supplier.

 

I did find a supplyer for the thai rainbow from thailand , but as he is a good supplyer , he told me to find a supplyer in US , as in thailand the 90% have been infected with the virus ....he had few problem before so he will not supply cannas anymore .

 

Given the several different ways of overwintering our Cannas I messaged Alice at Karchesky Cannas through Facebook after seeing photos of theirs that they had lifted and cut back before allowing the leaves to die back naturally and I got this friendly (as ever ) and informative reply;

"Hi Michael, We winter our cannas full clump with some soil attached (as in that photo) that is placed in a plastic bag, and stored inside a cool greenhouse that is set at 50-55f (but sometimes gets a little cooler) as it can get very cold here in the winter months. The attached soil helps insulate and protect. The ones grown in pots are just stored that way with the foliage cut back as it fails. We leave some stem to help with nutrition to the rhizome as it settles in to storage, and also to act as handles to be able to handle the clump better.

We try to get ours in before too wet, also. Cool and wet seems to bring them down before storage. I like storing them earlier when in prime so they are not exposed to that. You can cut them back without waiting for frost. If you take them in drier and less stressed, they should last better for you. You can also slip the clump out of the pot if you think too wet and let dry a bit before setting back in.

I hope you were not affected adversely by the storm. We have been victim of hurricanes sweeping from the south many times. But no storms here this year, and grateful

Hoping I helped a little .. All best and take care, Alice"

 

Monty Don, on Gardeners World last autumn, did just that. I thought it odd, at the time, that he was cutting them down before frost and putting them in a plastic bag ... seems like that may be the way after all

 

I have done it that way for 30 years or more but may be at a slightly lower temperature around 5c.

 

So this year he's done something different! This episode he potted them, and said it was important that they were watered well over the winter ...

"Ask one gardner and get two opinions?"

 

Saw that too Kristen, I must admit I was a little surprised when he said keep them well watered, unless he's keeping them warm enough to start growing again then surely they'll just rot off??

 

I wondered that too, but perhaps its different to Dahlias (for example)

His keeping them in a plastic bag last year (and as Karchesky also suggested) is going to keep them moist - although its a bit different to watering them during the winter ... every fortnight Month Don said ... seemed like a lot to me.

I was also surprised how much water he put on the vermiculite packing his Dahlias ...

 

Well the time has come and mine have had the chop, all at angles to let any escaping water/moisture run off easily, I've also knocked them out of their pots and put them in plastic baskets to get a bit of air around them and dry them out a bit more, some still feel a bit too damp to me

I will of course give them more protection before it gets too cold, but it will be interesting to see how it goes this time as last year I let them die off before chopping them back. Perhaps that method allows too much moisture back into the rhizomes and that's why they rot off more easily?? Only time will tell, at least I have seed for all the Cannas I have so worst case scenario I'll start again from seed

 

When is a rhizome not a rhizome ?
As most of us are doing now , I lifted my Canna rhizomes today. Now my C Tropicanna have just completed their 3rd season and the rhizomes are as big as a football . I'll split them next year again so should get 6 plants from them . My C Bengal Tiger ,first year from rhizomes, when I lifted them they separated into about 8 pieces. I have some fair sized rhizomes with about 3 stems coming from each , but also I have some single stems with a root( and eye ?) at the bottom as photo. Will these grow next year ?
I found this site while looking for rhizome photos, don't know if it has been linked in the previous 687 posts ! Its has some interesting sections.
http://www.cannas-australia.com/sitemap.html
TIA

 

John , the rhizome in the photo has an eye , so next spring if I remove the old stem and plant it 3/4 deep eye up , it should grow . Cannas do seem to propagate from rhizomes very well , you can at least double your stock every year. I gave a few away last year to friends and family , everyone was very impressed with them Surprisingly not many people have heard of Cannas , even though they are quite widely stocked in garden centres