Cannas Rhizomes

I didn`t bought any cannas rhizomes from jungle seeds back in October , but as there was a further reduction I took my chance and order 10 rhizomes .
3 years ago I bought them , potted and placed in the greenhouse , the winter was cold and all the rhizomes rotten down (what a waste of money ) the to following years I`ve ordered early and managed to kickstart them before the winter was coming ...... it`s start them indoor now will it be the best thing to do or there is a different way of sstore them till spring?

 

If they are fat Sal, personally I'd try storing them for atleast a couple of months in damp peat, cool and frost free, checking on them once a fortnight.

Without lights any growth will be weak and susceptible to pests, mainly greenfly and we all know what they carry.

 

I bought one (Marshmallow) along with two Gingers last month and their instruction s were to keep them growing at 20/25c!! not possible for anyone really but I have potted mine and they are in the conservatory which is heated when the bungalow rads are on. There is no sign of growth but as long as they don't rot I don't mind. At least they are getting light, it can go as low as 8c overnight so even in there it is risky.

 

Strongy that`s what I did 2 years ago and they all rotten down ,

Pete unfortunatly they must have been the left over , very small rhizomes and has you just mantion , last year I`ve started them indoor , and I had very weak plants covered most of the time with greenfly , overall none of them have performed well this year .

 

Mine is a plant bought reduced from b&q. I've left it (not cut down) haven't watered it and it's in my un heated shed. I hope it survives the winter, I'm worried now!

 

Hi Charlie , if you don`t cut them down your plant will be fine

 

I don`t have a picture yet but I`ve tryed my luck , left the rizhomas in the bags and put them in a dark place ... I checked them today and they have start to put roots , that`s really good , 2 more week and will pot them

 

Only dug half of mine up this year, the idea was to dig the others up this week but 6inch of snow has seen that idea done.

 

Mowgley up to 2009 I always left mine in the soil , untill that horrible 2010 winter who kill them all , I`ve left few outside as well this year and some are still green ... no snow my way ...

 

I bought 4 Cannas and 4 Hedychiums from Jungle Seeds a couple of years ago. I put them in a heated light box and they did very well - although I did lose one - probably my fault as it started off OK.

 

Sometimes snow can be a friend, it stops frost penetration into the ground.
Often the biggest problem is rot, due to low temperatures and poor drainage.

I find with cannas you need good drainage in winter and water retention in summer.
So it aint easy.

 

I was watching a program tonight about micro-propagation of Rhodedendrons and was struck by the low level of light that they used. They uses fluorescent tubes at a far greater seperation than in my lightbox.

This set me thinking that rhizomes probably need winter heat, more than they need light. After all they are not going to grow very tall during the cold weather. Currently I am growing some Ensete 'Maurelii' corms (I know its not a Canna) on a windowsill inside a large plastic box (£2.50 from Morrisons) sitting on a reptile heating mat (about £12 on the internet). It worked a well last year.

 

I don't think they would collapse John. The worst they could do is get a bit leggy. It may be worth a try as an experiment.