CANNA'S ~~ANOTHER QUESTION!!

[Duke Ellington]

Okay I now have my Canna's dug up and they are now drying in the garage!! They have tubers and very long roots attached to them. Should I trim the long spindly roots before I store them away?

Duke :)

[Duke Ellington]

[ACE]

You are so far south, I would have left them in the ground and covered them with a load of leaves. Just let the roots wither on their own.

[Sinbad7]

My friends were fine last year left in the ground, they are going to fleece them this year though just in case.........................in case of what I'm none too sure  ;D  ;D

[Duke Ellington]

Thank you but the thing is I have already dug them up.....should I trim the roots ? I have lost them in this garden before and didn't want to risk it again!

Duke

[Eristic]

I usually do trim the roots off but leave the rhizome mass intact until early spring before cutting them up. New roots will grow very quickly once the conditions are right but the old ones are prone to fungal infections.

Sometimes though, I will leave the entire root mass complete with soil until time permits. The Canna plants benefit from being dug up and divided on a regular basis as when left in the ground they tend to lose vigour.

[Duke Ellington]

Thanks for your answers !!

Duke:)

[glow777]

is there a quick way to tell a canna from a calla

not knowing too much I inherited a few in pots and kept them outdoors but recently moved one into my server room at work and the others in an unheated greenhouse. both havent died back yet and are still producing leaves however non flowered this year.

could do with a basic guide to them - once i work out if they are canna or calla

[Gardengirl]

Here are a couple of photos of my Canna & Calla

This is the Canna lily which usually grows quite tall and has large leaves which vary from light green, variagated stripe and (like my one) deep purple like colour

This is the Calla which does not usually grow as tall as the Canna and has smaller spear shaped leaves.
Hope this helps a little.

[hopalong]

I leave mine in the ground, well covered by gravel in one part of the garden and a generous mulch in another part.  But this is North London and relatively warm: it will be more risky to do this elsewhere. If you dig them up and store them over winter, I understand that it is best to put them in compost and keep this slightly moist.  Unlike Dahlia tubers, they must not be allowed to dry out.

[glow777]

heres a current [bad] picture of my canna/calla - as i said above its living quite healthily in my office

any id or any advice would be helpfull - I would like to see them flower apparantly they are white!

http://www.dsf.co.uk/walks/id.jpg

[Gardengirl]

That looks very like a Calla Lily leaf to me Glow. Each leaf is on its own stem whereas the Canna leaves has more than one leaf coming from quite a thick stem.  Hope you get some flowers next year :)
I have mine in a container, let the leaves die down in the Autumn, cut them back and take it into the greenhouse, then fertilise it in early Spring (usually with an organic chicken manure which I work into the top of the compost, and each year it has rewarded me with more and more flowers. In fact I think next year I will have to remove it to divide it as it has multiplied so much.

[spinny]

Don't forget that Cannas are edible, so if you do have too many tubers......
I'm sure that someone on here can provide some recipes.....

Spinny

[glow777]

the leaves are all on there own stalks so calla it is thanks

thing is theyre not dying down - should i put them out in the cold instead of indoors and temporarily kill em off

[saddad]

We have Canna on the school's plot...  :-X They get left out all winter.

[ACE]

Callas need all the goodness out of their leaves to put on a good show. let them die back into themselves.