A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 CANNA BULBS.........HOW 2 DO THEM??

HUNTING INFORMATION ON CANNA BULBS..

I JUST PLANTED 3 ORANGE ONES.....DO PESTS EAT THE flowers? LIKE BEATLES? I AM ASSUMING THEY MUST BE LIFTED AND STORED IN THAT FALL IN zone 5?

TELL ME HOW .

THANKS FOLKS .

DODGE

Hi Dodge
I pot up my Canna's usually at the end of March and that gets them growing. After the risk of frost is over (May 24 here) I plant them in the garden. After the frost has killed the leaves in the fall I dig them back up and store them in a cool dark place. I've never had any problems with pests on my Canna's.

ditto what netty said.
I'd just like to add that I stored mine in peat, in a cardboard box in a closet in the basement. Started them up again about a month ago, and they are growing strong in 5 gallon pots.

NETTY
plants,

THANKS.BUT EEK i PLANTED MINE IN THE OUTSIDE YESTERDAY.....IT SAID plant NOW.. HOWEVER IF IT POPS UP I plant TO COVER THEM.

THANKS..GUESS N.Y. IS CLOSE TO MY 5 zone TEMP. I HOPE TO DO THAT COME FALL..PUT A MESSAGE OUT IN THE FALL TO REMIND ME.......
PERHAPS GARDEN HELPER CAN MAKE A NEW CATAGORY?/
HINT HINT HINT ......

DODGE ;O)

I hope you gave them plenty of room. I was suprised at how they multiple even in one year.

Cannas are really tough, Dodge. Even after they sprout, they'll survive a little frost...even if the tops get burned a little from frost, they'll resprout and do fine!

peppereater,

Gees thanks....

Now these are orange, an said they bloom all summer? Are there other colors?
How wide do they spread?

Dodge

They come in varieties of red, yellow and orange, and yes, they bloom all summer!
Some get about 3 feet tall, some over 6 feet!
I think you're supposed to plant 2 or 3 together, and they'll make a clump about a foot or more wide, and you'll have tons of new roots to dig in the early winter.
In zone 7, I leave mine in the ground...If you don't get them all when you dig, and you have a mild winter, they'll be sprouting up for you next year!

Try and find some of the tropicana canna if you can. Talk about some of the pretties foliage you ever want to see on a canna these are it. They are multi-colored stripes. You don't even have to wait for them to bloom to have great looking plants. I have them on my wish list as you can tell. I forgot who has one but someone posted a picture of one last year and I've been mad for them every since.

Peppereater,
Wee if your zone 7 and I am zone 5 , it should work for me.........thanks.. Sometime i get lazy to dig .........

tkhooper and peppereater......Now some one sent me canna seeds from california.. Hard to open. I am soaking them in water and see 2 sprouts.. First i filed them with a callus file, to get to the insides????
Are these the same family????//They just said canna
Thanks groupies.

dodge

yep you can do them from seeds. It just takes longer for them to become a plant.

one thing about cannas though. slugs LOVE the leaves... :p

jiffymouse,

slugs love the leaves........An I dont drink beer.. They say put a dish out for them......They better leave the bulbs alone.

dodge

so far they have left my bullbs alone, just ate the leaves!

I used broken up egg shells around my hosta to detour the slugs. So far it seems to be working. Maybe it would work for the canna too?

Dodge...I didn't mean to say that they'd always survive in the ground, just in a mild winter. You should dig some up after a frost and save them for spring!

tk,

It is worth a try.. Hd eats eggs everyday..

Maybe it keeps them busy.. Never had a problem with hosta..

dodge.

Wow, this is fascinating folks. It is so interesting to see how the same plants do in different parts of the country (or world for that matter).

Cannas down here in Texas is one of the 'plants even you can't kill'. You stick em in the ground and leave em. After a couple of years, you go in with a pick axe and try to thin them out and bribe your friends to take some (while they are trying to get you to take theirs). They grow with almost no water, in almost solid shade, full sun and and anything in between. They come in yellows and pinks and reds and come in regular and dwarf. They are great at camoflaging sheds and piles of pots and garden debris you didn't get around to throwing away.

For variety, you can put in the ones with the striped leaves (like Tropicana), because it gives them flavor. And you can put the dwarf ones in front of the others and they will all bloom all summer and all fall over together in the fall and make lovely mulch. Slugs don't seem to like mine, so go figure. (Picky slugs).

MORNINGLORI,

YOR A DOWNRIGHT SHOWOFF.........;O)

HA HA YEP TEXAS IS BIG ON flowers.. RIGHT NOW I OWN TEXAS SAGO PALM, MEXICAN PETUNIAS , TEXAS GINGER .......OK SPEAKING OF GINGER.. IT ISNT EATABLE IS IT?/ mINE IS 2 FOOT TALL, INSIDE THE HOUSE.. I KEPT IT IN THE BASEMENT ALL WINTER. NOW IT IS AT IT AGAIN.. LADY FROM TEXAS GAVE ME THEM AND LOTS OF cactus......ALL GREW .. INSIDE.HA HA.......YES I AM TRULY AMAZED.. HOWEVER IT ALL DEPENDS WHERE ONE LIVES AND LOVES.

DODGE

Just curious about you filing the canna seeds then soaking them. Is it because it helps to break down the outer shell which is probably quite thick.

I have been trying to plant by seed in my garden and have not been to sucessful. How do you know when to do this? Should you soak all seeds first before planting and how do you know when to file them?

Usually the large seeds you knick a little with a knife and soak them over night.. I tried several different things this year, and the best was to let my large moonflower seeds set in warm water for several days.. I kept changing the water and kept filling it with warm water till they sprouted and put them in the dirt... It was the best way I found to get the best yield of my big seeds..

Thanks spring fever... it never dawned on me to soak any seeds, it actually makes alot of sense and probably speeds up the growing process. Maybe that is why most of my seeds never materialize...

I too just planted some Moonflower seeds just a few days ago. Just wish I could remember where I planted them.

Note to self-be sure to buy plant markers!!LOL

Hey spring fever, just curious as to what state you are in? Would like to see the difference between how our moonflowers sprout up.

I planted some last weekend at my husbands place in Ohio and just this week here in Toronto.

NEWBIE

i PLANTED MOONIES AWHILE AGO....iNSIDE..iSNT IT TOO EARLY FOR ANNUALS IN oHIO? We still get frost in zone 5 ......May 31 is safe to come up.

Just wondering?/ Ohio maybe warmer if they are closer to the lake.....What part of Ohio is he in? My sis lived in Cleveland.....neice in Mentor.

dodge

Massachusetts.. I planted mine about a month ago now... I didn't do the soak and only got 1 seed to sprout.. and its 4 inches tall now ... they are pretty though..
The big seeds are easier that way..I did the same with morning glories did 1 soaked and 1 not and the soaked ones are about 3 inches now and the others never sprouted!

It is early but it is so on the harry edge..
I have had all my annuals out for the last week.
If we get a threat of frost I bring them to the back porch..

NEWBIE

i PLANTED MOONIES AWHILE AGO....iNSIDE..iSNT IT TOO EARLY FOR ANNUALS IN oHIO? We still get frost in zone 5 ......May 31 is safe to come up.

Just wondering?/ Ohio maybe warmer if they are closer to the lake.....What part of Ohio is he in? My sis lived in Cleveland.....neice in Mentor.

dodge

Hey Dodge, my husband is in Dublin. Which is about 120 miles south of Cleveland. If I am correct I believe it borders zone 5/6. I think it is alittle warmer down thier.

I did not realize Moonflowers are annuals...oh well they will look nice if they do come up.

I think I will make a habit of niking and soaking my seeds from now on and see what happens.

Newbie

Some reason I have received lots of hard shelled seeds????? I am trying that hard.. Took some and put them in a baggie with a little water and tape it to the sunny window....
Try that one too.

RIGht now I have Ginko Bilobo seeds to do.. DOnt know if I should they say the female is a stinker.. SHe smells terrible? DO you know anything on that one?

THANKS ..DODGE..

Now that I have never heard!!
I have heard the window trick though..
the seed itself smells or when you put it in the water??

No
when it grows into a tree.....It is smelly?/

Ha ha
Maybe I can then say, OH YOU LITTLE STINKER..

HA HA;O)

DODGE

Canna's are great.Easy to grow and they multiple like bunnies.My first year gardening a friend gave me 3 bulbs..When I dug them up..I had 3 milk crates full.I live in zone 6(or 7 depending on who you ask) I put mine in right after Mother's Day. Never lost one yet...Matter of fact I gave quite a few away last spring.I may have spoken too soon though, I had surgery in November and was injured and out of my garden by mid Sep.I didn't get the chance to get mine out last fall ...I crossing my fingers..Praying..Wishing that we had a Mild enough winter for them to survive..I have talked to friends who grow them and they say I might have a fighting chance...So take comfort..They are a cake walk..Good Luck!!

Really Dodge?? Never had one .. Never knew they smelt bad.. Do you plan on using it as a whatever they do..vitanin, herb ,natural healer??

spring feavar,

All I was going to do is see if it would grow, and pawn it off on someone else.

ha hah

Littler stinker.

dodge

shazzie,they say they will die off but you know what?
one heck of a lot of folks leave em in the ground up here in zone 5 and dont have a problem.
its a gamble ,but from what im seeing,not a big one.
guess its got something to do with global warming. ive left em in myself along with cannas , callas , and even glads.
dont take my word for it though.
maybe try a little experiment with a little of your stock and see what kind of results you get!

porter
,

Maybe my zone is FREEZONE..;O)

DODGE

i tell ya what, im not gonna dig em up this year(last year was the first time i dug the cannas and callas out,just started out with glads and dahlias,the one dahlia i dug out doesnt appear to be coming back but its still early yet. the new dahlias i planted are growing well and the old one hasnt shown yet, (dang it i like that one)
well see what transpires and compare notes.
i think the old one was of the halskrag variety
at least thats what ive seen on the web.
i bought it from a old time supermarket(a vanishing breed here in st louis and probably every where) spring sale just cause i thought it looked neat. didnt know what it was , just took a chance. was a very nice plant that produced lovely blooms all summer and fall long.didnt know a thing about dahlias before then.
did some research on the web and figured out what it was. i keep looking at where i planted it and hoping but nothing is showing yet.
kinda looks like i may have lost it. unless its one of those that comes up later. yea thats the spirit, itll come up later!

pORTER ,
HOW ABOUT TULIPS? DO YOU DIG THOSE UP? PUT SOME NICE ONES IN 2 YEARS AGO , NOW THEY ARE SLOWER THAN THE NEW ONES I PUT IN LAST FALL?? BEATS ME?
THE NEW BUNCH IS ABSOLUTELY GORGOUS......
NOW I PLANTED DALHIA seed LAST spring.. GREW GORGOUS.......WERE TO BE HARDY, LIKE YOU SAY, NO SHOW YET.........I KEEP HOPING AND WAITING.. TOO.
GUESS WERE HOOKED ON flowers....;O)

DODGE

Love flowers .. Don't really grow early spring ones though.. just too cold to go out.. Hate being cold.. dalhia i did grow last year loved it and don't think I used proper storage for it...I put it in a box down in my cellar I am not sure it will grow this year but it was Pretty!!

S f

No one likes cold.......But I learned to love snow and ride my 4 wheeler in it.. It is a popular sport up here.. Snowmobiles... i prefer 4 wheels.

dodge

Dodge you get a little snow.. we usually get crazy snow last year we got the blizzard the snow was almost over my sons head!!
between the shoveling and trying to get around it gets old fast!

SpringF.

No we didnt get snow .....Rain for 4 days now.. It is 60 degrees here .....40 at nite, and we may go down to 30 on thursday.. ALl plants in the basement that nite.....I have tomatoes , peppers, lots of flowers out on the east side of the porch .. Inside this week.
No we dont usually get snow this late.. May is out garden starting here.
Feel bad for you who do.

dodge

Thanks for the comfort Porter..I think they'll be ok.So you leave calla's in too? They are my absolute favorite flower,and i have'nt yet tried to grow them...Maybe this year.
About Dahalia's aren't some Perenials? Some Annuals? My kids gave my some for Mother's
Day 2 years ago and they never came back..Then a friend gave me some and they came back last year..
I'd like to get the ones that come back (things that come back are great,cause I'm lazy sometimes.)

We got some a few years ago on may 10 or something crazy.. Freak storm.. ?? usually Jan and feb are the worst months for snow though..
your lucky you don't get so much down there!
Really puts a wrench in the garden!!

trouble with dahlias is that while they are perinials,they arent winter hardy whatsoever.
and so far ,my attempts to dig them up and save them havent been successful(first time tring though,you never know)
as for the tulips,digging em up wont help em.
typically the first year is great,followed by a major decline the second year and it gets much worse after that. maybe clip the bloom before the flower goes to seed.perhaps that will get ya a little more time with them. but most folks replant them with new bulbs yearly for the showiest flowers.kinda wonder what the dutch know that we dont. someone has to grow em to supply us with bulbs.

No dahlias they ar not you have to pull them for winter porter.. my first time as well I think I did something wrong.. tulips just leave them cut the spent flowers and let the folige live till it dies off... after years you will have to remove some of the bulbs from being over crowded..

porter,


You must of read my mind........That is the story I was telling my husband at supper tonite..the new ones look the greatest.. i have to read up on them......Like you said , they do decline yearly.......
Ha ha
You have smarts.....Got me thinking now.


dodge

Usually when they get over crowded they die out no room to sprout try to dig some after they die off and see if they are choking out.. that is the problem with my neighbors I will send a pic tomarrow ..

my tulips were absolutely glorious this year,their first in the garden. i actually had nieghbors coming by tio take pictures of em.
i hope they dont expect the same thing next year.
they are just about done for the year and ive got a bit of a loll going on right now as the summer plants grow. but once june and july gets here,there will be so much in bloom it will make tour head spin.ive kind of gotten carried away with it, i probably should have just put a few yews in,but id rather have flowers then weeds and if i can crowd the weeds out,so much the better!

porter,
springfeaver,

I was thinking of lifting mine when they are done..Mainly because the weeds have time to attack me.........If I replant this fall I will have fewer weeds....I hope.

dodge

Could do it dodge but they will not have time to multiply will they? or if you have enough you can do a test...my nails are so bad it is hard to type LOL broke a few in the garden ohhh well...

I tried the broken eggshell thing before and it worked but we couldn't eat enough eggs! I have also tried - years ago - diatomaceous earth, can't remember if it worked or not. I'm getting more forgetful with each passing day.

What is that?? never heard of it?
i Only eat eggs once in a blue moon

SpringFeaver,
Your making me think HARD........When do the bulbs repoduce??????

I do know one thing ...My lily bulbs bloom in the spring.. I took bulbs off them in the fall and planted them.......They are growing.
Now ..get more information on tulip.. I have to go for groceries....

Egg......shells??????
DOes it really work/


dodge

probably after blooming when your waiting for the leaves to die down
Have no idea bout the shells

I have 2 sections , one planted in 2004 and one in 2005 .....Guess I will experiment on that , when the leaves droop and turn brown....

Like they say, first year ones are winning and my 2nd year ones are just starting to bloom I will compare photos of them for sure and save it .

dodge

cool I will run and get a pic of those outside back in a few

here they are
they have never been dug and look great outside the fact they are over crowded...

SpringFeaver ,

I agree they do........

I am still at war with myself on that.
;o)

dodge

Maybe they are getting rotten???
it has happened to me a couple times.. Not really sure about yours!!
How are the Peach pits I mean ginko seeds LOl

SPRINGFEAVER,

THEY ARE IN THE PITS FOR SURE......MY STINNY PITS.. I NEVER DID ANY THAT SIZE, BUT ONCE DID GROW A PEACH FROM seeds....

MY BROTHER MOWED MY LAWN AND KILLED IT ....SO MUCH FOR LIFE IN THE PITS.
WE HAD WHITE FROST LAST NITE.....AND WE ARENT OUT OF THE WOODS YET.......4 MORE NITES.
THEN MAY WHEN THE FULL MOON COMES, THE WOLVES WILL HOWL AT THE MOON......
hAVE I DRIVEN YOU TO THE FUNNY FARM YET?

DODGE

SPRINGFEAVER,

THEY ARE IN THE PITS FOR SURE......MY STINNY PITS.. I NEVER DID ANY THAT SIZE, BUT ONCE DID GROW A PEACH FROM seeds....

MY BROTHER MOWED MY LAWN AND KILLED IT ....SO MUCH FOR LIFE IN THE PITS.
WE HAD WHITE FROST LAST NITE.....AND WE ARENT OUT OF THE WOODS YET.......4 MORE NITES.
THEN MAY WHEN THE FULL MOON COMES, THE WOLVES WILL HOWL AT THE MOON......
hAVE I DRIVEN YOU TO THE FUNNY FARM YET?

DODGE

Dodge... PLEASE don't type in all caps! (unless your intent is to SHOUT in my face!)

Bill

Sorry..........i get out of control......feels like home hee..
Thanks.

dodge

uhhh ohh did you learn to put rocks around everything you don't want mowed?

SpringFeaver,

You know, Your smarter than the average Bear!!
Yes.....
My cow pasture is so full of rocks, we need all the help we can get.....So I cover the grass with rocks and sit and cry.......

Now Stinky seeds..ha ha ;o)

Do you know how to get rid of HOBO weed? My brother needs advice..Guess I will post it.


dodge

Is it the same as say crab grass??
Hey dodge is that what you do when you get tired of mowing??? I should of thought of that!

SpringFeaver
.,Daaaaaaaaaa

hobo ......I didnt see it yet.. I think tall and invasive.. His son just purchased the land ..

Yes......Dot mow dig another bed..
ha ha

dodge

LOL hahaha is it every where or in a few place where roundup would work?

C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\My Documents\My Pictures\cluster planting
How I cluster plant .. I think is neat.

dodge

you have to redo it I can't get into your comp..
Hehe

Spri.f.

Send me your email address and I will mail it direct.......

No show item..
dodge..........lol.;o)

Sent it dodge ..
great day here almost 70.. how bout you?