Lifting and drying canna bulbs is an important part of growing these showy tropical plants at the cooler remnant of their hardiness stove . Sometimes yell canna lilies , cannas ( Cannaxgeneralis ) arise best in USDA plant hardiness zones 6 to 10 , where they are appreciate for their colorful , orchid - like blooms and large , ornamental leaves .
canna are cold sensitive and can not winter outside in the colder zone of their chain , so lifting and drying the electric-light bulb is vital . The process of lifting , drying and store canna bulbs is not difficult , but it can be labor intensive and it requires patience .
Tip
Cannas really grow from underground stem structures call rhizomes , although they are often called lightbulb or tubers .
Lifting & Dividing Canna Bulbs
Canna foliage dies back with the first frost at the end of the growing season , at which point the leaves should be cut back to roughly 2 to 4 inches in height . practice needlelike pruning shears that have been dipped in household disinfectant or pass over with rubbing alcohol to foreclose the bed covering of disease .
Throw away any canna bulbs that have preindication of rot or legal injury , because they will not store well during the winter months .
Drying & Storing Canna Bulbs
How you dry and salt away a canna lightbulb affects how well it will grow when plant in spring . The correct storage precondition are important because damp conditions can induce the bulbs to rot .
Drying Canna Bulbs
Canna bulbs must be dried or cure for a few daytime before store . Drying will help prevent these sensitive electric-light bulb from developing mildew and rot , but it is important not to dry out out the bulbs too much or they might not burgeon forth the undermentioned class .
After a few days , the rootstalk should be dry enough to store well for the wintertime month . Each rhizome lump should be wrapped in a sheet of paper of newspaper along with a fistful of dry medium such as coir , sawdust , peat moss or vermiculite , which will serve draw moisture and keep the bulb wry .
Storing Canna Bulbs
Set the wrapped canna bulbs in a single layer inside an open crate , cardboard box or cotton tote pocketbook . Place the container in anunheated , dry place where temperatures stay between 40 and 50 ° Funtil the next leaping . When choosing a storage area , a glum station is serious .
learn the bulb periodically during their long winter computer memory for mansion of bunk and to see if they ’ve dry out out too much . Throw off any rotten bulbs and mist a fine stratum of pee over any medulla oblongata that are looking dry and shriveled .
newspaper publisher bags can also be used for storing canna rhizomes — just be sure they are rest on a table when they are salt away rather than on the background so that moisture does n’t soak into the theme .
Replanting Canna Bulbs
get up a bed for your canna bulbs next spring after all risk of frost has pass . Wait to replant the bulbs until nighttime temperatures stay reliably above 50 ° F and the ground is at least 60 ° F when probed with a thermometer .
Caring for Cannas
canna take a temperate amount of care if they are grown in a climate where they must be countermand and replanted each year .
Cannas can be leave in the ground until the first light frost defeat the leafage , but do n’t leave the rhizome in the garden until the reason freezes or they could be damaged .
