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Overwintering Cannas I . . . . David Jennings Since I feel responsible for introducing Canna as a companion plant to many of my fellow Hostaholics, I feel it imperative I share my "Secret" for overwintering them here for all to benefit.... Since I'm just on the edge of the protected Mohawk Valley, we haven't suffered from a killing frost yet...in fact our low so far has only been 34 F. Once the plants do get slightly frosted, I take the opportunity to cut the stalks down to about 4" in height. The stalks get chopped up for the compost bin and then the plants get gently dug out of the ground. The "bulbous" roots are very tender and deceiving. Make sure you dig far enough away from the stalks to get all of them when you do go to dig them up. Too many times I've mis-judged the distance and sliced right through a prized root. Next I lay them out on the driveway and blast all the soil off them with the garden hose...a very messy job with mud flying every where...often much colder than I would like as well...depends on how much mother nature cooperates with the sun that day. Be sure to separate them by color when you dig them...it's very difficult to determine what variety you are working with once they are dug. Next I spread them out on my garage floor and allow them to dry out for a few days. I turn them twice a day to allow them to really dry down. Otherwise they may rot on you in storage... Once that is accomplished, I take our old giant picnic cooler and spread a layer of tightly packed tubers all across the bottom. Then I cover them with dry peat moss, wood shavings or some similar material. Next I put another layer of tubers in and cover them, repeating this process until I have completely filled the cooler or run out of room (I think I'm actually up to three coolers now!!) I keep the coolers tightly closed and stored away in our cool basement. We don't heat it but the furnace is down there so it stays around 50 degrees all winter. About mid winter I check the coolers to make sure everything isn't too dried up and occasionally I add a little moisture if the roots seem to be shriveling up a little...not too much though or they'll rot or start to sprout!! About May 1st, they come out of storage and are ready to set out, depending on the predicted weather ahead...I like to get them in the ground about 10 days before the last frost. Of course if you have a cold frame you can force them in containers a bit earlier!! Don't be concerned if they have sprouted a little in storage...that doesn't seem to hurt them...you just have to be careful when you go to separate them as you take them out of the cooler. |
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AAA Ornamentals,
8S953 Jericho Road, P.O. Box 277 ~ Big Rock ~ Illinois |