Although this is a very old post...I'm hoping that someone will be willing to answer a question or two for me. In 2009, struwwelpeter said in this thread "Is it cold hardy in zone 5 (unlike any of other variegated canna)?" I'm in zone 6a (NE Ohio--Cleveland area) and would like to try overwintering some cannas outside. Actually I don't have any cannas yet, but my first bulbs should be arriving soon from an eBay seller located in NC. Neither of the cannas in that order are variegated, but I would like to try some variegated ones too. That said, can anyone tell me if there are any variegated cannas that are or aren't cold hardy to zone 6? I'm assuming that the others will do fine if planted 4-6in deep, on the Southern side of the house, not too far from the foundation, and mulched. On another note, can anyone recommend any sellers or places that are known to have healthy cannas? I have no experience with spotting problems other than bad-looking foliage, and although the seller I've just purchased from has had some virused plants on her property, she seems to know what she's doing in planting new additions at a distance and minimizing risk to the rest of her yard. Her area does have problems with canna leaf rollers, but I'm hoping that there is little/no risk in her bulbs bringing eggs into my yard (if there aren't some in mine already, which I'm assuming there aren't). Any other tips, I'm all ears... Not new to gardening, but definitely new to canna.

they are forest trees.. not meant to be grown in a cement jungle ... which retains .. and increases heat all night long.. as well as doing so in the dead of winter.. and the plant may have gone in and out of dormancy ... causing needle damage ... which may not have been an issue when they were smaller ... i like to tell peeps.. to get something that will make their toes curl.. and get rid of them when they get over it ... i would NOT waste my time.. trying to move them ...for 2 main reasons ... first.. i dont work that hard for low odds of success .. second.. you cant dig a proper root ball ... unless you are willing to tear up the driveway and walkway.. to make the requisite 3 foot rootball .... if you try to move them.. i would give 10% odds of survival .. IF DONE IN THE PROPER SEASON... which starts in fall ... but w/o a doubt.. their are young and stupid peeps.. who would give it a go.. based on the word free .. farmboy??? ... lol ... best part of that deal.. would you would then have a predug hole for the next mistake ... trust me.. we have all been there.. done that ... ken

Great photos! Wonderful garden, too. Mindy, what's the white astilbe-like flower in "looking back towards the house" at http://www.picturetrail.com/gid10906432? It looks like something I've been trying to find, for which I was originally able to get only an incorrect common name. I must have tried goats beard 5 or 6 times and it was never the right plant - is this something else? Love those white spikes!

sawemoff - That's a beautiful variegated small cultivar! Thanks for posting about it. I was mistaken when I suggested to dee that there weren't any dwarf varieties. Maybe that's what she has. Apparently there are several dwarfs and more being hybridized all the time. That Metromaples site (in Fort Worth) is a feast for the eyes! I sure wish I had the right soil to grow Japanese Maples too. They are gorgeous. Here's just a sampling of the Ginkgo varieties out there (large and small): 'Anny's Dwarf': dwarf form 'Autumn Gold': better fall colour and/or modified broad spreading growth habit, compact form, male, tall. 'Barabits Nana': small bushy form, up to 2 metres. 'Beijing Gold': shrub form, 4 m, yellow leaves also in spring and summer ( in summer somewhat striped) 'Bergen op Zoom': small straight up to 4 metres. 'Chase Manhattan': small, tiny darkgreen leaves, compact, ideal for bonsai and rockgarden, 1.5 m 'Chichi (Icho)': smaller leaves and a textured trunk, bark has breast-shaped protuberances 'Chris's Dwarf' (or 'Munchkin'?): see 'Munchkin' 'Chotek': weeping form of 'Witches Broom'; cultivar from Czech Republic; found by Mr Horak, Bystrice pod Hostinemin. Named to tribute the house of Choteks, the family of archbishop F. M. Chotek. 'Eastern Star': female, bears abundant crops of large nuts. 'Elmwood': vertical columnar form 'Epiphylla': female. Max. 4 m h., more wide. Seeds form on rather young plant. 'Elsie': upright growing, female. 'Fairmount': slender form, big leaves, dense pyramidal crown, male, 15 m. 'Fastigiata': architectural vertical accent, nearly columnar form, slightly wider at the base, big leaves, male (also available as female). 'Geisha': female, long pendulous branches and dark green foliage which turns lemon-yellow in fall, heavy crops of large nuts. 'Globosa': Graft on stock, bulb-shaped, compact 'Globus': Bullet-form, big leaves. 'Golden globe': Full head and spectacular yellow fall color. Trees are unusually densely branched for Ginkgos. Young trees have full crowns that mature in a broad, rounded head. Male. (from a seedling of Cleveland Tree Co. ) 'Gresham': Wide spreading horizontal branch habit. (from Gresham High School Ginkgos at Gresham, Oregon) 'Hayanari': female. 'Heksenbezem Leiden' (Witches broom): quite compact, rounded, dwarf form, branching closely grouped, up to 3 metres. 'Horizontalis': tall and wide form, many side-branches. Wide crown. 'Jade Butterfly': dense darkgreen foliage clumps, shrubby outline, vase shaped, semi dwarf, about 3 m. 'King of Dongting': slow growing, very big leaves. 'Laciniata': large deeply divided leaves 'Lakeview': compact, conical to broadly pyramidal, male. 'Liberty Splendor': broad pyramidal form with strong trunk, female. 'Long March': Upright growing, female is cultivated for heavy crops of tasty nuts. 'Magyar': uniform symmetrical branching, upright narrow pyramid form, up to 19 metres, male. 'Mariken': more compact than 'W.B.', tall about 3 ft, w.6-10 ft, branches more or less pendulous, graft on about 5 ft stock (P. Vergeldt; from a tree in Nijmegen). 'Mayfield': Narrower form than Fastigiata, tight upright, short branches, 9-12 m. 'Munchkin' (or 'Chris's Dwarf' ?): Upright habit and numerous slender branches, it has a tendency to be more regular in shape. Most leaves do not exceed the size of a quarter and are very dense on the plant. May eventually reach 6 ft but growth rate is around 4'' a year. 'Ohasuki': up to 4 metres, halfround big leaves, female. 'Pendula': branches more or less pendulous ("weeping"), slow growing, decorative. 'Prague or Pragense': low spreading and parasol-shaped. 'Princeton Sentry': well known cultivar, slow growing, big decorative leaves, upright conical form gives very formal focal point, male, 30 m. Improved "Fastigiata". Name derived from tree in Princeton Cemetary. 'Rainbow': striped with green/yellow leaves, about 3 m. Improved 'Variegata'. Remove green leaved branch immediately. 'Salem Lady': female from Oregon. 'Santa Cruz': female, low, spreading, umbrella-shaped. 'Saratoga': dense branches, small yellow-green leaves, slow growth, rounded outline, male, 10 m. 'Shangri-La': fast growing with compact pyramidal form, 14 metres, grows somewhat faster, male. 'Spring Grove': dwarf, very small and compact, about 3 m. 'Tit': = Chichi (Icho). 'Tremonia': small, pyramidal form, very big leaves, female, 10 m. 'Troll': compact 'W.B.', leaves vary from normal to rounded (Johann Wieting; from a tree in Krefeld, Germany. 'Tubifolia': slender leaves form sort of tub shape, slow growing, decorative, small tree, fairly compact branching, about 3 m. 'Umbrella': compact, densely branched, different leaf-forms and sizes. 'Variegata':shrub form with variegated foliage, some leaves 'halved' green and gold, others striped and others half gold/half striped, up to 3 metres, female. It often reverts to green (see 'Rainbow'). Half-shaded position. 'Windover': broad oval outline, shade tree, 17 m. 'W.B.' ('Witches Broom'): dwarf form, compact, rounded, lightgreen leaf, closely grouped branches, about 2.75 m.