No basement, Z5 How do I winter over canna?

hostared

17 years ago

No Basement, but have a garage, and I am not sure if the bulb can survive the winter in an unheated garage.

Any suggestion to how keep over the winter?

Do I keep it in the pot it's growing in or do I clean it off and place it in peatmoss?

I do winter over hosta's in the garage with success.

Can you help.

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Comments (4)

samfawzy10
17 years ago
you DON NOT need to overwinter your hosta, hostas are hardy to zone 3.
As for cannas; cut, clean and dry the tubers - put them in a paper bag then place it under your sofa or your bed.
slfairless
17 years ago
Yes, Hosta are very hardy; they have no problems survive a zone 5 winter.

As long as you store them dry and they are in a dark place, you should be fine. I store mine in boxes in a closet that stays the same temp as the rest of my house and they do fine.

Plants are smarter then you think, when the canna has had enough rest they will start to sprout in the box.

Also, be careful you don't plant them too early in the spring or you could lose them. I usually wait until June to plant them but I think I'll post the question to find out the ideal planting time.
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If it's in a fully enclosed porch, that helps. If it's warmer in there during the day, that helps. But it can also help if you get yourself some bubble wrap and wrap the pot a few times. It's kind of the easiest and fastest ways to get a little extra insulation on a pot in the porch if you can't do more serious stuff. If the pot is small enough to fit in a cooler, that works well too- think of the styrofoam caps folks sometimes use on rose bushes to overwinter. If you get box food delivery service that has insulation in the box, that insulation works well too. Yes, you should water. But not a lot. You don't want the dirt to go bone dry, but you don't want it wet either. The plants are dormant and so don't really need water themselves, but the dirt still should be a bit moist. And pots seem to want to stay damp longer when it's cold out so you might not need to water much at all depending.
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I'm in London, Ontario, Canada. Considered zone 6.5 I was given rhizomes last October that had just been split and given explicit instruction to keep in peat moss in cool dark place. They never made it into being stored in the peat moss, but were kept in a plastic grocery bag in the dark in my basement over the winter. I planted at the beginning of 2nd week of May along back fence. It was too hot without the wind and they started to rot. I moved them along chain fence in fairly windy area. They love it there and only the first 2 sets of leaves showed any sign of slight shrededness from wind - all other leaves are fine and are now over 6' tall and got first seeds today. Each rhizome had 3 or 4 shoots on it. I did not trim the dried material when I planted, but let it disolve naturally. There are now anywhere between 18 to 24 stalks coming out of each one after one season. In this zone, I definitely intend to treat them like glads and pull them out in October. I will likely leave about 4" of stalk attached. I would not advise mounding like we do with roses for winter. The rotting issue I mentioned earlier would likely happen with the January thaw if I was to leave them in and then get 2 or 3 more months of snow. I've realized how sensitive they are and would consider potted canas to be even more sensitive in this zone if left outdoors. I'm pulling mine out of the ground.
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I live in Missouri next to Illinois, I have been growing cannas for the last 7 years. Through research I have a method for over wintering my canna rhizomes that has never failed me. I dig them up after the first frost has killed off the foliage, trim the stalk to about 2 inches, rinse off all dirt/mud from them, check for any damage or signs of disease,(cut away any yuck) and place them on a rack to dry with a fan on low to dry them. After about a day of drying, I then place them on top of dry potting soil in cardboard boxes (no lids, open to the air) and give a mist of Fungcide, and will typically keep a small fan blowing for circulation throughout storage in a cool dark corner of the basement. Every few days I check them and give them a mist of water. I am pretty medothical about making sure that any soft foliage dries so as to not promote fungal infection that will turn them to mush by spring. Last winter I tempted fate and did not dig them up, the winters had been mild for years. I mulched them and Well, last winter we had record snow fall and lots of moisture. I lost half of my collection, they were mush. Only the rhizomes closest to the foundation of my house made it. Happy to report that the ones that did make it grew and flowered beautifully :)
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hostared
Original Author
17 years ago
Sorry to miss guide you on the hosta Samfawzy & slfairless but I am a hosta collector with over 100 varieties. The hosta in the pot was an example that they can be stored in pots in the garage. Only a few make their way there as all the other are in the ground. I am thankful that you responded with advise. I didn't know if they should be in a cold area or basement for winter. I guess what you are saying is it's not the cold but the darkness that is important.
So I will try your suggestions. Clean them, wrap them, keep them dry and in the dark. Thanks so much for responding.
G
jroot
17 years ago
I find that my canna like it dark, and also cool, but not cold. I put mine in a box in my wine cellar which is about 45 - 55 degrees F.

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No basement, Z5 How do I winter over canna?

Comments (4)

samfawzy10

slfairless

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hostared
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No basement, Z5 How do I winter over canna?

Comments (4)

samfawzy10

slfairless

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jroot

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hostared
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