when do you cut your canna back?

18 years ago

Hi, I was wondering when to cut back Canna's here. Back in Maryland, you had to dig the suckers up. What is the maintenance here? Thank you, Beth

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Comments (13)

new2nocarolina
18 years ago
I was wondering the same thing. In NJ, I also had to dig them and store them. Yucky .
aisgecko
18 years ago
I wait until they look bad and then chop them. I don't think they care much. They seem to thrive here whether you want them or not. -Ais.
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gurley157fs
18 years ago
I am in the Midlands of SC. I just cut most of mine back the other day. I left a few that will give me a few more blooms but the next weekend I have off I will mow them all to the ground and cover with a layer of newspaper and mulch. Mine are EXTEMEMELY prolific so if I kill off a few I will be doing the whole bed a favor.
countrygirlsc, Upstate SC
18 years ago
Mine are going to get cut back this weekend or next. They look really shabby.
jbcarr
18 years ago
Cut them back when the foilage looks bad. As mentioned, they multiply in a hurry, so the main maintenance is dividing and sharing with friends.
shari1332
18 years ago
Also- and I intended to tell you this at the swap Adele- it is really important to cut them back to the ground to prevent the leafrollers from overwintering.

Shari
babelsrus
Original Author
18 years ago
So what is your tool of choice for cutting them back. I've cut the dead flowers off with hand pruners, but I'm thinking it's going to take something bigger to cut at the ground. (these plants are at my children's school so I have to take my tools to them). I'm looking forward to them multipling. They were donated from a mom at the school and she had cut them into individual rhizomes, I planted so many canna last fall, I can't even begin to think about digging those suckers up and splitting and sharing yet. One thing, they turned out shorter then I expected. They are the common red ones. I did get some tiger canna (the fancy striped leaves) at the swap and I hope they really mulitiply. One last question. Do you recommend the heavy layer of newspaper and then 2 to 3 more inches of mulch?
Thanks for all the info, Beth
newbieroselover
18 years ago
Hi everyone,
I'm curious about the newspaper and mulch, too. As an experiment, I was going to try overwintering some Wyoming cannas and Durban cannas I planted this summer (I'm in a much colder zone than y'all). So I'd already planned to hill some dirt over them and mulch like crazy, but hadn't thought of newspaper!
Or, are my cannas doomed to freeze no matter what I do, and therefore I should bite the bullet and dig them up?
Thanks,
Janice
mrsboomernc
18 years ago
beth
i take them down with my handy little fiskars saw. a great tool - folds up and fits in jeans pockets. i use this saw all the time - i discovered this spring that it will divide a huge-mongous clump of hosta in minutes.

here's a pic ... mine has a flourescent orange handle.

{{gwi:587450}}
alicia7b
18 years ago
Janice,
I happened to find this thread the other day about growing cannas in zone 5 (I just inherited about 50 red cannas from a neighbor -- anybody want some?): 9 things I've learned about canna in zone 5
mrsboomernc
18 years ago
alicia -
i inherited a wheelbarrow-load from a neighbor last
fall :) they're v. "President" 48" tall, solid green leaves, and the flower is below. do you know what
variety yours are?
marsha

{{gwi:587451}}
newbieroselover
18 years ago
Thanks for the link, Alicia7b! My interest is still piqued by the newspaper idea. Since I have several cannas, I might leave one of each type outside this winter, protect as planned, dig up the others, and see what's happened to the 2 guinea pigs this coming spring. Might have something new to report to this forum!

In storing my dahlia tubers (originally grown from seed), I've bound nothing beats peat moss. I washed mine well, made sure they were dry, buried them in peat moss in a 5-gal cat litter bucket with a plastic snap lid on top, and promptly forgot where I'd stored them. (in the coolest closet in the house) By the time I found them, they'd put out roots and shoots like crazy. Best dahlia bed I never had, this year.

BTW, that Fiskars folding saw looks incredibly handy. I'm putting that on my Santa Claus list. Last year, he brought me my Felco pruners.
cheers
Janice
countrygirlsc, Upstate SC
18 years ago
My DH bought me one of those electric reciprocating saws - he knows I don't have much strength in my hands and wrists and thought it would be great for pruning larger canes on my roses. I have not used it on the roses, but have used it to cut down small trees and bushes - so much easier than the loppers! Only problem is it is a heavy duty one so it is heavy and tires me out. Then I found this at Sears - last one on sale for $14. Woohoo! The Black and Decker Navigator, can be used as a hand saw or jigsaw. I haven't opened it yet, but I think it will be perfect!
{{gwi:587453}}