Where I live in zone 4, I usually plant my cannas outside from the last week in April through the end of May. Almost every year, we get a hard frost in May that knocks the cannas back that have not been covered. However, they recover very quickly and end up being just as far along as those that do not get covered.

Thanks FBG. I think I'll give that a shot. I've been watering them every 3-4 days in the heat, since looking at them, they don't seem stressed. But I'll try watering more. I enjoy watering stuff anyways. I got some new canna for free from Craigs list. I have no idea of what they are as the flowers where all gone. But I do know that unlike mine, the leaves are very thick, they were planted in full sun, reached full height weeks ago and the yard they came from,,,, I'm not saying it was neglected, but I don't think they got much care. They're growing very nicely now. I guess I'll have to see later what they are....

All yews are extremely shade tolerant and will grow in almost total shade. However, that is not their preference. Growth will be slow and and the plant may become leggy with sparse foliage. And you may find the plants leaning towards a stronger light source. I recall a planting of Hicks at an older private garden that were shielded from all but the early morning sun by a tall fence and larger adjacent conifers. They were massive and well-developed but had a marked lean to the early eastern sun.

Recently I found out there are shade tolerant cannas.. is this true? Do you have a link for the above “shade tolerant” statement. To the best of my knowledge, all our hybrid cultivars were bred for roughly 8 hours of full sun. Yes most all cultivars will tolerate reduced time to full sun but at the expense of reaching their full potential. Cannas growing in greatly reduced sunlight must use stored nutrients in the rhizome to grow and bloom. This ultimately inhibits normal growth and over time will lead to an overall decline in general. Plants tend to get taller, bloom and chlorophyll production is reduced. Good luck, Kent