Hawkeye Belle (and Wanderin' Wind) are both very susceptible to an eastern strain of blackspot. If you didn't have it before, but it recently wandered into your garden, forget about this being a disease resistant rose. This would be independent of last year's weather. If that has happened, the only way to restore it to health is to start treating it a disease prone diva. As for freeze damage, cutting it down to 2 ft shouldn't be a problem. I would look at the canes fairly closely with the idea that there may be some in such bad shape that they should be removed totally. The idea being that almost everything currently there isn't much good, and room needs to be made for new growth that will eventually be essentially a new shrub.

I don't have much Canna knowledge, so for what it's worth... Here in Phoenix we get a hard frost for a few days in winter. I have some Canna that were protected and have kept going strong, flowering, healthy green. In another location the frost did some damage, but the new shoots (there's always new shoots) were protected from the larger plants. For plants to be divided I cut all the large diameter stalks, leaving 18" and under sprouts. Dividing 6' tall plants isn't easy and they're likely to die on me any ways. For plants I'm not dividing I just cut any stalks that don't look that great, which after a year of growing is most. I keep a few flowering stalks only because I like the flowers. In a few months when the current sprouts are ready to flower I'll cut those older stalks. I think new growth looks better, flowers better. In hard, long frost years I cut them all. So basically I just cut out poor performing stalks to make room for new stalks at anytime of the year. It occurs to me as I write this...I wonder if I kept cutting new growth to thin if those tubers would eventually die and reduce the need to divide? Is this something that's been tried?. I do cut to maybe 1" above the ground.

Curtis, My recommendation will apply only to cannas growing from rhizomes that are reasonably healthy and NOT canna seedlings. If your potted cannas get leggy it is advisable to cut the new growth back to about two inches of the soil line. Generally there is enough stored food reserves in the mother rhizome to produce new growth either from near the base of the removed canna top and often the cut top will continue to re-grow from the toped off stalk. Obviously, you cannot continue to repeat this operation often or the stored food supply will be insufficient to support the regeneration of new growth. Remember that sunlight or the lack thereof is the most significant issue responsible for the leggy growth. Potted cannas growing at room temperature will or should produce feeder roots and a very, very, very light application of fertilizer will be of benefit. If you are using a sterile potting soil you will need to use an organic fertilizer because the soil does not contain the necessary soil organisms to break down and convert the commercial fertilizers. I would not over water these plants. DonÂt worry too much about the fertilizer for the short term. Very small or weak one eyed rhizomes may or may not survive this procedure. Kent

You won't lose them. You're in a zone where you may be able to grow them all year, depending on your winter. Cannas continually produce new stalks which will bloom even tho old stalks may be exhausted. Here, we cut the cannas down when a frost kills the foliage, which was just in the last week or two. Do you get frost? I wouldn't cut the foliage until the last possible minute. It will continue to absorb energy for the rhizomes. Throughout the season, as old stalks finish blooming (each stalk may have two or three flushes of blooms), you can trim down the old stalks so new stalks can take in nutrients and sunlight. You can cut the stalks to about an inch tall. Don't worry, you're not going to hurt the cannas. In fact, in your zone, they may be "weeds" for you someday. Believe me, if I haven't killed them here in zone 7, with my neglect, they're safe with you. LOL