I once heard that there is a household product that will stop the canna roots from rotting. Ayone know what I can plant with them to keep them from rotting? They stay pretty dry during the summer. I know you're supposed to dig them up in the fall. One year I didn't and they came back the next year. After that, each year they rotted and didn't come back.
Problem with rotting
I am in zone 5 too, & I have to dig mine up each year, I have tried to see if I could winter them over in the ground, a few times. They just kept rotting, so I know I have to dig them up, :)Anita
Thanks for your reply. I hoped there was a way to keep them in the ground all year but it looks like I will have to dig them up. I just bought 30 plants today and I'm tied of spending the money.
the best way to overwinter in our zones is one of two ways.
we dig them out clean them off put them in very large paper bags and put peat moss over them. enough to cover them completely. they are stored in an area which is dry and does not freeze.....ever! we have lost none.
another way if you have them in pots is just to cut them back and pull the entire pot in, cover the top with a thin layer of peat and store once again in a dry area that does not freeze.
most of us living in zones 6-2 have freezing in our garage areas so that is not an option. also... and you can't keep them where it's too warm or they continue to grow in the bags and what happens is it becomes moist because of that growth and will rot what's in the bag.
what we have found is when storing in pots sometimes it's difficult to get them out since they have grown so tightly together. when it gets warm enough we dump the pots out into a wheel barrel and then seperate them. on occation we have had to break the pot! but because of the lack of storage space we have little choice...it's break the pots or don't store the cannas. it's less expensive to replace the pot!
hope that helps! :)