Hi, have 20 dwarfs, Wyoming, President, Charlotte & Tropical Sunrise. In my zone I have to dig them up in fall. What I have done w/ my Callas is to plant 4 or 5 in a 3 gal. pot, dig a hole and set the pot in the ground then mulch . This way in fall I can just take pot inside and remove bulbs easier. Question is I have loads of 3 gallon pots, can I put 1 Canna in each one and do the same ? Thanks, kdcon
POT SIZE ?
Put them right in the ground. Growing the plants in pots in the ground is not much different than growing it in a pot on top of the ground.
well just a suggestion.......and i know brian is the expert. but my experience in a 4a is this:
the one's i want to bloom asap MUST go into pots and stay there for the season. (now i do use 20 inch or larger pots...not regular gallon or two gallon pots.) it appears that the sooner they are root bound the sooner they bloom. so mid june is when they start blooming. our soil temp takes some time to reach 70 degrees which is the ideal growing temp up here for the canna. the soil in the pots stay warmer than our ground. however, i also plant tons direcly into the ground, but they will not bloom until late late july or early aug. the reason i do those in the ground is to keep color going until oct. i treat both the ones in the pots as well as in the ground with the same watering and feeding....so my conclusion is, it has to be the ground temp that effects the growth.
hope that helps a bit. if i were you because you have so many try both and see which works best in your area..:)
edited for typo's as usual
This message was edited May 22, 2006 8:21 AM
Yes I can see how growing them in pots can get them to bloom faster and pots will heat up a lot more as you said. But putting the plants directly in the ground is one thing and putting them in the ground in a pot would not make much sense maybe to squeeze the rhizomes into producing a flower early. I would think it would have more negative effects than positive. In one gallon pots a canna will out grow it in one season sometimes busting the pots. I do put some cannas in this size usually the best sellers. This way I have more and they will bloom faster. I know they dont plan to stay in the pot to long. A 2 gallon pot will get me a more full plant it may take a bit longer to flower but usually has a more robust look. For me in the ground is best they plants maybe a little bit slower on producing flowers but they will be ten times larger and at the end of the season I will have a lot more rhizomes to work with. Hope this helps I would suggest getting them to flower in the 1 gallons early if possible then throwing them in the ground.
well......i don't put the pot itself into the ground. i don't think i made that very clear..sorry. i keep it above ground. and i put a HUGE hole in the bottom of the pot so the roots will take to the ground and hold them pot in place, since they get so heavy because they will fall over. larger.........PLEASE NO! (in oct i cut them and use them as "corn" stalks instead of "real corn stalks by my doors).
this is late june in large pots. and i have busted a pot or two in my day! i can't deny that
ps. brian...that beauty i got from you ...WILL be in a pot and close to our house..i have over an acer of gardens and i don't want it getting lost in the hundreds of plants all over the place. we want to enjoy it ourselves...not for the neighbors eyes...but ours! (she's still resting comfortably in the greenhouse for another two weeks before she comes out which is a little late but we just want to make sure she has a perfect start. we usually don't plant anything tender until the very last day of may ). :)
edited for typo's and ps!
This message was edited May 22, 2006 9:29 AM
This message was edited May 22, 2006 9:31 AM
Thanks for the replies. The big reason I want to set the pots in the ground is it is easier for me to deal w/ in the fall. I just pull the pots and take them in. This allows me to empty them in a better enviroment than outside. Also lets me do it ( dump the pots and store bulbs ) after dark and allows me to max my daylite hrs. doing other fall outside chores. So if I understand the 2/3 gal pots should be OK to grow in ? Thanks again, kdcon
I am Amazed to tell the truth. I have always thought when people asked me about digging a whole and leaving the pot and all on that they had no idea what they were doing. But for your reasons and area I think it maybe a good idea. I would suggest trying them out in open ground to see if they do better. But for all you mentioned it maybe the best way. I dont think it works for everyone but in your situation it maybe the perfect answer.
Good luck with my hybrid I have run low on most varieties but have gotten great feed back on most all that have tried them.
brian, even though i live in a 4a i'm orginally from san fran. so this was horticulture shock for me. (it was 29 degrees this morning).
as a matter of fact the horticultorist i work with moved near me and would argue to no end with me about how i planted. that was until he lost enough things to start listening to me! i know this climate and the land well. it's been almost 30 years now.
but once again i really wanted to make this clear for the person asking. i don't put the pot IN the ground. it's on the surface, but the pot inself has a large hole in it. the pots i use are atleast 5 gallon pots...not two or three gallons. however, you i think you mentioned dwarfs....maybe i would use a 3 gallon on that. but NOT 3-4 in each.
brian, i'm certain you're just about out. next year i'm going to place my order early with you. because i gotta get me one of those 'new streaked' ones you had on that thread! (actually i really NEED it!) so put me on the list! thus far that has to been the most beautiful color i have ever seen. by the way...everything else is doing just fine as well.
This message was edited May 22, 2006 7:29 PM