canna rust

Cross posting from the canna forum. Sorry about that but no one has picked up. And I feel like I need to move quickly.

Picasso is new for me this year; it finally came up and started blooming. We've had major rain lately, and today I was able to take a look around the garden and found rust on it. I've looked through the canna forum, but I can't find any discussions on rust and cannas. Do I have to cut it back to the ground? Is that the only solution? I have other varieties of cannas in different locations, and of course I don't want them to get it (like I could stop that!).

I have dealt with rust in the past by cutting them to the ground, but they had some years on them - Picasso is new, and I don't know if there is enough strength in that tuber yet to come back. I would greatly appreciate any suggestions.
CJ

Aaaarrrrrrrrrrggggggghhhhhh!

I guess nobody knows....

Well, I've cut down the other cannas, so if the rust on Picasso spreads, it has no place to go. My solution.

CJ

i just now saw the thread. sorry! i've had rust on plumeria in the past and i just stripped all the leaves. i see a small amount of rust on my Canna Lucifer right now (lots of rain here too). i cut the leaves off, but not the stems. there is good air circulation on the lucifers. the big orange no-names are packed in like sardines and haven't had so much as a hole in the leaf all year.

Very, very pretty, Trackin. I love all the colors together.
The big yellow no names with no circulation - packed in tight - that I've had for years (next to the plumeria) were just starting to get some rust, but the Picasso - one tuber, and brand new this year - was standing all alone, and it got it first. I hate to cut it back because I don't think it has sufficient reserves left in it to come back. The yellow ones will. I don't think I can kill them.
I also have Crimson Beauty and Topicana - looking bad - in too much sun, I guess. Well, that and the blasted leaf rollers.
And I just got Tama Tulipa from Yucca Do this year. They are very tall and very healthy. They were hyped as being resistant to the leaf-roller, and indeed they are. No rust yet either. Flower is smaller, but I like the statuesqueness of them.
RU saying no canna leaf roller on your Lucifers?

not one roller. i am totally amazed because i have my bt and my diatomaceous earth all ready to go and nothing. the lucifers are along the front of the house and a tropicana tucked in behind them and i have some wyomings scattered about too. i had a few cannas in pots when i lived in the keys but this is my first time for them in the ground and in such numbers. maybe they just haven't found me yet. this is a bad picture. it was taken early this spring and some things have changed since then, but you get the idea. that's african iris growing inbetween the lucifers.

That really looks nice! The Lucifers get taller than that, don't they? And what is your red mulch?

ceejay, the lucifers i have are dwarfs. 3' is about max. i didn't want tall ones there to shade the plants behind them. the mulch is just a hardwood i buy at ace. i think they put a dye on it, but it doesn't bleed onto anything and doesn't seem to hurt the plants. i changed it out and put a more natural mulch there not too long ago. i will take an updated picture and post it here if you want. i gotta go for now. big storm coming and i have to shut down.

I like them. May have to try them. I thought some that I bought from Wayside Gardens years ago - can't remember the name of the series - were dwarfs. They weren't.
Read your rescued dog story. You are one awesome lady!

thank you, ceejay. (blushing)

the only thing with these lucifers is that they aren't self-cleaning. the flower makes up for it in beauty, but they have to be picked almost every day to look good. if i remember right, i got these from Touch of Nature and they had good prices.

There are self-cleaning cannas? I didn't know that. None of mine are self-cleaning. Well, except for the smaller flowered Tama Tulipa. I am the cleaning lady! I sure wish they were....

yes, all of mine are self-cleaning but the lucifers. by self-cleaning i mean the flower heads fall off. the seedpods and stems you have to cut. on the lucifers, the flowers just hang and get that fuzzy junk eventually if you don't pull them. i pull them as they die and am careful to leave the remaining buds on the stem.

I understood what you meant by self-cleaning. I just didn't know there was such a canna! Do you have any you would recommend?

i don't know my what my big no-names are, i can dig a few and send them to you this fall if you want. of the named ones, i love the Wyoming. i bought a small bag of them at lowes this spring and i love the purple leaf coloring. they can take the sun too, not like the Tropicana, which seems to prefer some shade. i am going out right now and take some pics before we get our daily storm. lol

A daily storm. Not all bad, Trackin....

would be really good if it actually rained, but most of the time it's just tons of thunder and lightning! lol

here is the wyoming. a terrible shot, but you can see the leaf color. i expect it to be taller next year.

here are the lucifers again with the tropicana in the backround

and another shot

Is that the north side of the house? It seems shady. How much sun do you think they get?

that is actually the west side. the shots were taken in the early morning hours. that area gets blasting sun all day from about 11:00 on, but under the overhang the sun doesn't reach until later in the day. because of the blacktop driveway, it really bakes.

Ah - now I see the cactus. I hate to keep belaboring the question, but your Tropicana does OK under these conditions? Mine get the west sun, without the blacktop, and don't seem to be at all happy...

no, that's fine. i don't mind questions! it's kind of hard to explain but see how wide the overhang is? so even though that faces west, at this time of year that end of the house where the cactus and tropicana are actually get the least amount of suntime of anything along that wall. the tropicana was actually down further and not under the overhang, where it received true all day sun and even then it looked "ok", but since i moved it, it looks alot better. the cactus has bloomed once already this year, so i guess it's happy enough. it will get more sun in the winter when the angle changes. i have to keep it under the overhang or it gets frostbite and winter rain. it's not the kind of thing i like to keep moving, it's too heavy. i brought it up from the keys, much to the dismay of my husband! LOL btw, i found some rust on my wyomings the other day. i cut off the worst leaves and sprayed baking soda and water on the rest as an experiment. so far, so good. i will let you know how it progresses.

This message was edited Jul 2, 2006 9:16 PM

Yes, please let me know. Most rusts have an alternative host. I wonder if cannas do. I'll have to do some research on that.