Do you deadhead canna? Will they re-bloom? The funny thing is i planted many, many of them when i lived in CA. I just left them alone and they looked lovely. Here i only have two in pots, so i am not sure if all the blooms i had before were in succession or they only bloomed once and it just seemed like a lot because there were so many plants.
Thanks for the info!
Deadhead?
Hi Tom,
For the most part, canna are self cleaning. I help them along sometime by brushing spent flowers off .. They will not rebloom on that stalk. Once a stalk has bloomed, unless there are seed pods, that's the end of it. I cut mine down to the ground to make room for more shoots to come up. If you want seeds or like the looks of seed pods, leave the stalk on. Some hybrids are sterile and won't set seeds, like Bengal Tiger, but will produce empty seed pods.
X
Mine are Tropicanna and they have seed pods. I've thought about planting them...
Growing canna from seed is easy. Harvest the seed when the pod turns brown. They are a hard coat seed which means you have to put a hole in the coat to make it sprout. I drill a tiny little hole in mine with my Dremel Tool until I see white. Others use nail files, ice picks .. anything to make a small hole in it. Just be careful as you can impale yourself. I alway put dents in the coat with a pair of wire cutters so I can get a good grip on it. Once you have pricked it, soak it in hand hot water for 24 hours then plant to the depth of the seed in any good potting medium. They take a week or two, sometimes longer to start coming up. They will bloom the first year if you start them early enough. Also, they do not breed true to the parent. That's why I like growing canna from seed, you never know what you are going to get.
X
Sounds fun!
Thanks for the great info X! I started growing cannas last fall and have been wondering what to do once they are finished blooming. You've helped me immensely on this!
Thanks so much!
Lisa
My Stuttgarts aren't doing well. Actually, it's questionable that they ever were Stuttgarts. I'm working with the seller on that issue.
Anyway, they are tall and leggy, not full and plump. Each is about 29" long. I'm thinking of taking them out of the pots and putting them in the ground. Maybe they're not in enough soil. Any thoughts? They get more than enough water. I'm going to throw some time release in the pots tomorrow and see what happens.
I only have 5 varieties of cannas and am having a terrible time this year with various problems. All have finally begun to bloom and I was also wondering about deheading.
X, if I understand your comment correctly you expect a single flush of bloom per stalk and after that one flush is finished, you cut the stalk completely back to the ground?
I had no idea how to correctly dehead cannas so I simply clipped off the first flush on the bloom stalk. (I just went outside and checked to be sure) and every stalk has developed at least one more stem (several have 2) with heads of flowers on the original stalk below where the original flush had been. They are the same size as the original.
Am I just finally getting lucky with extra blossoms?
I just saw the photo of your beautiful cannas and elephant ears--I think I misunderstood the message I mentioned above.
Gessie
This message was edited Jun 30, 2006 9:00 PM
This message was edited Jun 30, 2006 10:18 PM
This message was edited Jul 1, 2006 4:57 AM
gessie .. I'm sorry I wasn't clear .. I'm guilty of erroneously assuming knowledge and not giving enough information .. my error .. you are correct .. a single stalk may produce 3 or 4 flushes, but it's usually obvious that there is more to come, just as one finishes the other should be pushing up, just below it.
Sorry if I mislead ya'll!
X
Good thing I saw that new bloom below my old one, cause I sure was gonna whack that stalk down to the ground! Please, remember the NEWBIES!!
P..S. I forgive you...
I'm sorry .. you may all now whack me with wet noodles, tuna fish or what ever object of your liking except for VW's. I draw the line at that.
X
Pest Question: I only have one stand of cannas and this year for the first time they have been attacked by something like a spider's web that seals the leaves so they won't open and a little green worm eats the leaves from the inside ......what is it and what do I do about it? HELP!!!!!
Sounds like leaf roller.
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/586364/