Could it be insufficient sun?

I planted canna Australia and c. Tropicana inground, part sun location last year. Both of them have stayed very short, only about 1 ft tall and no flowers. Foliage is fine. Could it be not enough sun? Do they need to mature? or could it be that I have the wrong varieties? There is a dwarfcanna Crystal Pink with foliage very similar to tropicana.

A friend of mine has experienced the same situation with relatively new cannas--shorties, no flowers

thanks for your help

Mine are in 100% full Sun.
From nothing to flower in 9 weeks.
Go figure .

Vossner, some of mine did the same thing. I put out about 25 rhizomes and more than half came up, but only got about 1 foot tall and no flowers. I was so disappointed.

Then from the same bunch, I had a few left over so I just tossed them into the flower bed up next to the house expecting nothing more, and BANG ! They grew 4 feet tall with the most lovely huge flowers.

The spot I planted the small ones is out towards our property line and there are a couple of trees that make shade a little of the day, but not very long.

The spot where they grew so big is up next to the east side of the house, no trees anywhere close-by. I don't know if the difference is in the location or the soil. The soil seemed pretty similar to me, but maybe the soil up next to the house stays more moist or something.

very interesting peggie. Luckily, I planted these particular varieties for the foliage, not the flowers, so if they stay short, thanks fine. I was just curious why they weren't the giants I'd seen in the descriptions.

Make sure they're getting enough water - cannas are thirsty, and will be stubborn without it.

skaz, are you saying insufficient water will affect the growth? Mine get suppl. water, but they're not in the "wettest" area of my yard. they look healthy, they're just short.

cannas need lots of fertz you cant over fertz theam. also the ones close to the trees the soil may be lacking something trees are heavey feeders to paul

thanks everyone, very useful info provided here

Vossner, I have cannas all over my yard. Where it is drier, the same hybrids are shorter and bloom less. Also, ones in shadier spots grow very slow, never flower, and end up short-these are the neglectarinos, the ones I don't care about because I have so many.

I love neglectarinos! Pls be sure and add that term to our glossary.

That must have been the problem. Not enough sun or water.

I dug up some of them and transplanted in a more moist and sunnier area. I'm anxious to see if it makes them grow better.

Hi PeggieK I have been building a new garden and therefore have been getting a lot of new stuff. After lossing and having them do poorly I now plant all starts in a pot first and transfere later to the garden. I also noticed that many of the cannas that I have ordered need an adjustment period, the first year isn't that great, by the second year they have adapted. There is usually a good root ball and the plant flowers well and has far more vigerous growth. The different temps and soil types that the root has come from certainly takes its toll on growth and flowers. If its any consolation I didn't get flowers on all of my newbies, got some of my first flowers at the begining of last winter in time for the frost to burn them,and now they are shooting on mass and have flower heads forming.

My cannas were all new last year and many never grew enough to bloom. So far this year, they are all coming back and appear to be much happier after a winter in the ground. My tropicannas first looked bleached out in the first leaves that appeared but the new ones now really look healthy and happy. I am very excited to see what my 'canna corner' of my yard will look like in a couple of months. I have some stuttgart rhyzomes I am going to start in pots so I can baby them until they have some good growth.

Tammie

keep those Stugarts out of the hot sun

They go beside my hot tub in a area where they will only get about 2 hours of direct sun.. unfortunately, it will be noon sun. I have a sun screen over the area too. I want to get one started and put it in my very tiny pond. It will be shaded in the afternoon there too.

Tammie