I know dumb question, I see what I thought was the seed pod, someone had mentioned they had large black seeds, but each time I open a pod (or what I think is the pod) there is just little dust in there.
Is the entire pod the seed? Or is the tiny dust the seeds? Or do I have a pile of duds?
What I am calling the pod, is right at the base of each flower head, it forms a large buldge, it starts green, gets fuzzy then turns dark, with time the fuzz rolls right off, leaving what looks like a three chamber pod, when I open it though, it is not three chambers, it has a center core that is where the dust looking "seeds" are attached. Am I anywhere near close? Does anyone have any pictures of canna seeds?
Fran
Where is the canna seed
That is the pod, but you have a canna that's producing the pod and not the seed. The seed would be inside, black, hard, and about 1/4" (bigger/smaller, depending on flavor). Some canna do this, some don't, I think it's called a "pseudopod." Not all canna will produce seed.
Thats what I thought, but I have 36 plants, 12 different cultvars and all are doing the same thing..
What am I doing wrong? Are they missing a nutrient? Are they to young to reproduce?
Maybe next year will be better.
Fran
I've read some don't produce seeds (hybrids) I think.
Some canna are sterile hybrids, they simply won't produce seeds. There's nothing you can do.
I have a yellow canna that sometimes it puts off a seed in the pod and sometimes it doesn't. I just keep an eye out for the larger pods. Those are the ones with the seeds.
So I'm curious...how many seeds do you usually get from one plant ?
I have gotten as many as three, yesterday I opened a pod and there was only one.
They're all different, some will produce very few, others will produce like bunnies. I have some that I'll get between 5-10 from- I'd be more afccurate but I reaaly don't pay that much attention, more than 5, but not as many as 10.
I want to clarify,
Betterbloom asked seed per plant, are you guys answering per pod or plant?
ah, sorry, my bad. I don't know the one that I talked about there was only that one. I have seen two seeded pods at a time.
Oh, too funny! Um, per plant? It really depends on the plant, I have some that will have up to 5-8 (guessing here again, never counted!) pods per stalk section and it will a few of these sections per stalk, you could get quite a lot of seeds from one plant, a plant that is a good seed producer, so it's all relative to the plant in question.
Okay, so maybe 1-10 (lol). I'm trying to grow all of my cannas from seeds so maybe next year I'll get enought seeds to replace what doesn't make it thru winter.
Az, do you dig yours up in the winter or cover them ?
I've noticed that I'm only getting seeds off of my yellow ones. Though someone sent me some red ones. Do y'all think that one color is more prolific at putting off seeds or is it just the type?
I've gotten seeds off all different colored Cannas. I leave the rhizomes in the ground during the winter.
Dean_W
Sandy, in zone 10b you shouldn't have to worry about canna ever, we certainly don't over in zone 9, they're very hardy here.
They're hardy here, too.
Well that's good to know. I figured I would be able to cover them this year with them being small but by next year I figured I'd have a problem. I'm keeping them in pots until spring and then I'll plant some of them. Do you cut yours back or anything...did anything happen to yours last winter in the freeze ?
I had minimal damage from the BF, all of it above ground. I don't really have a regimen of cutting them to the ground, they're evergreen. I'm more inclined to cut them to the ground after the month of august because they are so ragged from the blasted furnace.
Mine will still be small so I'm going to cover them this winter. Guess I'd be better off leaving them all in pots so I can move them to shade in the summer...darn, they were suppose to be a plant to shade my other plants.
OK, So today after reading your posts, I have a touch of zone envy. All mine have to come up. I swore I would never buy anything that needed to come up each year, but they were so pretty and I HAD to have some! Now I NEED a few Dahlias too!
Anyone know, do I dig them after the first light freeze or before?
Fran
Fran, you won't envy this......our summer temps are 120's. (lol)
Sorry I know nothing about Dahlias or were you talking about digging up cannas ?
yes have to dig up both, and yes, I was asking when should I dig the cannas.
Fran, Karchesky Canna has a lot of good info on growing cannas (and some beautiful cannas too). I think they say to dig them up before the freeze.
Well I said I would never buy anything that had to be covered in the winter...you know how that goes.
Since my canna seedlings will still be small I'm going to cover them....since spring comes early here I wanted to get a head start on these things and hopefully some blooms before the summer temps hit us again.
So far I have 160 canna seeds planted with another 150 to plant next week......I'll be lucky if 1/4 of them survive.(I'm really bad at this so I over ordered). I don't even know what I'd do if over half grow. Covering them wil be easy with them being small but could you imagine trying to cover 300 of these things.?
betterbloom, nothing a few dozen hooped pvc pipes and some white protection fabic wouldn't cure. lol
I am in zone 8b in North Central Texas....we have what could be considered real winter with freezes and all that for about 6 weeks. My canna, EE, banana, ginger, root beer, (trying to think of all the tropicals) completely die to the ground after the first frost. Do not disturb the upper growth until warm nights in the Spring. So far they not only resurrect but multiply. Other than leaving the growth that turns all brown and yucky...I don't even do extra mulch. I mulch all summer long to try to keep the moisture from evaporating because we have such hot dry summers. This fence is 80 feet long and they are solid. Couple of feet taller now than in this picture.
What a beautiful sight....all those cannas, wow ! I am trying to get enough of them growing so I can also have a long row ..kind of a privacy wall. So far I've only have 26 come up out of 200 seeds.......did I tell you Iam the worst at seeds (lol)?I haven't given up hope yet, some I only planted a week ago. I dug up a few seeds that I planted over a month ago and they have not rotted, they're just not growing. I think I may have to cover them since they will still be small babies. Last year was the worst in years with the freeze, hopefully this year won't be bad...but then I guess it only takes one night of freezing to kill them.
Until about a month ago I didn't even know that the knobby growth after the flower was a seed. Did I tell you I'm not the most intelligent in the bunch. Have always planted from the root and they just multiply like mad. In my estimation they are invasive. Have to really take care that they don't take over areas where I don't want them. Wish I were close....you could have a hundred plants.
And I'd be right there...(lol). Really I think I will have enough since I still have another 200 seeds. If I don't have enough after that then I'd better give up gardening. I just noticed this evening that a couple more are coming up......yahoo !
wooooohooooo
Today I was deadheading a few well-spent canna blooms, I came across a hugh pod on my Maudie... it was well browned... I opened it up... walla.... two giant real-life canna seeds!!!
So I started spying for the giant seed pods... there are a lot on Maudie, and a few on a couple of the others but they are very green so I will wait awhile.
Funny how it all comes together and we learn as we are ready and not one moment before.
Fran
Lets continue to beat this dead horse... lol
I took a few pics today, I can tell by the views on this page we have a few interested lurkers and I want to share my new found knowledge, so here are a few pictures I took this morning.
Lets start with a few unripe seed pods
This message was edited Oct 7, 2007 11:08 AM
now an unripe pod with a seed, notice the size difference... it actually looks prego!
upper right... yes thats one seed pod!
now a ripe seed pod on the canna, just waiting for me to pick it.
So I picked it, it happened to be cracked on the backside, luckily I didn't lose the seed.
Of course I couldn't leave well enough alone, so I broke it open..
Grand Prize... 2 seeds!
So you can see two seeds next to a quarter
And one last word... DG member Anaid had posted a perfect picture of what I had originaly thought was seed, so I thought I would post a link to that picture so you could seed what the seed is NOT.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=3924179
Thanks, Fran. Now if I can remember this next year.......funny how someone always brings up the same questions months later (lol). Helps me from having to go back thru months of postings to find out what I need to know.
Some of my cannas are about 10 inches tall now. It's been in the 90's here so hopefully the rest will get a good start before the winter.
Thanks to this forum I now know what the plant is in my new home/yard. I am new to AR and know I want lots of these if they grow as well as my current ones are. I NEED more color and not just in Jun or Jul. These look to fit the bill. THANKS again for the info.
i was given canna seeds and would like to direct sow them into the ground near my other canna--anything i need to know? do i "nick" the seeds? will it take a few years?