Cannas from Co-op not coming up

I went a wee bit nuts and ordered a lot of cannas on the canna co-op for a complete redesign of my poolside border. Canna newbie here. Planted in pots as recommended. Many came up.

But four varieties haven't come up at all. should I be doing something?

I should have added, a few of the cannas had kind of black icky looking wilted roots on them. I don't know that I wrote down which varieties were like that or if they all were. But most have sprouted and are over a foot tall.

Should I leave these alone longer? water them more? yank them out for an exam?

My curiosity would be killing me. I'd have to take a look, which personally I don't think would hurt them if they are otherwise okay.

I planted some Cleopatras last year which never came up, while the others in the pot did. I thought they had died and that was that. I would have dug them up and looked, but the others in the same pot were doing fine, so I didn't want to disturb those. To my surprise the Cleopatras came up this year and are blooming. These are planted in a huge tree-size nursery pot.

Karen

well - DARN

so there's a chance, heh?

GREAT!

now -do I look, or NOT?.........

to be continued

Until the point where you find a rotted tuber/rhizome, there is indeed a chance. Could have knocked me over with a feather when I saw that Cleopatra bloom last week.

Karen

I got one better than that. I had cannas many years ago planted in my south flower bed up against the house. Had them there for years, never dug them up. Then one year I decide I am tired of them, dug them up and gave them away, and planted snowball bushes there instead. Then after years of snowball bushes, I decide to dig them up 'cause they are getting big and I feel they need more room to grow. I dug them up and transplanted them, and planted small red-tipped phoetinias there instead. All of a sudden, cannas start coming up!!!! Bonjon. If I were you, I would dig up at least one. If it is not soft and rotted, put it back. I got some red-stripe cannas from trade and planted them kinda late. I began to worry 'cause they weren't coming up. Then a week ago, I discovered one peaking out! I was sooo excited! Now there are several. It took over a month. When did you plant yours? Are they in pots? Are they in full sun? Are you keeping the soil damp?

not in full sun, in pots.

Maybe they want more sun. They like it warm. How long has it been since you planted them?

Wow, bubba1, just proves you never can tell about cannas. LOL.

Karen

I KNOW!!! And people keep saying I am supposed to have to dig them up, but I don't! And they always come back! No one else here in Woodward digs there's up either.

bubba1.

I know what you mean about cannas liking the sun/heat. I have two big tree-sized nursery pots full of them. Supposed to be temporary, but so far I've nowhere else to put them. They are in full afternoon sun, and last summer I stuck my hand down into the potting mix -- it was BURNING HOT! The cannas were not unhappy, though, just had slowed down a little bit in blooming. You may be able to ove rwater and drown the rhizomes before they come up, but not after that. They love water, lots of it.

What zone are you in that you are supposed to dig them up? I suspect their cold hardiness is understated.

Karen

I am in zone 6a. They are supposed to be hardy to zone 7. But I did find this spring some cannas on ebay that are supposed to be cold hardy even to 0 degrees (we'll see). Though it doesn't get down to 0 degrees here (and I am ever so thankful), but it does get down to 10 degrees sometimes, unless you are counting wind chill. Then it feels colder. Anyway. These are called heirloom cannas. They are just a couple of feet high right now so I haven't gotten to see the blooms yet. They are supposed to be orange and yellow. I haven't decided whether or not I am going to dig up the red-stripes. Maybe I'll dig all them up but one and see if it survives. I would be sick if they froze up. Come to think of it. I dug up all my elephant ears and my dwarf cannas (didn't like where I put them) last fall. A baby elephant ear and another canna have come up where I had them. Makes me happy.

bubba1,

I would think that if your ground doesn't actually freeze and you mulch them well that they will be fine. Especially since you had the elephant ear and canna come back that weren't even supposed to be there.

Karen

Karen- I am afraid that it might have been a fluke, and that if I count on that I will be devastated next spring. I must confess, the flower bed they came back up in is south-facing which would protect them from the coldest of wind and snow. I don't know. I am going to experiment this fall and see what happens. I planted 53 elephant ears this year and only one variety can I leave out if mulched. It sure would be nice not to have to dig up my whole backyard every fall. But, at least having to plant my elephant ears in the spring gets me over that initial "need to plant" I get every spring.

You're right it might have been a fluke. I would be tempted to experiment with a few of them -- maybe leave one of each variety or something like that and see how it goes. Since cannas and elephant ears go dormant and die down, have you considered the possibility of putting a PVC frame over the bed in addition to the mulch -- wouldn't have to be high, I wouldn't think -- and covering the frame with heavy-duty frost cloth or greenhouse plastic ? Maybe with that then the snow would add insulation from the cold.

I've not lived in a climate where there is snow on a regular basis, so I don't have much insight into the problems you experience with growing plants and moving them in and out of the ground every year.

Karen

Well. I have lived here most of my life. And I can remember as a child we seemed to have more snow then. It doesn't snow here as much as it used to. Probably could count on one hand how many times we get it now. But it does get real cold. The weather patterns are real weird now. It seems to stay in the 30's and low 40's now. Unless an artic wave comes, which they do. I don't really understand the concept of the pvc frame, but my elephant ears and cannas are planted all over my backyard. Then there is the problem of where to put it in the summer. I really do need a shed in my backyard for my lawn mower and gardening items. Right now everything is in my garage, and my car is not.

The PVC frame would be to keep the plastic or frost cloth off the ground so the cold wouldn't be transferred to the ground, but would be protected from it. I had one up last winter over my brugs. If you don't glue the pieces together it will come apart for storage. But I see the problem if they are scattered around and not in one bed.

Karen

Bubba, I don't know a lot about cannas, but being in East Texas, wouldn't the weather be a bout the same. Cause mine come back every year, bringing babies with them. Maybe it's coder there?

Anyway, EE's and Canna's are comin back here whether anything else does or not.

No. I am in zone 6a, so it is colder here.

Gee, seems like it takes about 10 minutes to get from Dallas to Oklahoma. LOL Guess I slept!!

You didn't just sleep, you took a sleeping pill! Woodward is in the northwest corner of Oklahoma. It takes 3 hours to get to Oklahoma City. However, my sister lives in Amarillo. She is in the same zone I am in.

LOL. Must have been 2. !!!! LOL

altitude maybe?

Hmmm. Possible, possible!!! I'll try any excuse!!