Hi Everyone,
Hope you are enjoying your weekend.
I forgot to lift my Richard Wallace and other canna plants during the fall of 2007. I could not believe it when I saw it shooting up this spring between the roses. I noticed that it's taller than the other lifted canna plants and it is very tall. I was wondering if anyone of you in zone 5 have had the same experience with cannas or with this variety.
By the way, it's planted on against a south facing wall. This winter we had a heavy snowfall and must have been well insulated. Or, it could be just climate change...:) Cannas don't usually survive the brutal Canadian winter. By posting this note on Richard, I wanted to know if we can leave cannas in the ground up to certain zones by providing the best insulation possible. Your feedback would be most appreciated.
Charmaine
Hardy Richard Wallace?
Charmaine, everyone that I have heard of growing Cannas in Canada, take them out for the winter.
I know, Dean. It's the reason for the posting. It's very unusual. I will leave it again this winter to see what happens.
I am thinking of leaving a few in the ground this winter and doing a heavy mulching to see if they make it. It's only 3 outta of I don't know how many so it won't be a big deal if they don't make it. Just a good experiment to try since our winters have been pretty mild over the last few years.
Good luck, you all.
Pepper - Let me know the results next spring. I plan to do the same. My Rich Wallace is just beautiful. It looks much healthier and fuller than the ones planted this year.
By the way, what materials are you planning to use for mulch?
Since I don't have anymore hardwood mulch and I seriously doubt that my local source does anymore I am gonna use cut grass and pile it high on there. At least a foot or 2 thick. Depends on how much grass I am able to collect and save by then.
It's your wall that helped it survive. Usually up against a house you get 4 to 8 inches of a frost free area due to the heating of the house during winter. This thawing of the ground around the house makes a type of microclimate. Usually plants planted in this area will survive better. It seems to work with plant with bulbs tubers or rhizomes. A mulching of hardwood mulch or a mix of chopped up leaves and grass will help protect them more.
bwilliams - I was also wondering if the cannas planted in front of Richard--a little bit away from the wall--would be able to survive the winter, even with heavy mulch.