I love the beautiful blooms of canna but every year I fight rust and browning of the leaves. I want to keep these beauties in my yard but I don't know what to do about the mess I have on the leaves each year. Is there something I can do to stay in love with my cannas or is it time for a divorce? Any advice will be appreciated.
Dorothy
How to stay "in love" with cannas?
I have several things in my yard that get rust,,green beans,,,lupines and clematis..this year Im ready,,Im stocked up with fungicide,,and I will use it frequent...just my thinking! Dee
I whack 'em in Aug, or whenever I can't stand to look at them anymore, to about 6". By Oct, they're looking nice again til they die when it gets cold (cold for my area, lol).
Once a stalk has bloomed, and there are no more buds on the stalk--some bloom again--then cut the stalk to the ground. New ones will grow, and everything is new again.
This also lets the sun get to the new stalk coming up.
We have over 75 cannas in our yard, so whacking is a large job. We use the stalks to grind up into mulch.
So, there is no preventive medicine for the ugly leaves?
Dorothy
good article vossner. i cut them back all thru the season when i see even one leaf curled. they make such a mess.
hey Barb, how are you? staying out of the sun/heat, I hope.
but not out of trouble. it follows me. i am not paranoid for no reason. wasn't this a great spring/early summer in texas? i was able to plant all through may.
we did indeed have a lovely and loooong spring, same here w/planting.
gotta go, time for NCIS.
I have a bed of adopted cannas I've received from friends in the area. I, too, am getting the browning leaves and spent heads on the flower blooms. I didn't think about cutting them back down and letting them regrow again. Am I okay to do that in my area, do you think (Raleigh, NC)? We have pretty hot/humid summers. These are located in a part sun area, and I water them regularly.
JLJ.....the only thing about cutting canna back is you might miss blooms. if they look bad cut them back as it won't hurt them. but if you have leaf rollers you need to get rid of the foliage.... as in take it off your property.
Are leaf rollers bugs, or do you mean the rolls of leaves that are brown while still rolled up on the stalks?
here is an article on the nasty little critters.
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston/f&b_11.htm
If you don't mind using systemics ..
Bayer Rose or Tree and Shrub liquid used a drench will work wonders for leaf rollers etc to keep your cannas looking beautiful all season :)
abutilon what do those chemicals do to plants?
mamajack;
You don't want to use it on food plants, but it won't harm the plant or the bloom production on them.
I also recommend breaking the stalk off at ground level once the blooms have finished. They break quite easily by just pulling them sideways. This
gives more room for new growth at the bottom and lets the sun get to the new growth.
Love those Cannas!!!!