Hello all.
For what ever reason, my mom gifted me with a canna tuber (Madame Butterfly to be specific).
OK - there is still snow on the ground here in NH and it isn't going to be warming up soon. SO, should I pot it up and let it get started in the house until late May? Or leave it as is until later this month? How big a pot?
HELP!
Cheryl
Depending on how long or large the rhizome is, you can pot it up. In the nursery we used to use bulb containers which are about 12 inches in diameter and 4 or 6 inches deep. Use moist potting mix and only slightly cover the top of the rhizome.
OR, you can wait. If you wait, keep the rhizome in a dark place using slightly moist peat moss or equivalent and store in a place which is cool, but not colder than 45. Canna's grow very fast so you won't really get any more growth if you start them early.
Yeah, you can start it early. You'll get earlier flowering that way. The pot size should be obvious based on the size of the tuber.
Here's a site that will give you just about all the info you need for your canna; planting, storing, FAQ, etc.. Since you live in NH the tuber will have to be lifted and stored in the fall as you would dahlias. They aren't super hardy. I live in Seattle and I never had any cannas that made it through a winter here.
My Canna's are left in the ground and they come back.
*sobbing*
A better question is how deep a pot...
C6-8". In a perfect world where life allows gardeners to do everything right on time, like transplant things, that'll be big enough.
When I grew them for trade, they were grown in what is also known as Dahlia pots. So, approximately 12" wide and 6" deep. The rhizomes should only be about one inch below the soil.
What is I want to leave it potted for the summer? I was beginning to think about using it as the center of a large container. Or would you "pot it on" (as my mother would say)...
Cheryl
It would need quite a big pot if it was going to live in it for the whole season, Cheryl. If the pot's too heavy to move when it's been watered, that's about the right size. About as wide as your shoulders, tall as your knees. Generally.
I can do that... Actually, can it be repotted if I start with a large pot?
Cheryl
By large pot, do you mean the huge one I just described?
Yes, but make sure the lip of the pot is not smaller than the body of the pot. I think the way to describe what I'm talking about is a kettle shaped, decorative pot. You will harm the rhizomes when trying to remove them from that type of container.
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