amyky123 wrote:
"madgardener" wrote in message
...
snipped a little..
That was a bit drawn out but I thought I'd share.

Thanks! I remember that tornado.. I had a good friend that lived down
there at the time.




Mine aren't really very deep. Is there a max to how deep I should plant
them?

plant them about two shovels deep. (A spade shovel) that's about two
foot deep. Since you have soil in Kentucky (unless you have
clay......and if you do, it's STILL two foot)
I think I'll try leaving some in the ground, and bringing some in this
winter.

If you have that many, that'd be neat to do. But since you're going to
bring some in and leave some, I'd say dig up the clumps, take half and
replant them two foot deep (it's still fun to dig and garden, it's even
nicer now and fall is a good time to plant perennials). The other half,
store them (don't forget to find some way to mark the color of the
flower, either tie a piece of yarn in that color around the root or in
a hole made in the pot on the upper edge, or some way to write the
flower's color in permanent marker on a ziploc baggie. I'm burning out
but there's neat ways to keep track of what color they are for next year
so that you're not standing there with a bag or pot in hand of surviving
roots of canna's and you won't know until they bloom what color they
are! LOL
(in case the ground ones don't make it). I'll mulch really well and see how
they do.
Of course, if we have another mild winter, it may not be a good test.
if you have a mild winter, thank the ******* child of Mother Nature and
The Weather goddess's global warming or whatever it is (I suspect Mom's
Nature does what the heck she wants to with or without these fleas on
her skin........) watch for shoots in the spring, and lift the plants,
and plant them DEEP (two feet at least, no more than three ) and amend
your hole when you replant them. They'll love you for it, and thrive,
grow larger and be more prepared to face a real winter if it comes.
Mulch feeds and protects them and that will ensure that your canna's
thrive every year. Look for OLDER established clumps of canna's in yards
and see if it's an older person growing them. If so, be bold and ask how
they got theirs to return each year. You might be surprised and learn
not to mention older gardeners are wonderful for sharing and you might
wind up with a toe or clump of them or something else and a good friend
to boot! (that's how I met one gardening friend, by going up to her
house and knocking and asking if I could possibly get seeds from her
poppy when it dried out as they were the exact ones I'd been searching
for. and my mentor and older gardening friends are notorious for
sharing stuff and great information. That's how I learned how to winter
my calla lilies through these winters here in Eastern Tennessee. and
it's the same process. south or west part of the yard or area, even
against the house if possible (not possible with my house) and mulched
and planted not too deeply (calla's take exception) The south or
western side is the trick for me here. And I've not had my first year
return yet. Miz Virginia's calla's return for HER because of where they
are (in the exact place I just told you about) she shared a tuber with
me this spring. I'll keep ya'll posted if MINE returns. It's in the
southwestern yard in a very raised bed in rich soil and will be
sheltered during winter and have bricks radiating heat during winter
from the BBQ pit fountain/gardens/stream bed/frog community/fish pond.
The hardy ginger returned for me, but it hasn't bloomed yet. I suspect
next year it will....we'll see about the canna.



I'm going to try to grow some from seed, just to see if I can do it.
Thanks for the help! This is my first time growing cannas, hopefully I won't
lose them!

I think you'll do fine. If you have so many, you could sow some outside
and some in pots and even plant some in the spring. I suspect that your
success will be mostly from the outside sowings, and the pots left
protected outside.

Like I said, keep us posted. Or I'll watch for your update.
maddie