Towards the end of Autumn I planted about a dozen Canna lilies.
Right now they look quite bad - stringy, lots of dead bits etc.
Please advise what I have to do (pruning, fertilizer etc) to
rejuvenate them.
I live in Melbourne and have clay soil.
Note - I planted some in the garden at my weekender at Pt Lonsdale on
the coast. Are the requirements different?

Thanks in advance.

On 13 Aug 2003 05:29:15 -0700, (Nicholas Steel) wrote:

Towards the end of Autumn I planted about a dozen Canna lilies.
Right now they look quite bad - stringy, lots of dead bits etc.
Please advise what I have to do (pruning, fertilizer etc) to
rejuvenate them.
I live in Melbourne and have clay soil.
Note - I planted some in the garden at my weekender at Pt Lonsdale on
the coast. Are the requirements different?

The canna does tend to die down in winter. Just cut off any bad bits. They are
as tough as old boots and should begin shooting again in spring. Just chuck on
a little organic life and they will be happy.

Its interesting that you should write this. I mowed my lawn today and when
I finished I stood for a while wondering what on earth has happened to my
Canna Lilly... All brown and wilted. I was actually wondering if perhaps I
had put them in the wrong spot.. I am glad (in a nice way) that others are
seeing their Cannas looking poorly... I shall relax and let nature take its
course.

Thankyou.... by proxy for answering my question.
"A bit more than" wrote in message
...
On 13 Aug 2003 05:29:15 -0700, (Nicholas Steel)
wrote:

Towards the end of Autumn I planted about a dozen Canna lilies.
Right now they look quite bad - stringy, lots of dead bits etc.
Please advise what I have to do (pruning, fertilizer etc) to
rejuvenate them.
I live in Melbourne and have clay soil.
Note - I planted some in the garden at my weekender at Pt Lonsdale on
the coast. Are the requirements different?

The canna does tend to die down in winter. Just cut off any bad bits.
They are
as tough as old boots and should begin shooting again in spring. Just
chuck on
a little organic life and they will be happy.

seeing their Cannas looking poorly... I shall relax and let nature take
its course

Might as well, I've had cannas growing for years beside my water tank where
they get plenty of water year round, and a big drink each week when I pump
from the well up to the house and overflow the tank. I've pulled them out of
the ground at all sorts of places and planted them at home with a range of
different colours etc. The red ones seem to do better than the rest here in
the clay soil and Toowoomba type weather that ranges from hot summers to
cold frosty winters. In winter they do die back, and a trim with the
lawnmower does them proud when they start to shoot back in spring. Even if I
forget to hit them with the mower, the cows eat them just after they flower.

They like plenty of water and sunshine. Some of the best examples are
planted near leaky taps.

Hope this helps,
Peter

Bushy wrote:
seeing their Cannas looking poorly... I shall relax and let nature
take its course

Might as well, I've had cannas growing for years beside my water tank
where they get plenty of water year round, and a big drink each week
when I pump from the well up to the house and overflow the tank. I've
pulled them out of the ground at all sorts of places and planted them
at home with a range of different colours etc. The red ones seem to
do better than the rest here in the clay soil and Toowoomba type
weather that ranges from hot summers to cold frosty winters. In
winter they do die back, and a trim with the lawnmower does them
proud when they start to shoot back in spring. Even if I forget to
hit them with the mower, the cows eat them just after they flower.

They like plenty of water and sunshine. Some of the best examples are
planted near leaky taps.

:-)

As a child, we always called them Lav flowers, as they always seemed to grow
best around the old outhouse.