My grandmother has a cluster (approx 6ft diameter) of beautiful cannas in her
front yard. There are probably a few dozen cannas in the group and I'd like
some advice before I move them for her. I'm not much of a gardener and have no
idea of whats the best way to go about it, or when is the best time to do it.
I'm in inland Southern California, so ground penetrating frost isn't much of a
problem. Here's a pic of Grandma and her cannas that I took yesterday (I think
she looks pretty good, considering she's just a few weeks awy from her 98th
birthday): http://hometown.aol.com/buggzzee23/m...age/index.html

The petals are just now beginning to thin out and drop and a few of the lower
leaves are starting to deteriorate.
What's next, do the plants die soon?
Should I wait until they die before I dig up the bulbs?
How deep are the bulbs likely to be and how many can I expect to find for each
plant?
Can I just pull the stalk up bulbs and all, or should I dig them out?
Is it OK to immediately replant the bulbs, or is there a better time of year to
do it?
Any tips for how to replant, such as how deep, how far apart, etc?
Can you think of any questions I forgot to ask?

I'm sorry to post so many questions, but she *really* likes her cannas, and I
know absolutely nothing about them and don't want to botch the job. Any help
would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Bud




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Great looking lady for her age. The sun and good weather has deffinately
agreed with her. go out about a foot away from the outer stalk with a spade
and sink it in as deep as you can, then go back to the same slit and shove
it deeper. Carefully pry and see if you get an indication of lifting with a
stalk. They will probably be about a foot or so in the ground, and you can
actually lift them with leaves on them, cut the stalks off and let them
cure. Or you can take them home and plant them as they are and they'll come
back next year. a good deep hole to plant them back in and water well and
they'll be fine. If you nick or cut thru a stalk no harm done. The rhizome
will recover. My canna's grow in mucky, gray water and leaf litter and red
clay in Eastern Tennessee where the washing machine and kitchen sink drain
from. My Bengal tiger canna's are seven foot, my dad's old fashioned
"Indian Shot" cannas are 12 foot and the Wyoming canna I planted this summer
is three foot. The Tropicanna is just two foot, and that's the iffy one. I
just dug a double spade depth hole and plopped them in. Good luck, and hug
yer granny for me and tell her happy birthday!
madgardener up on the ridge, back in fairy holler overlooking English
Mountain in Eastern Tennessee zone 7, Sunset zone 36
"bud hufstetler" wrote in message
...
My grandmother has a cluster (approx 6ft diameter) of beautiful cannas in
her
front yard. There are probably a few dozen cannas in the group and I'd
like
some advice before I move them for her. I'm not much of a gardener and
have no
idea of whats the best way to go about it, or when is the best time to do
it.
I'm in inland Southern California, so ground penetrating frost isn't much
of a
problem. Here's a pic of Grandma and her cannas that I took yesterday (I
think
she looks pretty good, considering she's just a few weeks awy from her
98th
birthday): http://hometown.aol.com/buggzzee23/m...age/index.html

The petals are just now beginning to thin out and drop and a few of the
lower
leaves are starting to deteriorate.
What's next, do the plants die soon?
Should I wait until they die before I dig up the bulbs?
How deep are the bulbs likely to be and how many can I expect to find for
each
plant?
Can I just pull the stalk up bulbs and all, or should I dig them out?
Is it OK to immediately replant the bulbs, or is there a better time of
year to
do it?
Any tips for how to replant, such as how deep, how far apart, etc?
Can you think of any questions I forgot to ask?

I'm sorry to post so many questions, but she *really* likes her cannas,
and I
know absolutely nothing about them and don't want to botch the job. Any
help
would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Bud




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