as im a newbie to canna im a little worried about it. when i bought it there was 3 healthy looking shoots in one pot, so i did whatever prep was needed and stuck her in the ground as it was. at the moment i have 8 healthy shoots with only one on the verge of flowering. bit worried about how the soon to be arriving cold snap is gonna effect the younger shoots and whats going to happen when i need to uproot the bulbs for seperating and storing. can they be uprooted/seperated before they have flowered or even while there in the process? or do i leave them in the ground until they've done the business?? i know i have to dig them up at some point because it's gonna get mighty cold. when i was at college they had a large amount outside and it was near the end of november when they was uprooted and took into the greenhouse, so these were out in the freezing cold for a good month but they were fully established plants that had gone to seed, and not nice young new shoots. :-? :-?
If it is a cold snap that will probably only last one or two nights/days I would leave them alone for now. If your cold snaps are like ours usually are, it doesn't actually get as cold as predicted so there is no need to rush. The air temperature around 40F/4C will probably turn the leaves to mush but the rhizomes should be fine until the ground freezes. Since mine don't have to be lifted in winter, I really don't know when is the best time to divide. I dig them up in fall to divide and replant then...and some times I do it in spring when I forget in the fall. But I have read that dividing them is best if they are still active, then you can see the buds and make sure there are 2-3 on each piece you cut off.
hi toni, so im good until were getting to the prolonged ground freezing stage?? or when the weather starts having an effect on the foliage?
luke--Cannas are cast iron plants. You can't kill them it you try (other than leaving them outdoors to freeze.) Just dig them up now or when the foliage dies bag, let the soil dry out for a day or two, then store in a plastic bag of dry peat moss in a cool dark place. I suppose you could divide them now or next spring. Good luck!
