Forum home› Plants

Canna Bulbs Winter Storage

pepesnowypepesnowy Posts: 12
in Plants
I have dug up some potted cannas as need bigger pots next spring.

I researched online and seen a couple of different ways.

I have let them dry out for a few weeks.

Put them in separate brown paper bags with a mix of peat moss and vermiculite.

Stoted in trays in my spare room (storage room!) as no greenhouse or shed I'm afraid.

Have I done the right thing?

Some i have put in pots with same mix.
Do I water these once a month?

In spring can I repot in large pots or smaller ones first.

Dahlia tubers - same mix and in boxes.










«1

Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl west central ScotlandPosts: 35,344
    I just used to bring them into the house in their pots and leave them until they started back into growth in spring. They never got watered, but they didn't completely dry out as they were either in an unheated conservatory, or in the kitchen where they absorbed odd bits of moisture. Even in a cold frame they didn't survive here, so I had to keep them a bit warmer. 
    I cut back old foliage once new growth started appearing, and they would then be given a bit of attention - fresh compost etc.  :)

    Dahlias get treated slightly differently depending on how people feel about it, but essentially, it's a similar approach, apart from removing the old foliage before winter once it's died down.
    I can't remember what I did with mine, and haven't grown them for a long time though, so it's hard to say.  
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....


  • punkdocpunkdoc Sheffield, Derbyshire border.Posts: 8,672
    Canna tubers need to be kept slightly moist, I keep mine in pots, watering occasionally.
    Dahlias should be kept drier. I dry the tubers out, then keep them wrapped in newspaper.
    Walk out to winter, swear I'll be there.
    Chill will wake you, high and dry
    You'll wonder why.
  • KeenOnGreenKeenOnGreen Posts: 1,119
    I leave my Dahlia's in their pots, and put in our unheated greenhouse.  In very early Spring, I add a tiny bit of water once a month or so, as it can get warm on sunny Winter days, and I don't want the tubers to completely dry out.  
  • justflowersjustflowers Posts: 46
    I treated my Cannas the same as Dahlias last year, having researched online - lifted , dried for a few weeks and then stored in boxes with a mix of spent compost and perlite.  All the Dahlias survived and flowered well this year but not a single Canna survived.  Reading what others have said, I think they must have got too dry.  I'm going to try again next year but will be leaving them in pots in a cold greenhouse - a spare room would do just as well if it's unheated.
  • pepesnowypepesnowy Posts: 12
    Thanks for this i might take them out and put them in pots then and water once a month? 🤔

    Would hate to lose them as been established years. I just need to put in larger pots as outgrown ones been in.

    Can i put a few in same pot as long as spaced out well?  So many and not enough pots 🤔 


  • punkdocpunkdoc Sheffield, Derbyshire border.Posts: 8,672
    Cannas do need a bit of moisture to survive.
    Walk out to winter, swear I'll be there.
    Chill will wake you, high and dry
    You'll wonder why.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Central Norfolk UKPosts: 65,338
    edited November 2020
    We move ours, in the pot, into the frostfree garage. The compost is pretty damp when they vine inside so we usually find we don’t need to water  but we do keep checking. We remove old leaves as they die off. 

    Then in March we repot with fresh compost and move the pot into our well lit studio which is heated the same as our home. It begins to put out new leaves and we start to feed with tomato feed in May ... every ten days or so. We move the pot out onto the sheltered sunny terrace in early to mid June... depending on the weather. 
    “I am not lost, for I know where I am. But however, where I am may be lost.” Winnie the Pooh







  • pepesnowypepesnowy Posts: 12
    I don"t have a garage or greenhouse just a spare room.

    So I have to unbag them all now and put them in pots with compost.

    I bagged with them in brown separate paper bags compost and vermiculite like it said online ....how annoying. 

    Thanks for advice 
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 2,957
    edited November 2020
    It would have to be a totally unheated room,  unless you're going to keep them in growth all winter. In which case you have to treat them as houseplants! If you want to keep them dormant maybe keep them in a box or crate, insulated as well as possible, kept against an outdoor wall of your house. Bring in overnight if temperatures drop significantly below freezing. Be wary of sealing in too much moisture, check regularly against mould. I guess they need to be in compost or soil which is pretty dry but not bone dry if you get me. 

    Maybe we'll have another mild winter. I chucked my old dahlia tubers onto the soil surface last autumn, surprisingly they produced shoots this spring and made new roots into the soil. 
  • pepesnowypepesnowy Posts: 12
    They are in separate brown paper bags in plastic trays in an unheated room in a peat moss and vermiculite mix. 

    Think be ok?
Sign In or Register to comment.