Cannas love heat and if you want quicker sprouting, try to find some very warm spot to put the pots and then wait... (and wait... and wait...). I know some people have reported quick sprouting from their stored rhizomes and others have reported that it took time. Seems to depend on the individual piece (and maybe the type). I know when I started mine last year - 1 set took forever to even sprout (about 8 weeks) and another set had already begun sprouting in the bag that was purchased in the store - but even those took time to finally get moving beyond the initial sprouting. I think I had potted them around this time last year and they really didn't start taking off until almost July.

I would give yours at least 6 weeks to get re-rooted and sprouted in a warm spot. Consider that you wouldn't want them out when there are still frosts in your area either. And hopefully you planted them shallowly in the pots.

I overwintered mine in their original containers in my cool bedroom. I left the leaves as is (there weren't too many) and eventually removed those that died back, keeping the healthy shoots intact. There is new growth now forming on them and once the night temps stay in the 50Fs, I'll put them out (usually around May here).

What type of cannas are they?

Slow starters ( for me at least) :
Tropical Sunrise, Rosemond cole, Miss Oklahoma, Crimson Beauty,Journey's End, Madame Butterfly and Maudie Malcolm

Quick ones: Wyoming, Tropicanna, Cleopatra, Tangelo, and Striped Beauty just took off. I am expecting blooms by the begining of May.

As Jenny said "heat" really gets them going. I had noticed that the packaged cannas at stores were always sprouting out of the bags by April so this year I tried an experiment. I put some rhizomes in a bag with potting soil, two squirts from a water sprayer and then I put them in the back seat of my truck. Not sure how long I left them back there, I think it was 8 or 10 days. When I took them out of the truck I had 4" sprouts. The ones I had put in pots had none showing. It was the heat that initiated them to grow.

If it is still cool were you are I would not water them that often. I would space it out 7-10 days and lightly water them until you notice some growth. Cool temps and wet soil will encourage the rhizomes to rot. The rot will attrach pest and they will finish off the rest of the rhizome. That is what I found out from an unplanned experiment.

This is a picture I took the first week of March. The two in the front are slow growers that I "forced". You can see how much taller they are than the Tropicanna in the background, which is a fast grower.

{{gwi:529865}}

Have fun and enjoy the cannas.
Joe

Jenny & Joe - thanks so much for your wonderful feedback. I wish I knew what type of Cannas I had -- unfortunately, we dug them up from the front of our subdivision last October (with the neighborhood committee's approval, of course!) so I don't know if they're slow or fast growers. I am so glad you both responded! I will not water for a while -- and will be a bit more patient. I don't really know where to put them in my house to get more heat other than where they are (by a window in my laundry room). You both said to heat them up -- I will try to put the pots outside whenever the weather is nice (it's supposed to be in the 70's here tomorrow which is really cooking - ha!) We are wanting to plant these by our pool this summer - and I really hope I see some beautiful green shoots like the ones in your picture! I will be so excited. Thanks again -- I'm encouraged and won't give up hope on them just yet!