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how long before flowers?
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Posted by weedswin z7a nc (My Page) on Sun, Jun 21, 09 at 10:01
| I have planted rizomes and they are now into their third year and so far no flowers. Is this normal? thanks |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: how long before flowers?
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| No, it's not normal. Do they have normal leaves - about hand size or larger without rust spots or streaks? Rust can be a serious problem with cannas and does inhibit flowering. Otherwise either they are too dry or not getting enough sun. A liberal dose of fertilizer also helps. |
RE: how long before flowers?
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| Adding more fertilizer may not help because sometimes too much nitrogen will just encourage more green growth. Make sure that the soil that your cannas are growing in is rich and loamy. If the soil is very poor, your cannas don't get enough sun and/or water they wouldn't bloom. You might try working a little zeolite, lava sand, greensand and maybe some good old compost into the soil near the root zone. This will add a lot of micronutrients without zapping your plants with just a shot of nitrogen. It's the JP5(jet fuel) of the plant world. It works just fine as long as it's there, but when it's gone you crash. I've been scanning some of the other posts here and see that lots of folks rely heavily on miracle gro to force blooms. Call me silly but I've never used that stuff outdoors because it's expensive and doesn't last very long in garden soil. It also adds nothing to the general health of the soil and can actually be detrimental to the natural microbial life, fungi and earthworms in your soil. For healthy blooming plants, first you need healthy blooming soil. OK, I'm off my soapbox. Cheryl |
RE: how long before flowers?
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| The leaf growth is excellent with no signs of the rust mentioned. I have both the red and white and both appear very healthy. I would I guess lean towards not all that great of soil. I will try and work in some good old compost and see what happens. thanks |
RE: how long before flowers?
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| I'm really surprised that they won't bloom in zone 7. There must be a good reason. I'm in zone 4, and grow thousands of cannas each year (I sell extras to a major nursery here in Utah). They all begin blooming at the end of July and continue until September/October. If you have good soil, it is probably due to not enough sunlight and heat. I grow most of mine in raised, mounded circular flower beds in the middle of my lawn. The raised soil heats up much quicker than flat ground, and this really helps the cannas. Since they are tropical in nature, give them as much heat, sun and water as possible. |
RE: how long before flowers?
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Arctictropical,
Do you have a picture of your raised beds? Sounds like you are one busy person when it comes to canna's. How long does it take you to digs these up every year and plant that many each year? I am good if I dig up my few. Stephanie |
RE: how long before flowers?
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Hi,
What variety do you have? If it is one of the giant Cannas like 'Musaefolia' you might not ever see it flower unless you have a very long hot summer.
A pic would help.
Regards,
Malcolm. |
RE: how long before flowers?
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| I have several that I grew from seed this year and the first flower is poking out now. I used a mix of milled sphagnum and sand from day one. When they got 6 inches tall I repotted in miracle grow potting soil because the weather wasn't cooperating yet. Then when I plant them outside I used Osmocote time release fertilizer that is good for 4 months. This is very similar to what is in miracle grow and I have an abundance of earthworms and fungi so yes seamommy silly is the word. Get a good soil tester, either electronic or chemical and test your soil. Since I bought one my plants look much better than the years before. |
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