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canna lilies

14 years ago

Help this is the first time growing canna lilies but not the last. They are 5-6 ft. tall still blooming,are in large pots with other plants. When do I prep them for winter storeage? Pots too big to move in( 1/2 whiskey barrels & larger). Do I dig them out, cut them back , dry them store ? Any advice would be welcomed. the weather has taken a sudden turn-cool for the next while & I don't want to loose them-10 dk leaf with red-orange flowers 3 purple varigated leavewithreddish flowers 1green varigated with yellow orange flowers and 1 green tones leaf with pink flowers thanks

Lois

Comments (3)

northspruce
14 years ago
You can wait for a frost, or just dig them up and bring them in anytime now. A frost won't damage the rhisomes as long as the ground doesn't freeze. Just dig them up, cut off the stems to about 2", pack them in peat moss (or whatever storage method you choose, people do different things) and keep them somewhere cool and dark.
celtic_07
Original Author
14 years ago
Northspruce do I let the rhizomes dry out at all or put them into the peatmoss damp. I've overwintered bulbs/corms before and have let them get dry first. can they be divided and when.
thanks Lois
northspruce
14 years ago
Yes, let them dry a little. You don't want them to go moldy. One year I didn't have peat moss and packed them in shredded newspaper and they did fine. For now store the rhisomes as they are, and in the spring cut them up so each piece has an eye (or a shoot). I usually cut no more than in half, I like the look of 2 or 3 stems together. At that time you can cut off any soft spots.

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