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diykestrel

December; The traditional month for Cannas and Peonies to sprout?

Okay...What do I do. I went to dig up my Cannas and found dozens of shoots. Most are in the 3" tp 6" range but there are some over a foot and even one that is over 2' tall.

Some are dwarf Cannas so I might put a few in pots and bring them inside for the winter but I am pretty sure my wife will strangle me.

Should I cut down the others that are sprouting before I put them in the basement or let them be?

And then after I dug up all the Cannas I thought I'd clear out a neighboring flower bed only to find several peony shoots about 3" tall. Cover them? Bring them inside? Kiss 'em goodbye? What should I do?

It's bad enough that all my Hydrangeas had sprouting leaves on them but now this.

Why can't the grass in my lawn take a hint from these plants and start filling in all those spots where the leaves killed it off?

Maybe I can put the Cannas in the kids rooms and tell them we are trying to grow magic bean stalks.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Jim

Comments (7)

  • earthlydelights
    17 years ago

    jim, i'm just leaving everything as is. glads, tulips, peonies, the sedums are back, the hydrangeas have no clue it's december. the dahlias are on their second leg. (i don't dig anything up, i just heavily mulch).

    i think once we go into that real cold snap, they'll go dormat again. or maybe someone that really knows will post a solution to your query. i'll be reading it.

    maryanne

  • PRO
    Kestrel Shutters & Doors
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Hi Maryanne,

    My glads are up too but they did that last year and they still bloomed when it came time so I'm ok with that.

    I forgot about digging up my dahlias. Where in Pa are you? I'm in the Pottstown area and if you're in the same part of Pa and have had luck leaving the Dahlias in I think I'll do the same. I have enough other things to keep me busy.

    Oh, and did I mention that the Rosemary I have outside is blooming? Talk about freak of nature. Oh well...

    Thanks for the input. Glad I'm not alone.

    Jim

  • FLYONAWALL
    17 years ago

    I'm in PA and I think the crazy weather has put a *I have no what I'm supposed to do" on our plants. I say....leave them be. If they bloom now...so sad...if they don't...we'll see them in the spring.....poor things don't know what to do with the crazy weather.
    I dug up my rosemary and brought it indoors about 1 month ago...it's doing fine....as usual...but usually dies around Jan year after year but I KEEP TRYING to keep it alive as it's huge and I love the smell...
    My dahlia's I always dig up but this past year I planted them in pots and just brought the post indoor to the cool garage
    Cannas, same thing as the dahlia's this year
    I got tired of digging everything up
    ELephant ears...potted them this year...but I think I dwarfed em by doing that.... they didn't get as big.
    THis year's weather has been sporatic and CRAZY and wrecking havoic on our plants.

  • pattygrow5
    17 years ago

    Just leave them be they'll all be OK with the cannas I just dig them up if the growth is too large cut it off so they don't rot while in your garage or basement. Patty

  • Pipersville_Carol
    17 years ago

    I noticed some daffodils poking their green noses out of the ground the other day. They'll be fine, it was just a surprise to see them.

  • blueheron
    17 years ago

    I live in Lancaster County and I planted cannas for the first time this past year. I didn't dig them up because the time never was right and I assumed that they would not survive over the winter. Can cannas actually survive the winter in PA?

  • annld
    17 years ago

    Cannas don't generally survive the winter. Last year, I decided not to go through the trouble of digging mine up and storing them in peat moss, and only one out of 20 came back in the spring. (I wasn't counting on any of them coming back.)

    I was cleaning out my beds yesterday and saw daffies and crocuses sprouting. I have some irises that always sprout in milder weather, so it was no surprise to see them as well. Oh well, the winter will keep the shoots from maturing, and then the bulbs will sprout again in the spring.

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