I just dug up some of mine. They were caked in dirt, so I scraped off best I could with a weeding tool. Still dirt on them, but no big clumps. Hosing them off is fine, but makes them really wet and takes longer to dry. Now I just lay them on the floor in the cellar to dry out for 3 or 4 days, then stack them up in bushel baskets. Just so long as they are in one layer and the air can circulate around them they will dry. Mine don't get bone dry, but just not retaining a lot of moisture that will cause rot in the winter.

OK,I took advantage of the weather today and dug up the rest of the cannas before it started to rain. Now they are all out in the driveway hopefully drying out a little so I can get some of the mud off. The stems and a lot of the leaves were still green. Do I cut them off when they turn brown or can that be done now that they are dug up.

Penny

Cut them off now.

I find they are really tough and hard to destroy, except through rot. I just put them in a bushel basket in the basement, no peat moss, no periodic wetting, they just sit there until spring.

I dug them up today and have 3 bushel baskets. If yours don't make it, I've got TONS.

Great! I cut them off last evening and I have a large plastic tub I am going to put them in today. I will have to leave the tub open so that they will continue to dry out. Right now they are in a cardboard box to help absorb some of the moisture.

Penny

OK second question. Do I cut the roots off or leave them alone to dry also. Now that the sun is out I have them laying all over the blacktop drivway so they will dry a little quicker.

Penny

OH one more question. What do I do about the worms that are still in the soil that is compacted around them? I did pull as many out as I could but I think there are still more in there. The sun did its job yesterday and I was able to get most of the dirt (mud) off of them by late afternoon. There are still 4 really big clumps though that still have a lot of dirts on them and those are the ones with the worms still in them.

Penny

I always have some dirt (and worms) still around my canna bulbs when I put them away. I can't get them completely clean or it would take forever. I save those I see, but if I miss some they go to that great garden patch in the sky.

You can cut off the roots if you want, they will be dead next year. I don't bother, too much time. I just plant them next year with little dead roots hanging off them. As you can see, I try to minimize my workload, those cannas are tough.

Penny-I just got mine all packed up...I dug them in October...I must have known we were gonna have a rotten fall lol...I get as much dirt as I can off of them dry them a bit and toss them in boxes with newspaper on the bottom and newspaper on top...stick them under the house and they are good to go in the spring...no muss no fuss...some years i cut off the roots some years not depends how OCD i am...think this year it is about half and half...but they do overwinter i think better with a bit of neglect.

Thanks GG and Husky
I knew that I could count on you girls to set me straight. One box is getting pretty dry now but the other box has a way to go yet but it is coming along. I had to bring them in so they are in the middle of the kitchen floor. As soon as they are dried I will be able to shove them in the closet under the stairs which stays cool.

Penny

Penny, you and I are in the same area in WNY. My neighbor never pulls her canna (they are on the south side and east side) of her home. She cuts them to 5" from the ground and spreads the leaves to dry on the cut ends to act as mulch against the snow and cold. That is all she does. It seems to work for her and me as well...except a few years back when we got that prolonged horrible cold spell, when we both almost lost everything. It took them a few years to come back but come back they did. Forgot to mention, we are the lazy type gardeners; I think I'm doing well when I get the glads and my azalias dug up!

VB

Every year I leave some cannas in the ground, just to see . . . They have NEVER come back. I do the same with dahlias, and have the same failing results. They freeze quite easily. VB - how deep do you plant yours?

PS - I DON'T dig up the glads, and they usually come back.

Why do you dig up azaleas?? They're not bulbs, unless you overwinter the potted plants. Interesting how different our results are!