Do you know how to store cannas in winter?
Cannes - unusually beautiful large perennial flowers, stunning in their variety of colors. They are not demanding in terms of growing conditions and are not fussy to care for, however, they are not so often found in the garden. Cannas bloom from mid-July until the first frost, flower height is from 30 cm to 1.5 meters. The flower is of tropical origin, so frost is destructive for it. Canna reproduces by dividing the rhizome in early spring, in March or April. The price of a flower is quite high, so the question is how to preserve planting material until spring. There are several methods that have been tested by experienced flower growers.
Content:
Storing cannas in the cellar
After the first frost, and this is somewhere between September and October, the cannes are dug up. In this case, first the stem is cut, leaving a height of 15 to 20 cm, then the flower is dug up and dried a little under a canopy.
When digging, there is no need to completely remove the soil from the root system; it is better if the cannas are stored with a lump of earth.
The rhizome is transferred to wooden boxes and sprinkled well with humus, soil with sawdust, peat and sand. It is desirable that the soil humidity is at least 50 - 60%, and the air temperature in the cellar is 6 - 8 degrees Celsius.
At least once a month, visit your beauty and inspect the plant and necessary wateringso that the rhizome does not dry out.If, on the contrary, rotten areas appear, then they are cut off to good tissue. Sprinkle the cut areas with charcoal or treat with iodine. A sudden change in temperature in the cellar should not be allowed, as this can cause the rhizomes to freeze or, conversely, rot.
Dormant period in a pot
There is a second way to store cannas in winter. Before digging up the plant, trim only dry leaves and flower stalks at the very root. Plant the trimmed plant with a ball of earth in a pot. Storage temperature should be no higher than 12 - 15 degrees. This could be a cool veranda or attic, loggia. Water the flower periodically, about once or twice a month.
Kanna can also be in a lighted room near the balcony door. Under such storage conditions, the buds will ripen very well, which will subsequently produce good strong flower stalks. When spring comes, it is necessary to gradually increase the amount of watering so that the plant wakes up. Two weeks before landings in the ground the plant is fed.
Storage with flowering
You can put it in a pot and water it normally. Then they will delight the eye with flowering until December, and sometimes until January. Yes, they can be grown in large pots at home! Moreover, in indoor conditions they bloom almost all year round, with only a short dormant period of 1.5 - 2.5 months. During the dormant period, the stem and leaves dry out and fall off, and new leaves begin to form in their place. When storing or growing in this way, the main thing is that the flower has enough space in the pot.
When growing indoors, it is necessary to carefully select a container so that the rhizome develops in free conditions.
You should not forget about a sufficient amount of nutrients. For this you need to feed the canna once a month mineral fertilizers or water with nutrient mixtures for any indoor flowers.
You should not use various mash with humus, since an abundance of fertilizers can lead to the withering of the plant. Flowering canna can be transplanted into open ground. However, you should not rush, as the slightest frost can destroy the plant.
Refrigerator storage
Some gardeners store low-grade canna in the refrigerator. If space allows you, then this option should not be excluded either.
The principle of preparing rhizomes is simple: we dig them up and wash them under running water, then soak them in a disinfectant solution for a day and, after drying, store them for storage, wrapping them in newsprint. For a disinfectant solution, you can use regular potassium permanganate or various solutions from the store.
Cannas should be placed loosely in the vegetable storage compartment. The rhizome should also be checked occasionally to ensure there is no rot. This method is suitable for those who have few rhizomes, because after all, the refrigerator is not rubber.
Closer to mid-spring, the root system should be divided according to the number of shoots and planted in pots for growth. For planting, take an earthen mixture: peat, sand and black soil in equal parts. When strong shoots appear, the plant should be fed. To do this you should take mineral fertilizers, 40-50 gr. per 1 m2. And after the frosts leave, this is the beginning of June, they are taken to open ground. The place should be sunny or partial shade, the soil should be well fertilized. Before planting the plant, water the hole generously; when the water is absorbed, you can plant the flower. Cannes will begin to delight with large and rich flowers in mid-July or early August.This depends on the type of plant.
Comments
The article turned out to be very useful for me. I always stored canna in the cellar, but the thing is that after digging it up, I cleaned it of soil and stored it without sprinkling it with anything. As a result, the rhizome dried out, the flowers were small and weak.
In general, there is even more fuss than with dahlias. But in real cellars, in my opinion, it is extremely rare to have such a high temperature in winter, otherwise potatoes would grow there. In cellars it’s usually around 0+1.