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Outside My Window
from November
2008
 Saving
Canna Rhizomes.
Cannas are one of those old fashioned favourites
that have made a comeback in recent years. 'Tropicanna' is the
most flamboyant, with multi-coloured leaves and bright orange flowers. They're tender plants though - happy
year round only in a warmer climate, but with just a bit of fuss
they're very easy to over-winter indoors for next year's use.
Here's how -
AFTER they have been through a hard
frost and their leaves are brown and wilted, (early November
usually) dig the fat rhizomes out of the ground , rinse off the dirt,
and leave them out in a dry breezy place out of the sun for about
a week - indoors if there's a chance temperatures will go below zero.
All surfaces must be well dried. Cut
the old foliage stem off approx. 3" up from the rhizome and make sure
the stem stub surface is also dry. Think potato. Exactly
as a potato is dry on the surface but still moist inside, that's what you're aiming at for the Canna rhizomes although
the stem stub will take a bit longer to dry out.
A wide and shallow cardboard box is perfect for storage.
The cardboard breathes and the small openings ensure a bit of air flow.
(No tight lidded plastic!). Lay the Canna rhizomes out in a single layer
with stem end up. Put the box in a dark spot in the basement with
the box lid open until the stem stub has completely dried out - perhaps
another 2 -3 weeks. (I've never bothered with any packing material
like peat moss or sawdust.). Then close the box loosely and forget
about them 'til early-March when you can split them into 3"-4" pieces,
 each with a growth bud, and pot them up into a very sunny window.
Or, if you don't have a good sunny window, wait until the end of April
before bringing them out of storage and plant them right in the garden
in early May.
The key to success is making sure there is NO excess surface moisture to
cause rot while they are in storage. Err on the too dry side if in
doubt - as long as the rhizome is still firm, the Canna is just fine.
Out in the garden the bold foliage of Canna 'Tropicanna' looks
wonderful backed by a tall delicate leaved Miscanthus such as
'Gracillimus' or 'Silberfeder'.
Cheers! Evelyn
MORE
HOW-TO's on
Overwintering a
other tender
perennials -
The
degree of difficulty
in overwintering and
growing Canna,
Gladiola, Caladium,
purple Oxalis,
tuberous Begonia,
Dahlia,
Geranium, or
Amaryllis again for
a new season is
different for each,
but some are very
easy. Just a cool dark
corner in the basement is all many need
as long as you condition them correctly
in autumn.
All perennials
have a dormant period - hardy perennials
and tender perennials alike. The only difference is that
tender perennials need their roots to be
rescued before our winter freezes their
roots. As long as you leave them
out in the garden long enough in the
fall for them to feel some of their
natural dormancy triggers such as
lessening daylight hours and changing
temperatures, and finally a light frost,
it can be as simple as digging them out
of the ground and putting them somewhere
where they won't freeze.
The mistake many
gardeners make is digging up tender
perennials before the plants have a
chance to experience all the necessary
dormancy triggers.
The
plants then continue to try to grow since
they didn’t receive all the dormancy
triggers and basically, just plain don't
know that the
season is over! They'll die over winter in their attempt to
grow without sunlight or moisture.
Most of the above mentioned savable plants
are bulbs, tubers or rhizomes making them very simple to
overwinter. Others are fibrous rooted
plants adapted to a hot dry climate, like
Geranium (Pelargonium), where dormancy is
triggered by the dry season. Fibrous
rooted plants are best stored with some soil
protecting their finer roots, but kept
almost bone dry and therefore dormant.
Here’s the rules of thumb.
AFTER they have been through a hard frost
that browned and wilted leaves, late
October usually, dig tubers (e.g. Dahlia,
Colocasia), bulbs (e.g. Calla, Amaryllis),
corms (e.g. Oxalis, Gladiola) or rhizomes
(e.g. Canna, Ginger,), out of the ground. Cut the
stems down to approx. 3". Remove any large
clumps of dirt and put the bare roots in
a dry, breezy, shady place for about a
week - indoors if there's any chance
temperatures will go below zero. All
surfaces must be well dried, including the
cut stem end. Mold and fungus is the main
enemy in dormant storage and it’s best to
err on the too-dry side than the
not-dry-enough side. Think potato. Think
of what happens to a potato that’s stored
with even just a bit of moisture on the
surface – mold and rot. You’re aiming at a
completely dry exterior and a moist fleshy
interior – just like a potato.
Once all surfaces are dry,
pop them into a cardboard box, paper bag, or
wrap in newspaper. No plastic! They need to
breathe to allow for that little bit of air
on the surfaces to keep them dry.
Whatever you store them in, they shouldn't
touch each other. I wrap each loosely
in newspaper and store the wrapped packages
in a large pot without a cover on it.
The newspaper keeps any light out and keeps
a bit of air flowing. Put the box or pot in a cool dark spot
where the temperature NEVER goes below
freezing.
That’s it! you
basically can forget about them until it’s
time to stir them out of dormancy in late
winter by gradually reintroducing them to sunlight and
water.
In March/April, depending on
the speed of growth of the particular plant,
pot
them up in some clean fresh potting soil and water
lightly. A warm spot will speed things
along. Once new growth appears, start
watering with fertilizer mixed at 1/2
strength, and get them
into as much sunlight as possible until all
risk of frost has passed when they can go
into their permanent outdoor spot. Exactly
when to bring them out of storage depends on
whether you have a very sunny window or not,
and the particular plant's speed of growth. If you don’t have such a place,
it’s better to leave them until late April
or so that they can go straight outdoors
when spring brings warm temperatures.
A few extra tips –
- For fat fleshy stemmed plants like Canna
or Colocasia,
cut them to within 2-3" of the root and dry them upside down to make sure all
moisture drains out of the fat stem of
leaves at the base.
- Store tubers and rhizomes whole - leave
dividing into smaller individual sections
for spring when there’s far less danger of
the exposed cut surfaces developing mold.
When dividing make sure each piece has an
“eye” or growth point.
- Dahlia tubers have their
new growth bud at the point where the old
stem meets root. With a sharp knife,
be sure to get a piece of the old stem still
attached to the tuber. A fat fleshy
tuber without that little top bud will give
you nothing. Conversely, just a
tiny little tuber with an undamaged growth
bud will give you a lovely new plant.
- Geraniums should be cut
right back to just a few main stems when
brought out of storage.
Have fun and try
Overwintering other tender perennials -
there's certainly nothing to lose!
Outside My Window
from October
15th, 2008
Leaves, leaves
everywhere, ...
... nature's built in
method of renewing
the soil.
Instead of bagging
Fall leaves up and
putting them out for
pick up, make
a
large pile and run
over them a
few
times with a lawn
mower. Just go
around and around
the perimeter of the
pile with the mower
spitting out the
chopped leaves back
into the center of
the pile. A
huge mountain of
leaves is quickly
reduced to just a
small and manageable
mole hill after just
a few passes. Now you
can use them as a
winter mulch in your
gardens (wait until
December to spread
on) or pile them
somewhere to
naturally break
down further for use
as compost next
year. Pure
gardener's gold, and
the best part? ~ it's
not only the best
soil amendment there
is, it's free!
If you think of it,
it's even cheaper
than free since
there's no need to
buy garden waste
bags to dispose of
them.
Cheers! Evelyn
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