I think my cannas are all toast

[LeeAnne151]

I have no signs of growth at all. Didn't have room in the greenhouse, put them all in the shed after the first frost and watered a couple of times. If I dump them out, is it easy to tell if rhizomes are dead or not?

[casey]

I think they get really mushy if they are bad.  I divide mine about now and put them in kitty litter (my fav pond planting medium) that is wet to the top of the litter but not much over it.  I leave them all that way and it doesn't take too long to figure out which are growing and which are bad.  What kind did you have?  I will probably have divides I can send for postage that have growing tips already.  I wouldn't be able to send them right away because I haven't done the dividing yet though I will have to soon. 

Casey

[small fish]

LeeAnne, I have to many also.  I would be glad to ship some to you.  I plan to pull all of the ones I have in the pond out and I have more in the ground.

Myra

[Mikey]

I believe if you cut into them the flesh inside should be white.  If the inside is gray then they likely are dead.

[LeeAnne151]

Thank you for the kind offers.

 The weather has not been cooperating so I haven't dumped them out to look at the rhizomes. The next time it is warm, I'll do it. My friend's are all sprouting already and none of mine are.

 I stuck one Cleopatra and one Stuttgart division in the greenhouse but the Stuttgart rotted. I'm never using that Miracle Gro moisture hold potting soil again, a bunch of plants rotted in it in the greenhouse. The Cleopatra has aphids but it is alive.

I have a Pretoria from MikeW and a Tropicanna or whatever it's real name is. The dark orange striped one with orange blooms. I bought a really pretty cream colored one last fall on clearance. It had green leaves with a blue tint.

I hope they aren't dead!

[jw]

I had the Tropicana Canna planted in the ground and it didn't even make it through the winter before this one! I thought they were hardy enough but I guess not. If I get anymore they will be kept in pots and drug in for the winter. LeeAnne I really liked your idea for putting the aquarium heater in a tub in the green house. The few frogbit and duckweed that I had are multiplying like crazy! I really wish it would warm up around here so I could put some in the pond...........this cold weather is getting old fast.

[LeeAnne151]

Here the greenhouse pond is before Bob finished the trim on the edges. It is now has cedar about 4" wide all the way around with mitered corners.

[jw]

It's so pretty looking. What is the tall plant and are the little purplish flowers from a lily?

[LeeAnne151]

The tall plant is dwarf umbrella "grass"  (Cyperus) and the waterlily is the tropical 'Tina'
It died in winter but the Cyperus lived even without the pond being heated. Now that the pond is heated all of last year's waterlilies did live but they aren't blooming size yet. They are tiny.

[jw]

Thanks LeeAnne, So the Umbrella Grass must be brought into the green house for the winter and couldn't stay out in the cold in the outside pond? I'm learning all this little by little and am writing it down so I'll know what's what.
           

[LeeAnne151]

No, not outside in our climate. It is tropical.

[LeeAnne151]

Dumped out the new cream colored one and it is rotten. All the growth points are mushy. I broke up some of the rhizomes and some were sort of white inside and not mushy so I potted those up. I think they are dead. I pulled all the old growth off the others and stuck them outside in the sun. We'll see if they grow or not.

 :'(

[LeeAnne151]

They are all dead dead dead. Some of them have rotten away completely when I dumped out the pots there weren't any rhizomes left.

[maryvonne]

So sad to hear about your Cannas. I use to grow some too but gave up on them. They were just too hard to over winter. I still have a variegated water Canna but it may not last too much longer either. It's just too much work moving all the tropicals in every fall.

Maryvonne

[tranquility]

LeeAnne if you have lost your tropicana I can send you some...
Lawanna

[LeeAnne151]

Lawanna, I thank you but that is one I got a division of from my friend. I had given her divisions and hers made it through the winter. Her garage is attached to their house and their laundry is out there so it is warmer than my shed was.

I saved Cleopatra in the greenhouse, a small start anyway and Jody gave me back divisions of Tropicanna and a red leaved one that I can't remember which one it is. Stuttgart rotted in the greenhouse, I'm never using Miracle Gro moisture holding soil again.

I'm just sad. Joyce sent me Stuttgart years ago. MikeW sent me Pretoria and Krista bought me a dwarf pink when we were at Hughes Water Gardens and I was too cheap to buy it for myself. Forum friend history in those Cannas.