canna seedling, what to do first winter?
Last post 06-09-2009 11:44 PM by AlexS. 9 replies.
-
09/08/2009 11:22 PM
|
|
- kai
- co Tipperary
- 17 Jul 2009
-
3
|
hi i'm new to this forum. my name is kai and living in ireland. cant really say i'm in to gardening, yet. because i havent laid out the garden, still in the process of building the house. anyway have built a "temporary 8 by 8" greenhouse on site. where i'm propagating plants, raising plants from seed, messing about and having fun. have managed to get up 1 canna this year, and dont have clue how to manage it over winter by the way its potted on in a 4" pot. have no heating in the greenhouse, and the temperature will go below freezing over the winter
|
-
|
10/08/2009 11:31 PM
|
|
|
Hi Kai and welcome to the forum. Hope you get on OK with your greenhouse it sounds as though you're having some fun with growing and propagating.Tell me please what is 'Canna' I have never heard of that one in all my life! -- In the meantime I am going to do a search for it on google.
|
-
|
11/08/2009 08:55 AM
|
|
- sue1002
- Ipswich, Suffolk
- 06 Sep 2005
-
5,200
|
Canna is a form of lily Richard. I believe it's one of the more tropical types that needs winter protection. I planted one of th bulbs in the garden about 3 years ago, it grew a couple of leaves, didn't get to flower and hasn't made an appearance since. I would imagine if sowing from seed, it will take a few years before the bulb would be large enough to flower.
|
-
|
11/08/2009 09:52 AM
|
|
- miranda
- Oxfordshire
- 17 Nov 2004
-
2,977
|
Kai, from what I know of them, Cannas shouldn't go below 10C, so you should probably keep it indoors over the winter. Keep it just moist, as many tender plants resent wet roots in winter and this is what often does for them. Once spring comes, wake it up by increasing watering and give it a feed. There is some more info here: http://www.rhs.org.uk/Advice/profiles0401/cannas.asp
|
-
|
11/08/2009 09:54 PM
|
|
|
|
Thanks Miranda and Sue I realise this is not my thread but now I have an idea what they are!
|
-
|
12/08/2009 09:27 PM
|
|
- kai
- co Tipperary
- 17 Jul 2009
-
3
|
thanks richard,miranda and sue. still dont know what to do with that canna, a indica it is. not to worry, i have a 8x4 foot coldframe almost full of plants i dont really know how to get through the first and , in some cases second, winter. was "attacked" by the seedgrowing bug 6 or 7 years ago, started growing cacti and succulents, am fairly organised with them by now, apart from mesembs. 2 years ago i joined rhs and last fall i joined hps. so now i'm getting seeds from 3 societies and picking some as well (in gardens,parks and from nature) when i get a chance. most years i've got more seeds than i can manage, if you know what i mean. part of the fun i suppose. its very hard to find information about when to prick out different plants.
ps have taken a picture of the canna kai
|
-
|
12/08/2009 09:40 PM
|
|
- sue1002
- Ipswich, Suffolk
- 06 Sep 2005
-
5,200
|
The general advice for pricking out seedlings kai, is when they are large enough to handle so you can manage them without causing any damage. Also when pricking them out, I find it best to hold them by the seed leaves to save damaging the stem.
|
-
|
19/08/2009 11:08 PM
|
|
- kai
- co Tipperary
- 17 Jul 2009
-
3
|
sue, that's where i have gone wrong. waiting to long to prick out. with my cacti i often leave seedlings "unpricked out" untill next summer, so i've had tha same approuch with the gardenplants. this, now, lead to another question; -what to do with the seedlings, when they germinate? put slow growing seedling into trays as they germinate, vigorously growing ones into individual pots. have to practice that next spring and try to get one step closer perfection[:'(]
|
-
|
20/08/2009 11:35 AM
|
|
- miranda
- Oxfordshire
- 17 Nov 2004
-
2,977
|
We all have our own methods, kai. Some people like to germinate their seeds in an open tray; for myself, I like to use the trays made up of modules as I find that I'm less likely to damage the seedlings when potting them on, because they are each in their own little space and don't need to be teased apart. And sowing into modules means that you can count out the seed and only start as many plants as you want, so there is less waste. I pot on as soon as the first set of 'true' leaves appears, after the seed leaves which are often little rounded things and quite different to the leaves that the plant grows afterwards. Then I'll pot on again as soon as the roots have loosely bound together the compost at the bottom of the pot. You can tell this by very gently easing a plant out of its pot and having a quick look. Others may look to see how many roots are showing through the drainage holes. I'll keep doing this until the plant is in its final container or ready to go into the ground. Try to do this as early in the season as you can so that your plants are strongly established by the end of summer and will be more likely to get through the winter. Some won't make it, of course, but many will. As your greenhouse is unheated, you can line the glass on the inside with bubblewrap which will help to keep the temperature up. Do this before the first frost and if there do happen to be any freak warm days, open the door for a while to let the air circulate. If it does get very cold, then bring the really tender plants indoors until it warms up a bit.
|
-
|
06/09/2009 11:44 PM
|
|
- AlexS
- Reading
- 06 Sep 2009
-
61
|
Hi Kai,
In the first winter you'll need to keep your canna seedling frost-free. You can leave it outdoors until the leaves get blackened by frost but then you must protect the bulb which will rot if frosted. You could do this: cut off the leaves. Wrap up the bulb in fleece or straw or anything which will insulate it properly. Keep it somewhere cool. Well-wrapped in your cold frame will probably be fine.
I have some cannas in pots, some in the ground. The ones in pots stay out until the first frost, then I put them in the garage. I cut off all damaged leaves and stems, and if I'm short of space I just cut them down to the ground. I then stuff them into a plastic compost sack, pour in compost as insulation all round them, and tuck them away. That is generally fine for a south-of-england winter. If the temperature stays below freezing for a few days at a time that may not be enough, but old carpet, fleece, newspaper, etc can all be used as extra blankets.
The cannas in the ground stay in the ground. I cut them down, then put straw or a pile of compost on top of them as extra insulation. if the bulb is planted deep it will survive - they're tougher than I used to think. After a hard winter they can be very late coming up - not until June sometimes - so don't lose hope too soon!
|