Florists like to decorate their flower beds with beautiful canna, which blooms profusely and luxuriantly. In general, the flower is quite unpretentious and does not cause much trouble. The exception is preparing it for wintering. The plant is native to the tropics and does not tolerate cold, so rhizomes are most often dug up and harvested for the winter. We’ll figure out how to store cannes in winter so that they bloom profusely next year.

When to dig up rhizomes

Not in all regions, the canna flower is stored. In areas with warm winters, where the temperature does not fall below -5˚C, the bush can be left in the ground. It must be cut and covered with straw, spruce branches, etc. In other regions, tubers are dug up before wintering. It is optimal to do this when they are prepared for the cold weather and have accumulated a sufficient supply of nutrients. To make it easier for them to do this, after flowering, the aerial part is sometimes cut at a level of 30-40 cm, but this is not necessary.

There are no exact dates when to harvest the tubers. They need to be determined by weather conditions. The main rule is to dig up the rhizomes before the first frost. Some agronomists believe that the plant tolerates them easily and it is possible to dig up the roots immediately after them. However, the experience of a large number of flower growers shows that lowering the temperature to -5˚C and below is fatal for a flower. It will not die, but after exposure to cold, the tubers begin to rot. In this condition, they will not survive wintering. Taking into account that cold weather comes to the regions at different times, we have compiled an approximate table of the timing of digging up rhizomes.

An important point. In order not to miss the cleaning dates, you need to monitor the long-term weather forecast. For example, if rainy weather is predicted, followed by a drop in temperature, it is worth digging up the tubers before the rains.

How to dig up cannes for the winter and store

You need to dig it up carefully so as not to damage the rhizome. They do it this way.

Dig up the bush from all sides. To do this, step back from the stems 10-20 cm. It is best to dig with a pitchfork so as not to damage the tubers.

Grasp the stem with your hand, pry a lump of earth with the rhizome with a pitchfork and, gently rocking it, remove it from the hole.

Put the plant in a cardboard box or in a box. At the same time, the earth does not need to be cleaned off.

If subsequent storage at room temperature is expected, the flower is dug up according to the above scheme and immediately transplanted into a large pot.

How to prepare cannes for winter storage

The excavated plants are left in an earthen coma and removed for pre-drying. To do this, they are placed in a cool, well-ventilated room. The stems and foliage are not cut off. The ground part should dry out naturally. During this time, all nutrients will pass into the rhizome. After the stems and foliage have dried, they are cut at a level of 7-15 cm from the root collar. The larger the bush, the higher the “stump” is left. The cut is cauterized with iodine tincture.

The dried soil mixture is carefully cleaned off. It’s important. It is not necessary to wash the tubers or completely clean them from the ground. It is enough to shake them off so that you can see the rhizome. It is carefully examined for rot and damage. If areas of decay or spots of unknown origin are found, they are cleaned. Take a disinfected sharp knife and cut out the affected area. The diseased tissue is cut off until healthy tissue is visible. Sprinkle the wound with plenty of crushed activated carbon or smeared with green paint.

If there are a lot of rotten roots or the cannes hurt during the summer, additional treatment is carried out. To do this, according to the instructions on the package, a solution of any Maxim or Vitaros fungicide is prepared. The affected nodules are washed and kept in a fungicidal solution for 30-45 minutes. After that, they must be completely dried, then they can be stored.

There is an opinion among flower growers that corms do not need to be cleaned of soil before storage. But in this case, the inspection of planting material is excluded. If it is affected by rot or other diseases, it will not be able to overwinter. In addition, the soil mixture from the flower garden can also be infected with pathogenic microflora, so it is better to remove it.

The tubers prepared for storage are placed in boxes or boxes in one layer. For better preservation, cover it with a mixture of peat and sawdust in a ratio of 1:1. Where and how to properly store cannes in winter at home

For a flower to winter safely, it needs a comfortable microclimate. Let’s look at the optimal conditions for storing cannes.

The temperature is from 0 to +7˚С. If it is lower, the tubers will freeze, and higher ones will start growing.

Humidity is in the range of 80-90%.

Good ventilation to get rid of excess moisture.

Protection from light. Without it, the flower will start growing too early.

Suitable conditions for wintering cannes can be provided in different ways. Let’s list the main options for where and how to store canna tubers in winter after digging.

1. In the trench

The essence of the method is to arrange an insulated pile in which plants can overwinter. They do it this way.

Dig a hole 90-100 cm deep.

Reinforce its walls and bottom with boards.

Take a single piece of thick film of a suitable size and line a hole with it so that no uncovered areas remain.

Place hay, straw or spruce branches on top of the film.

Put in the corms. Completely fill the voids between them with sawdust.

Cover with a thick layer of straw or hay. Place the lid on top. It should close the hole tightly.

Cover with sand or soil. The minimum height of the backfill layer is 30 cm.

In such storage, rhizomes are well preserved until spring. It’s important. The hole should be dug on a hill so that it is not flooded with melted snow.

2. In the cellar

Any cool room is suitable: basement, cellar, basement, etc. The method of storing cannes in the cellar in winter is very simple. Before laying, the room must be cleaned and dried. Wipe the shelves and shelves with a solution of any antiseptic. The corms are placed in boxes or boxes so that they do not touch. The voids can be filled with a mixture of sawdust and peat. It is best to put each rhizome in a separate container. Then even if one of them rots, it won’t infect the others. The boxes are placed on the upper shelves, where the temperature is slightly higher.

3. On the balcony

A loggia or a glazed balcony is suitable for storage, where the temperature is between 3 and 10˚С and does not fall below zero. The corms are placed in boxes, covered with sawdust and tightly covered from light. You can do it differently. The bulbs are placed in plastic bags with ventilation holes. The tubers must be sprinkled into them with dried sawdust. The bags are also covered to protect them from light. An important point. If the temperature outside drops, the corms should not be brought home. From a sharp change in conditions, they will begin to grow or rot. They need to be insulated: wrapped in jackets or blankets.

4. At room temperature

For such storage, the plant is dug out of the ground in September, then bad weather will not have time to damage its aboveground part. The flower is transplanted into a suitable pot and brought into the house. Small bushes are placed on the windowsill, large ones on the floor near the window. Caring for canna is simple – it is periodically watered, the soil clod is not allowed to dry out. Under such conditions, it will bloom until the end of December-January. After that, the plant will begin to prepare for the dormant phase. The leaves will wither, then fall off. At this time, the bush must be cut, covered from the light. The pot is moved away from the heaters to the coolest place. The rest period lasts 1.5-2.5 months. After that, the plant is transferred to heat, the protection from light is removed. It’s starting to grow.

5. In the fridge

You can store cannes in the vegetable compartment. However, not so many rhizomes will fit into it, so the flower is rarely stored this way. Preparation for refrigeration differs from standard. The stems are completely cut off together with the foliage. The corms are washed and cleaned from the soil mixture. Separate the babies and divide too large specimens into parts. After that, a pink potassium permanganate solution is prepared and the tubers are dipped into it. They keep it like this for a day, then dry it, wrap each corm in paper, put it in a refrigerator. It’s important. Once every three to four weeks, they need to be deployed and inspected. When signs of disease appear, the spots are cleaned and abundantly smeared with green paint.

What care does the flower need during storage

When storing cannes flowers, minimal care is needed. In the cellar or on the balcony, regular inspection is required in order to detect bulb damage in time. If the affected area is small, it is cut off, the corm is immersed in a solution of potassium permanganate for half an hour. Then they are dried, put in a new box, covered with sawdust and stored. If, during the examination, the rhizomes dry out, they are moistened with a spray bottle. Excess moisture is also not healthy. In a damp room, containers with lime or crushed chalk are placed near the container, which will absorb excess moisture.

Flowers that are kept on the balcony need watering. It is rarely carried out – no more than once every two weeks. Cannas, which are in a resting phase, are watered in the same way. They are also watered twice a month, but even more often if the soil mixture in the pot is dry. In both cases, Cannes will start to wake up in spring. They are brought warm, watered and fed. Any complex fertilizer for bloomers marked “spring” is suitable. It is better to accustom them to sunlight and warmth gradually, gradually increasing the temperature and light.

Source: https://dzen.ru/

For questions regarding ownership, please contact the author of the original text.