Canna lily question

Hello,

I'm a novice gardener. I was given two canna plants a few weeks ago, which I replanted. One of the plants has grown well but now there's 2 new shoots (one has two leaves already and the other is just a little shoot only an inch out of the ground) and I'm unsure of what to do with them?

Additionally, I would appreciate any advice on these plants in general, as I'm new to all this! Thank you.

Here's a picture of the plant (click to enlarge):

 

Hi Holly,

I'm no expert on the Canna lily, but here are a couple of links that might help.

http://www.gardenguides.com/75041-care-canna-lilies.html

http://www.usgoods.us/Cannas


Pete

 

First thing that strikes me is that its very small for the time of year and is unlikely to flower this year.

It looks a bit like a Canna known as "Pretoria" which has that striped leaves.

You will need to get it as big as possible before the winter comes then you can dry the pot out and leave it in a frost free place till next spring.

A sad fact is that many cannas are now infected with canna virus which is very contagious and stunts plants.
I'd keep an eye on those brown streaks that are forming on the lighter streaks in the leaf.
I hope its not virus, its just a thought.

 

Thank you for the replies.

It's a Tropicana variety I believe. I'm hoping those brown streaks are down to the fact that when I recieved the plants they were in a very sorry state, most of the leaves were battered and broken and I had to cut a lot of them off.

I was planning on bringing the plant inside for the winter to have as a house plant, will that be ok?

 

Its not really suitable as a house plant, but you can try.:gnthb:
It should pull through but might not look that good in low light conditions until next spring.

 

And my original question - what should I do with the new shoots? Just leave them?

Thanks so much.

 

You leave them on, unless of course you want more plants, but its getting a bit late in the season to be dividing now.
Division is normally done in May or early June.

 

Hi Holly

I saw your post, and as I have just been reading a book on Cannas, you have prompted me to write down some of the key points - before I forget. :D

As it seems to be quite a popular garden plant I put it under the general discussion.

 

That's normal, they produce shoots from the bottom to (eventually) form a clump.

As it grows pot-on to a larger pot and plant out after last frost. Bring in before the winter (just the tuberous roots) and store in some compost in a frost-free place. Start them off again next spring. Bit like Dahlias in that regard.

If you get any virus destroy the plant promptly. Virus shows up by coloured striations between the veins in the leaf (plenty of example photos on the web), and is easily spread by aphis etc. You might want to keep seed when you plants flower this year (might not come true from seed, but its a safeguard against virus if they do)

 

[size=large]Hi holly88, those shoots mean that you can divide the plant from the root and you will have a new plant. [/size]

[size=large]Canna lily has got beautiful leaves which will benefit from regular watering. [/size]

[size=large]They say that it can withstand the cold and so on but I don't think so. It is a plant which performs much better in warmer climate.[/size]