Canna 2012

Just potted up my C. tuerckheimii (syn. altensteinii) seedlings today. I had 8 out of 10 seeds germinate, and they are now about 3 inches high. Most germinated within about 4 days of sowing.

 

I meant to check mine in the shed,

I put it in there with four new stems, all nice and pink...

I must remember tomorrow.

Is it possible to split that?
Thanks!

 

No good with tropical seeds Armandii

I am going to buy the brilliant red one in spring.

 

I haven't sowed mine yet, they will need artificial light assistance sowed this early, and I haven't got enough spare lamp-room for more seedlings, so they will have to wait until natural light will be sufficient (mine are scheduled for mid March)

 

I read that when starting Canna from rhizomes , that each piece should have a minimum of three eyes. Now I suppose I will find out what a Canna eye looks like when I pot up my C. Tropical in about 3 weeks It would be nice to know what to look for - I can't see any photos on the web.

 

I wouldn't do it that way HarryS, but I'm not expert on Canna.

I would start-them-off (in a tray of damp compost with some warmth so they spring into life), and then once the eyes become buds and then elongate into "shoots" it will be obvious where the "strength" of the individual plants is, and then you can start hacking them into individual new plants.

However, there is benefit in having a clump too, so I would not split them up unless you want "Quantity" rather than "Quality", but if you have patience and can wait a year then this years "quantity" will be next year's "Quality" plus the benefit of Quantity next year too :thumb:

 

Today I got my stored C.altensteinnii out of the shed to check on them; I removed the old compost with some interpidation and got a pleasant surprise, 'all' the rhizomes were still solid when I felt them :yess:. So I washed them all down to remove the remaining old compost and confirm that they were ok; which they appeared to be, I cut back the remaining old growth from last year and popped them back in to the container I had them in ready to be potted up; and 'hopefully' brought back to life.

I found young small new shoots at the side of most of the old stems from last year.

The only problem now is what do I do with about 15 good sized rhizomes if they all come back into life :D

 

You pop them in the post addressed to: Kristen, Suffolk

 

If they all get growing then by all means you're welcome to one....

 

Good idea Kristen I think I will keep the rhizomes in a clump and not split them. They performed really well last year so I don't really want to split them.
I will be starting the rhizomes in the house for heat and light. And so I don't stretch the patience of Mrs H to much , with having plant pots in various room locations , would mid March be OK to start them and get them in the potting shed mid-April

 

Here you are Harry,

Canna / Royal Horticultural Society

 

Just one thought on not splitting an existing rhizome.

As with all plants with this growth habit, the centre tends to die out and the new growth forms around the outside.
So by splitting you are actually growing on the more vigorous outside shoots, the worn out centre part is best discarded.

I know this mainly applies to large clumps, so a plant raised from seed last year is unlikely to be showing this kind of habit, and may well be possible to just replant last years root.