Saturday, November 12, 2011

Canna indica diary

Canna indica is a annual/perennial plant that has rhizomes and can grow up to 2,5  meters (8,2 ft). It likes rich, soft soil and moderate amounts of water. Drought will slow the development of the plant and it will not reach it`s full potential. The flowers are hermaphrodite so there will always be seeds. 

There are many varieties of canna flower colors in the world. Unfortunately, I only have the red one :( but if luck serves me well there will be some more varieties in my garden.



Canna plant can be planted by simply dividing the rhizome into smaller parts. While doing that it is important that every part has healthy "spike" from which new plant will emerge. Since I plant my canna rhizomes every spring (they overwinter in the basement) I inspect the rhizome for rotten parts. I do not remove rotten parts because I do not want to expose healthy tissue of the plant to the soil in which it will be planted. Cutting rhizomes is only done if there is need for more plants. Canna can be grown from seed also but that part I will explain later. Regarding the light, the plant can be grown in full sunlight or in partial shade. Either way if the soil is good and if you water it plant will grow like crazy.

Rhizome with stem
Healthy bud
Rhizome
New leaves
Emerging flower
Flower

Seed pods
Growing canna from seed is not so complicated thing to do. Seeds itself are very hard and I have read somewhere that they were used as ammunition for guns in India (that information needs to be checked out). They are also used to make necklaces. Seed is big as a pea, black and has a hard coating. When using seeds you must (although you don`t have to but this speeds up the germination) scar the seed. The easiest way to do that is to use nail clipper and simply chop of small piece of a black coating (be careful not to damage the white food reserves too much). After making the hole soak the seeds in a water for day or two and then plant them in the soil. After 3-7 days seed will germinate.


Seeds cut in half
Seed with scaring
Germinated seed

Overwintering
Canna is cold-sensitive and cannot survive harsh winters. Where I live temperatures go down to -15°C (5°F) for a short period of time but never the less, plant cannot survive. So, in november, when weather gets colder and frost destroys the leaves rhizomes should be dug out. Roots attached to the rhizomes do not go deep into the soil so it it very easy to dig up the plant. Rhizomes should be stored in place where they will not freeze. There are several ways rhizomes can be stored; they can be placed in a box and covered with dirt then placed into the basement - this way is a bit risky because of rotting (the dirt can keep too much water and encourage rotting). Other way you can overwinter canna is to clean the rhizomes of dirt, let them dry a little and then put them in box, bucket or something like that and then again store somewhere where it will not freeze. It is important not to put the rhizomes into a plastic bag and then tie it up...plastic bag is OK, but there must be air circulation - same thing is with bucket or box.

First frost
Half month later taking them out
Rhizomes in the box

In November 11th I removed the canna indica from the soil since weather people said that very cold weather is coming. Most of the soil was removed from the root but I didn`t want to divide the rhizomes in order to save space in the basement because I was afraid that they might rot more easily. Basement temperature is between 4 and 8°C (39-46°F) during the winter so the rhizomes should be fine - the most important is that they don`t freeze. One plant was so nice and I couldn`t resist not to plant it in the pot and take it to my room.

When the spring comes I will continue this diary and update the development of the plants.

Canna during the summer
One in my room

Dividing cana rhizome

By dividing canna rhizome you can have more plants. The important thing is that you have at least one alive bud on each rhizome part (they simply look healthy). Plant grown this way will be bigger and stronger than one grown from the seed because seed needs more time to develop. 

Basically you cut the rhizome into parts and leave for a day or two in the open so that cut can heal. If it doesn`t heal (dries out a little) there is possibility that it will rot when you plant it in the ground.

Red line shows where I will make a cut - between two buds. Each of them will develop their own roots and create new plant.

This is divided rhizome. 







Now, leave rhizomes to heal 1-2 days. They might cover the cut with sticky liquid, that is normal.



28.03.2012.
Week or two ago I planted canna seeds that traveled half a world to get to me. I was lucky because they geminated in 36 to 48 hours and the germination rate was 100%. Since there was 10 seeds of different canna varaities I was hoping that all of them will germinate..and they did :)...


Soon I will take my old canna rhizomes out of the basement and find a place for them to grow. Weather people say temperatures next week might go down to -1°C (30°F) and that wouldn`t be so good rhizomes. They wouldn`t die but temperature shock could slow down their future growth.  

13.04.2012.
I have repotted canna into a slightly bigger containers few days ago. It is still too cold to plant them outside so I gave them a little more space to develop bigger root.


Except these 10 canna plants I planted more from seed. When they grew a little I transplanted them into the filed and added hay between them in order to retain water and prevent grass from growing. Also, between each canna I planted sugar cane in order to use the space and to provide canna protection from hot summer sun (although they don`t need protection as long as they have enough water).
29.04.2012. Canna seedlings behind banana

14.06.2012. 1.5 months after planting in the field

22.07.2012.

11.09.2012.

17.11.2012. Digging rhizomes out

17.11.2012.

9.12.2012. Drying rhizomes (remove roots before storing them)

9.12.2012. Storing rhizomes.

10.04.2013.

Canna grew very nicely during the year. We did had drought in 2012. but that did`t bother canna much. Unfortunate I lost all my canna due to rotting. In the autumn I dug all rhizomes out of the ground, dried them, packed in the boxes and place in the basement. I should have know better than putting them on the floor of the basement. Well, water came and eventually they died. They were in the shallow water maybe 2 days before I saw what has happened but it was too late. I dried them again and packed and stored them this time on the safer place but they rotted and died. :(

So, this year I`m starting from seed. There are two yellow cannas that were growing in the greenhouse during the winter so they will grow into nice big plants. Red canna seed germinated quickly and has been planted in styrofoam box. There is somewhere around 60 of them so now I am waiting for warmer weather to plant them outside. I also have one big red canna rhizome that my neighbor gave to me (the one I was dividing on photos above) and I`m very grateful to her for that! 

27.03.2013.

05.04.2013.

08.04.2013.

17.04.2013.

09.05.2013.


16 comments:

  1. Your blog is very exciting. I am in Canada (Zone 3) and I want to grow Canna's as well. It's good to know that it can be done in cooler climates. Great pictures!

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  2. I am glad you like the blog. Hopefully soon I will have more time to update this post also. If you grow cana from seed it will flower in 3-4 months (it grows fast) and if it is grown from rhizome it will flower much sooner. When winter comes simply dig up rhizomes, remove soil from them, allow them to dray and store somewhere where they won`t freze. I had one big rhizome that was outside on -6°C (21°F) and it is still alive. :)

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  3. hi wondering should i or can i cut the rhizomes in half to get more plants or will this kill it .thanks

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  4. You can cut it without worry of killing the plant. Just make sure you have at least one healthy bud on each half of the rhizome before you cut it. After you cut it wait for 1 day before you plant them - cuts need to dry out a little (or it will cover itself with sticky liquid).

    I had an accident this winter; my basement flooded and by the time I saw it all rhizomes died :(.
    You gave me great idea, tomorrow I will take rhizome from my neighbor, divide it and post pictures here. :) Thanks!

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  5. I'm in Ecuador now where artisans use the seeds in their crafts and in some regions they also use the plant as a source of starch to bake a kind of bread with.

    I love the flowers and will definitely try to grow them from seed. Thanks for the directions on how to do so!

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  6. Hi Epi!
    I`m glad you find instruction useful! :)
    Canna is very pretty plant but I didn`t know you can eat it...that is very interesting. Well, we learn something new every day :).
    I wish you a lot of success in growing canna!

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  7. Your pictures and information are fantastic.

    I have been searching for a good pictorial guide of canna, the seeds, the pods, the rhizomes, and the sprouted seeds.

    I have casually grown canna lilys for years, and never knew quite what to do with the rhizomes and the seeds...thank you so much for making this page. I also live in colder climate (Zone 5-6) so I am definately going to dig up my rhizomes and collect my seeds this year thanks to your blog and your great advice! Thanks again.

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  8. Thank you very much for your comment. I`m always glad so hear that my work helped someone.

    You only need 3-4 months for canna to go from seed to flowering so even if you rhizomes don`t survive new plants can be easily grown from seed. I had flood in basement and all my rhizomes got destroyed so this year I started canna from seed. Today is rainy day so I have time to upload more photos (finally).

    Wish you best luck in growing canna and happy gardening! :)

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  9. I live in the south where we don't have to dig them up for the winter. I am already getting lots of seed and was wondering if I should save the seed until early spring or go ahead and start them now, in July.

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  10. Hi Jennifer!
    Since it is July, young plants (from seed) will have enough time to develop until winter. From seed they usually need 4 months to produce flowers and if you have warm weather in November they might even produce flowers this year. If you scar the seed it should germinate within 5 days or less because temp are high in this time of the year. After that just water them and they will grow like crazy. I wish we do`t have to dig them up during the winter :(.

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  11. Hello Jennifer!
    This Shatrughan from INDIA I want to grow Canna indica plant by seed can i sow canna seed in month of November? In november the temperature range may be in between 29 to 22 degree celsius. Please suggest me for same.
    Thanks....

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  12. Thank you for informative blog. I was given Seeds by my sister from India when I visited her. In India they call this plant as Kekti. I tried to germinate them last year but failed. It took me clever google search to find English name of this plant. Once I found it I started looking at ways to grow it; at that point I come across your blog. It contains exact information I need to grow this year. Hopefully your tips will help me.

    I will have probably more questions once I start this project!

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  13. Thank you for this post. I had been curious about these flowers for years until I finally got one last spring and it produced seeds. I tried to germinate a few using the technique that worked for me so good with ceibas (both seeds are similar): keeping them half submerged in water for a couple of weeks, but it is definitely not working.

    I am trying to scar the seeds a little, but it is not easy. The nail clipper does nothing, I am trying pliers and a file, but I barely scratched the surface. Tomorrow I will try a saw.

    Hope it works.

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  14. I'm glad to report that I was able to scar the seeds and they have germinated now!

    I am so happy I will share my story, trying to make it short. For a long time I had been curious about these plants and finally was able to get some seeds like 6 months ago. I did not try to germinate right away because I was germinating ceiba trees (very successfully I must say, now I have several of them).

    I think it was around four months ago that I tried to germinate the canna indica seeds in the same way that ceiba and Leucaena leucocephala, however that did not work and one of the seeds grew mold or a fungus and had to be disposed.

    As I said previously, I tried the nail cliper and scissors and pliers to no avail. But then I found some sandpaper and tried that. I took each side with pliers and slid them back and forth on the sand paper until the black external layer wore off and I could see the white inside. Then I left the seeds soak in water overnight and simply put them on wet cotton, making sure the now exposed whit innards were in contact with water.

    After a couple of days the seeds had grown noticeably and roots started to emerge. Now the plantlets are growing quickly without issue, though apparently not as quickly as yours.

    Hope this helps or at least entertains other plant enthusiasts. Thank you for your blog.

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  15. I lost the entire post i just did so hoping this gets posted. My canna indica is approx 6 mos & grown from seed - stands about 3-4' in its 10" pot on my balcony. How long do you suggest before I will have a rhizome rather than roots as I saw when transplanted a few months ago into this pot? I don't want to lose this beauty as I'm wanting to create a privacy wall on my balcony. I'll truly appreciate your imparted wisdom & knowledge. Thank you so much & I love your blog. Oh, I live in CA zone 8/9, forgot to open wth that. You're helping so many with your diary. Again, thank you & I can hardly wait to get your reply. Have a wonderful weekend.

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  16. Gosh your Canna seedlings came out like Maize plants. Did they flower?

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