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In April I purchased six canna bulbs from basically just some random guy selling them at a huge flea market. Unfortunately, I completely forgot about them, and they are still sitting on my kitchen table instead of growing in my garden. Oops!!!!
Is there anything I should do to preserve them for next year, or should I just throw them into the ground now? I feel like it's too late here to plant them (I'm in Zone 6a) plus I was going to make a garden near the front of my driveway but I forgot about that, too. (What can I say? I make so many gardening plans during the winter that some of them fly out the window, plus I'm getting old.)
I know the likelihood is that they may not grow at all, anyway, since I have no idea about Random Guy's reputation for growing them (they were cheap and it was an impulse buy) but I would like to give them a shot. I may even decide to give them to my boyfriend's grandmother, who grows them. Any ideas? Thanks!
They will survive much better in the ground under any circumstances, than they will stored some place.
Cannas are tough customers. Just plant them.
What if I plant them in a container at the end of my driveway? Am I running too much risk of them not coming back next year? (I would leave the container there and cover the base during the winter.)
It takes an awful lot of effort to kill a canna. i can't even give mine away as they reproduce so heavily every year so sometimes I have to toss them. Plant them now and you can move them almost any time of year. they are not like "plants" as the bulbs contain lots of food for the coming plant. The same is true for all bulbs and tubers.
I agree -- plant them ASAP. Then you can dig them up and store over winter, or you can leave them in the ground (like I do) with heavy mulch and hope they come back. Mine usually do, and I also am in Z6a. They're slow to come back, so be patient.
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