Canna's

[amanda143]

I have hundreds of canna's along my fence line. We will be moving into a new house in a few weeks and I would like to know how to dig some of them up and replant them. Do I refrigerate them? I'm in North Texas btw. Thanks in advance!

[Chris]

They're actually hardy there huh? Must be nice. To grow them here you HAVE to dig them up each year.

Dig them up. The bulbs are white, separate the bulbs making sure there is 1 eye per bulb, put them in a cool dark, dry, place. They'll last a few weeks easy. What'll get them is heat or humidity.

[amanda143]

They're actually hardy there huh? Must be nice. To grow them here you HAVE to dig them up each year.

Dig them up. The bulbs are white, separate the bulbs making sure there is 1 eye per bulb, put them in a cool dark, dry, place. They'll last a few weeks easy. What'll get them is heat or humidity.

Thanks for the advice. Yes, they are prolific here, at least whatever variety I have. They are nearly 12ft tall! ha They are orange/red color and have green leaves/stalks. I'll see if I can snap a pic in the morning. After I dig up the bulbs, would you suggest replanting them in the new location within a few weeks? Not sure if now is the right time or not, it is so hot/humid this time of year.

[Chris]

Plant them whenever, it doesn't matter.

The heat & humidity is what gets the bulbs, not the plants. If you left the bulbs out of the ground in a hot and humid location they'd rot.

Hmm... now... one issue is this.. Bulbs typically work like this.

1. Energy from last season is used to create this year's growth/flower, bulb shrinks.
2. Energy pulled from the sun/roots by this year's growth grows new bulbs off the sides of the old one, bulbs grow.
3. Plant dies down in fall, in spring, new bulbs grow, now you have two (or three) where there was 1.

The problem is, you might be picking them here halfway between 1 and 2 which means the bulbs may be very immature. If you could dig and plant them on the same day I'd recommend just cutting back the foliage to like 18 inches high, and digging the root ball up, dirt and all, and move it to the new location.

Otherwise, just be warned, the bulbs you pull out may be small.

But basically, keep them dry and cool and DARK while out of the ground. When replanting, make sure to water well.