If you’ve recently moved into a new home or simply want to revamp the look of your garden, it is very important that you have the right plants. Imagine what life would be like if we had no plants! Plants bring color and life into your home or office space. They also help purify the air and reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Planting cannas in your garden is a great way to bring color and life into your home or office space. They add excitement and energy to wherever they’re planted. What’s more, you can also use these plants as a focal point in your garden design.
About Cannas
Cannas are evergreen, heat-loving plants. The leaves are shiny, oval-shaped and vary from deep green to yellow-green. The flowers are funnel-shaped and appear in clusters of 10 – 20 at the ends of the branches. They bloom from late spring through fall. Cannas grow up to 1 to 2 feet tall and 3 – 4 feet wide.
Cannas are lush, tropical plants that are easy to grow. They require a lot of sunlight and warm temperatures to thrive. So, if you want to get the best results with your cannas, try planting them in zones 9-10. Cannas are drought-tolerant, moderately cold hardy and have a wide temperature tolerance, making them suitable for areas with hot summers and cold winters. They will tolerate full sun or partial shade.
However, this doesn’t mean that this plant can’t be grown in cooler regions. In cooler zones (5 and below), they can be grown as annuals, or you can dig the roots in the fall and store them indoors for replanting the following spring.
When to Plant in zone 5: Cannas are sensitive to cold weather, so they are best planted in the spring after frost has passed and it’s best to wait for the soil to warm up to at least 65°F. Besides, you can get your cannas off early by planting the rhizomes in containers indoors for about a month before transferring them into the garden.
Protecting Cannas in winter: There are a few ways to protect your cannas from freezing temperatures. If you want to protect your cannas from frost, you should plant them in large pots or in a greenhouse. You can also cover them with mulch or plastic during the winter months.
Also, cannas can be grown in containers and brought indoors for winter. You can also bring your cannas inside before the first frost in fall.
- Plant Type: Flower
- Botanical Name: Canna x generalis
- Flower Color: Orange, Pink, Red, White, Yellow
- Sun Exposure: full sun or partial shade
- Bloom Time: Summer or Fall
How to Plant Cannas
- Start by digging a hole 2 to 3″ deep.
- Space rhizomes 1-4 feet apart.
- Place the rhizome in the hole and cover it with soil. Make sure that the soil is wet and water well after planting. It’ll take 2 -4 weeks for the first shoots to appear.
- Plant cannas in well-drained soil and sunny locations. Cannas do well in full sun or partial shade in warm areas and grow best in full sun in cooler regions.
- Grass and weed competition is a real concern for cannas, so control it by mulching around the plants with straw or shredded bark to keep the soil moist and weed-free.
How to Care for Cannas
Cannas are very easy to care for. This plant needs a consistent water supply, especially in spring and summer when they are actively growing. However, avoid overwatering as this can cause root rot. In addition, avoid using too much fertilizer on your cannas. You can fertilize them only during the plant’s active growth (in spring and summer).
Avoid planting cannas in the same spot year after year. They will become overgrown and will start to decline in health. Besides, cannas flowers are small and inconspicuous, so it’s good to plant at least 2 plants for each flower color in a pot.
When pruning your cannas, always cut back the top of the plant and encourage new growth by cutting back the new growth just below where it emerges from the soil. This method will encourage more bushy growth, which leads to bigger flowers and better yields.
Cannas flower clusters can be harvested throughout summer when they are in full bloom or after they have finished blooming.
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