Features of growing cannes, storage and care rules

It is difficult to find words to describe the emotions and feelings that you experience when you see these amazingly beautiful flowers. Proper cultivation of canna: planting, timely care for it - will allow everyone to enjoy its amazing view and continuous flowering.

A few words about the plant

Canna is a monoculture, that is, the only representative of the Cannaceae family. Under natural conditions, it grows in South and Central America, China, Indonesia, India.

The flower has thin erect stems that grow in height in some varieties up to 3 m.The leaves are lanceolate or oblong, rather large, can grow up to 80 cm long and up to 25 cm wide.

Canna reveals its splendor during flowering. The main color of its buds is red, although breeders have managed to breed varieties with yellow, white, orange, pink and even two-color petals - speckled or edged. The flowers grow up to 8 cm, they are bisexual, asymmetrically located on the flower arrow and are collected in an inflorescence - a panicle or a brush.

The flower has only two drawbacks: it does not tolerate our winter in the open field and has no smell. Among its advantages, gardeners distinguish the following:

• very rarely gets sick;
• growing rapidly;
• easy growing;
• easy care;
• decorates the site with its flowering until late autumn.

If the buds have been pollinated by insects, brown large seeds have time to ripen. They can be used for breeding.

Cannes growing methods

The cultivation of the flower comes from seeds or rhizomes divided in the fall. Sprouting tubers at home or growing a plant from seeds is a must for our climate.

How to grow a canna from seeds

The best time to sow seeds is the end of January or the beginning of February.

Important!

Growing canna in this way is more suitable for breeding work, since seedlings obtained from seeds in most cases do not retain varietal and species characteristics.

In order for the seeds to germinate well, their strong shell must be destroyed. To do this, you can use one of the following methods:

• pour over boiling water;
• hold for 3-4 hours in a thermos with warm water;
• put in snow for 2-3 hours or in the freezer for 1 hour;
• destroy by mechanical action.

Advice

If you ignore this procedure, seed germination will deteriorate, and the emergence of seedlings will be delayed.

Then the seeds are soaked for 24 hours in a growth promoter and only then are planted in a container with soil, the temperature of which before sowing should be at least 22 ºC. They are sealed to a depth of 7-10 mm, watered, covered with a film (glass). The first shoots will appear in about a month. When 3-4 leaves grow on them, they are dived (planted) in separate pots, in which the flowers are located before planting in open ground.

Advice

After picking, young seedlings are placed in a room where the temperature does not exceed 16-18 ºC.

How to grow from rhizome

Growing a flower from a rhizome is considered the easiest and most reliable way. At the end of March or the beginning of April, the stored rhizomes are cleared of the ground, their dried parts are removed. The division is by the number of tuberous buds. If there are 2 kidneys nearby, they should be left together.

The resulting sections should be treated with a manganese solution diluted in a ratio of 0.2 g of manganese powder per 1 liter of water. For the same purpose, you can take wood ash.Treatment is carried out in order to prevent infection of tubers with fungal infections.

Divided rhizomes are planted shallowly in a prepared soil mixture consisting of sand, peat and black soil, taken in equal parts. The first leaves appear quickly - in 2–3 weeks. After their germination, the flower is removed to a cool, but sufficiently illuminated place with a temperature of 16-18 ºC. Such conditions are necessary so that the young plant does not stretch. Caring for him consists in timely watering and maintaining the desired temperature.

Landing in open ground

If in the spring it is planned to plant cannes in open ground, then in mid-April it should be taken out and prepared for new conditions for it. To do this, every day in sunny weather it is necessary to take it out into the fresh air.

Planting is carried out after the end of the frost. The flower prefers a sunny area, protected from drafts, with light fertile soil. Before planting, drainage is laid in the hole, consisting of the following components:

• manure or hay (20 cm layer);
• soil (layer 25-30 cm);
• fertilizers.

Such a "pillow" will warm the roots, stimulate intensive growth and flowering of the canna. You can plant it after intensive watering of the hole. Planting depth - 20-25 cm. The distance between the planted bushes is about half a meter. It usually takes up to 2 months from planting to flowering.

How to care

Further care consists in watering, loosening the soil, controlling weeds and feeding.

Leaving involves feeding three times a season. Once every 10 days, when watering, grains of manganese are placed under each flower (or diluted in water in an amount of 2 g per 10 liters of water). It is required to stimulate flowering.

The best types of fertilizers are mineral (containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) and organic.

Their introduction is carried out by the root method: after watering, fertilizer granules are scattered around the bushes, and the soil is loosened. Before flowering, with an interval of 2 weeks, you can feed chicken droppings diluted in water 1:10.

Water the plant regularly, but in moderation. Abundant watering is necessary for a flower only before it blooms.

Important!

When watering canna, do not overdo it. An excess of moisture will provoke the development of bacterial and fungal diseases.

Care includes preserving the decorative appearance of the canna. To do this, she regularly needs to cut off faded flowers.

Growing cannes at home

Growing canna is also possible at home - it is bred as a pot (tub) plant. In order for it to feel good and grow in winter, it is important to know some of the features of its cultivation at home.

In order for a flower to grow at home, it is enough to dig it out of the ground and place it in a pot for indoor plants with a diameter of at least 50 cm, having previously watered the garden soil with an insecticide. This procedure is necessary to avoid insects from moving into the premises.

Caring for a plant at home is even easier than in a flower garden. No need to spray it, remove weeds and loosen the soil. It is enough to put in a lighted room, water and feed with fertilizers. The room canna is in a dormant period for only 2 months, and the rest of the time it pleases with its beauty.

Proper and timely home care will preserve the beauty of the canna even after flowering is complete.

Plant after flowering

Indoor canna after flowering needs some rest. It is necessary to reduce watering daily, and then completely stop it. Then the leaves are cut off and the pot with the plant is placed in a cool place where the temperature is at least 10 ºC. In spring, the roots are taken out of the soil, divided and planted in pots or open ground.

If the canna grew in the garden, then after flowering it also does not need abundant watering. It gradually shrinks and then stops. As soon as the first frosts begin, the stems are cut off, and the rhizomes are dug up along with the ground.

Important!

Nutrients are localized in the rhizome only after a cold snap. If you dig up the flowers before frost, the roots will not receive the supply of substances necessary for wintering.

Before storing cannes, the rhizomes should be dried in the shade for 2-3 days. It is better to spread them out under a shed or in a shed.

How to store

There are two ways to save the plant until spring:

• in boxes or boxes;
• in flower pots.

If the first option was chosen, then before digging up the soil must be prepared: mix peat, sand and sawdust in equal amounts. After removing the rhizomes from the ground and drying, they are placed in containers, sprinkled with soil and, if necessary, slightly moistened. The best storage temperature is + 8-10 ºC.

Advice

The entire storage period of the tubers must be viewed. Rotten parts are cut off, sprinkled with charcoal, cinnamon or ash.

With the second storage option, you can simultaneously save flowers until spring and enjoy their appearance in winter at home. The main thing is to have time to dig them up before the onset of frost. Care during this period is slightly different. Cannes should be placed in a lighted place, fed and watered.

If several varieties of canna are put into storage at the same time, it is recommended to attach a tag with its name to each rhizome. This technique will help in the spring when planting to create a unique composition, taking into account the characteristics of each variety.

To grow a flower, it is important for him to create conditions close to his relatives. In summer, it is warm and abundant in moisture, in winter, moderate watering and coolness. The florist's reward for anxious and proper care and patience will be a healthy and strong type of plant, abundant flowering.