Forum home› Plants
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Overwintering Canna in pot

KeenOnGreenKeenOnGreen Posts: 1,831
in Plants
My Canna is in a pot, and I have cut back the foliage, and put the pot in our unheated greenhouse.  Will it be OK for me to leave it like that over Winter?  Should I water at all?  

It can get quite warm in our greenhouse on sunny Winter days, so for our Dahlia's in pots in the greenhouse, I water sparingly about once a month, so the soil in the pots doesn't completely dry out.  Should I also do that with the Canna?

Posts

  • ColinAColinA Posts: 392
    I also keep a Canna in a pot in an unheated greenhouse and as you suggest water sparingly in winter if the temperature really drops I wrap the pot with bubble wrap
  • KeenOnGreenKeenOnGreen Posts: 1,831
    Thanks ColinA  I have some bubble wrap kicking around, so I'll try that
  • strelitzia32strelitzia32 Posts: 758
    Yes, it'll be fine. My cannas go in an unheated greenhouse every year, no bubble wrap or additional protection. They stay in their pots and I used to cut back around now, however in another discussion Dovefromabove suggested cutting back in spring, so I might try that instead this year. The pots are large; I don't water over winter at all - there's plenty of moisture to see them through, but they shouldn't be allowed to dry out.

    I'll divide them in spring where needed, and otherwise just top dress or feed with BFB etc. Remember to be a little careful in spring, you'll start to see new shoots long before it's safe to put them outside.
  • KeenOnGreenKeenOnGreen Posts: 1,831
    Thanks @strelitzia32  I have just cut them back, but next year I'll think about leaving the foliage over Winter.  I have plenty of other tender plants in pots in the greenhouse over Winter, and am used to leaving them there until the frosts are over.

    I usually water everything in the greenhouse over Winter (Dahlia's, Zantedeschia, Aeoniums, etc).  It regularly gets warm in there on sunny Winter days, and plants would dessicate if I didn't water them at all.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    When I grew them I never cut them back until spring.
    They have to be in a conservatory, porch, kitchen, or similar here. I just used to shove them in the corner and forget about them . 
    The only time I tried to overwinter one outside [ in a good cold frame against the house wall ] it didn't make it  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • phoebepipphoebepip Posts: 1
    Thanks for the above advice, allbeit from 2020, I usually overwinter in the potting shed and cut back in the spring as am concerned that cutting back straight away may allow damp or bacteria to form
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Mine are still flowering outside against a south facing wall.  I appreciate it's probably warmer here but not that much.    The big one is a Wyoming and hardy to -5C so I'm hoping it can stay out a few more weeks and then I'll take it and the newer, smaller varieties down to the polytunnel for winter.

    Next spring, Wyoming will go in the ground and then be mulched for winter to protect the crown.   The others probably need another year before I risk that.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • WelshwindyhillsWelshwindyhills Posts: 58
    I keep all my cannas and banana plants in an unheated shed and don’t wrap any of them up.  I never actually thought of doing that.  We’re in the cold Welsh hills and they’ve survived each year without any trouble. 
Sign In or Register to comment.