canna lily

Gorgeous flowering stalks in shades of red, orange, yellow and pink over tropical, bold textured foliage that can be shiny green, striped, or dark bronze. There are dwarf (36″) up to tall varieties at 6′! They make great focal points or “thrillers” in sunny garden borders or containers. After a couple fall frosts lift the tubers, let dry in the garage, store in dry peat moss, perlite or shredded newspaper in a box in a cool basement for the winter.

Grow in sun to part shade areas, well-drained to moist soil. Feed with a slow release fertilizer, Osmocote® or Plant-tone®. Follow label instructions. Repeat bloomers, deadhead as needed. Remove seed pods to keep a tidy appearance. After leaves yellow in the fall, dig and dry, store tubers in a frost free, dark place such as a basement with dry peat moss. Pot up tubers indoors approximately 4 weeks before the last spring frost. Mulch 2″ to suppress weeds, retain moisture and protect against extremes of soil temperature.