Overwintering canna in pots

[Houseplanter]

I'm confused about how to try and get this through the winter.
Do I need all the foliage to die off and then wrap it up? If I don't will the leaves rot and damage the underneath?

My only place to put it is an unheated greenhouse so I was going to wrap it in bubble wrap and hope for the best.

Any other suggestions would be welcome

I have no idea but following for an answer. Last year I took all the soil off and wrapped it and put it in an unheated shed but it was very late getting going this year and never flowered.

I'm in London. Once the foliage has started to die down I cut it off at soil level and pile it all on top of the plant which is in a very large pot. Then I cover it with a steel incinerator lid which allows a bit of moisture in but not much. I hope that the decomposing plant material might warm things up very slightly. And so far my canna's survived outdoors on the patio for the past three winters. It can't hurt to wrap the pot in bubble wrap or similar if it's a bit smaller.

Thank you @zebette. I'm further north so might be a bit more cautious and wrap it up. Cutting off the foliage sounds better than just holding it over, as the internet suggests.

Last year my daughter bought me a fabulous dark red/purple Canna. In the winter I cut it down completely to soil level and put the plant pot into a mini plastic greenhouse (bought on Amazon for about £20). I also covered it with fleece and left it like that till spring. It grew again super strongly with lots of new shoots and leaves! I’ve just cut it into 3 pieces and repotted them and put them all back into the same mini green house and covered them up. Hopefully they will all grow again next year and I’ll have even more plants than before.

@NutellaNut that gives me hope for mine in my unheated greenhouse. I've been saving bubble wrap and will wrap it up and put it to bed for the winter this weekend.

Had a peep at this in the greenhouse earlier today.. still wrapped up and no sign of regrowth yet..

Normal or still too early?

Way too early! I won’t be taking mine out until April at least and only when the risk of frost is over. Even then, you won’t really see much until the warm weather kicks in! Once summer begins properly they should start to grow really fast. (Touchwood!)

@NutellaNut thank you!

Theres lots in the garden showing signs of life and I just wondered if they should be too. I've put them back to bed for now and will check again in a few weeks.

@Houseplanter

Update! The first shoots have started coming up in one of my canna pots! (I divided the plant into 3 parts before wrapping them up for winter.) No sign of shoots in the other two pots yet. I took the fleece off and watered them, but the I’m keeping them all in the mini greenhouse for now.

Oo @NutellaNut I'll be out there tomorrow now having another look 😀

@NutellaNut nothing ☹️. Just the black stumps where I cut off last years.

Do you think they're dead? 😢

Don’t panic! They most probably aren’t dead, they just need a bit longer. The new shoots don’t emerge directly from the old stump, but from nearby. This is what mine looks like right now. Blackened stump with a shoot coming up next to it and a bigger shoot a few inches away. (Nothing at all from the other two pots yet.)

Give it time! It’s still only March, I wouldn’t have expected anything till April at least. Even then it takes some really decent weather until they properly take off.

Keep the faith!@Houseplanter

Hi @NutellaNut ... still nothing but I won't give up yet

Do you think I should water them? They've been in the greenhouse all winter so may be quite dry.

Mine were left in the flower bed, just started sprouting

I'm in the North east. Being a wonderful gardener I just shoved them in my very poor new build excuse for soil. They've grown about a foot tall and flower every year. I cut all the leaves off in Autumn( when I can be arsed) I get more flowers every year.

@Houseplanter Yes, I’ve now watered mine. We may be growing different varieties which sprout at different rates in any case. Definitely don’t give up!

Still nothing 🙁

I think I might tip it out if it's pot tomorrow and see if there's any signs of life.

It's not looking good is it 😔

I would consider transplanting it to the garden. Disclaimer - I’m much further south (London and hot spot) but I chopped my cannas to the ground and left them in borders with a mulch cover. They are all growing back now with multiple shoots, albeit quite small still.

I think some sunshine might help it revive. But I’m no expert 🤷🏼‍♀️

A couple of pale green shoots poking through here in S. Wales.

I’ve got one shoot showing, overwintered in greenhouse. I might put it in border this year….

I've knocked it out of its pot and split it open and there's no signs of life 🙁

RIP beautiful canna

🙁

@Houseplanter Only just seen this. Have you still got it or did you throw it away? I hope not!

Two of my pots showed no signs of life until the recent warm spell this week, then I noticed a couple of tiny shoots. Within 2 days one of the shoots was over 6 inches long! Sometimes they just need a bit of warmth to get them going. I was beginning to think they hadn’t survived the winter as the other pot was already growing steadily. Nope, they are alive and well and suddenly very vigorous!

@NutellaNut I did bin it.. when I knocked it out of its pot I split it open and all there was bits of blackened soggy tuber.

I've since bought 2 more though and will try again.