Tropicanna Canna Plant issues - Knowledgebase Question - Garden.org

scottsdale, az

Question by sschlenker
October 24, 2006

Hello, I'm hoping you can give me advise how to 'trim' down my Trpoicanna plants. I planted 3 of them last March and they grew ALOT - they are around 4 feet tall already and spreading out. My problem is that they were in direct AZ sun all summer and now some of the front leaves are burnt & brown. Can I just cut the entire stem down to the soil and will they grow back? Need some ideas as to how to cut them back and get rid of all the dead leaves/old flowering pods, because they are continuing to grow - especially now that the weather has cooled down. Thank you much! Sonja

Answer from NGA
October 24, 2006

0	Cut the spent flowering stalks down to the ground. Selectively trim out the brown leaves. As a general guideline, you don't want to cut back all the foliage in fall because the plant won't have anything to photosynthesize with to store energy for next year's growth and bloom. Cannas are warm-season growers and as temperatures cool further, their growth will slow down for winter. Depending on how cold it gets and what the microclimate is in their planting site, they may suffer frost damage this winter. Don't worry, they'll come back next spring. Reduce watering in winter, as overly moist soil will promote root rot. It isn't necessary to dig and store these rhizomes.

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