Cannas

     If you've met me, you probably know that I gush over cannas, my favorite root vegetable. And I have never eaten a single one other than the green leaves. 

    I was introduced to the fun and ease of growing bulbs and tubers when I briefly lived in Michigan, and the love of it has stayed with me with cannas, amaryllis, and taro. Cannas are my best, they have amazing flowers for months on end.

     Sadly, over the years my canna collection has been dying down, mostly due to neglect and cold winter weather. Im not going to pretend that I am a perfect person. I have three kids and a job, trying to fit in exercise and watering the plants has been rough.

     They absolutely need water in the summer to survive. The native Florida cannas, which I have none of, grow in boggy areas at the edges of ponds and lakes. I havent ever seen any growing in a river. Mine are in pots sunken into my ponds, many of which I built primarily for canna and water hyacinth culture. And yes, the rabbits love to eat cannas!

     My mother bought me these bright pink beauties for my birthday last year. Maybe I had told her how much I loved the pink ones with the big flowers. And these, like my few other pinks, appear to be dwarf cannas, not climbing the 8 feet like the nondwarf variety.

    Somehow these have not just survived, but thrived in the location that I placed them, chosen mostly for safety. They have been blooming since March, and its now almost June. The tubers are growing so large they have nearly broken the plastic pot holding them. The leaves have been yellowing, notbsurebif thats from packnof nutrition, the heat, or fromndyingbdownnat the end of the season. I want to divide the pinks and repot, but when I get a few minutes to take care of it I realize that they have sent up yet another flower. Which begs the question:
     Do tropical bulbs need to be separated after flowering is completed, or can you separate them and transplant at any time?