Re: Overwintering Cannas and Hedychium

On the gardenweb.com forum for Pacific North West
gardeners, many people have said that if cannas and
hedychiums are planted in very fast draining soils
and/or raised beds, that they can often be left in the
ground.  Poor drainage and rotting are more likely to
do them in than frosts, unless your soils freeze to
some depth.

Other people suggest that the clumps can be cut back,
dug up and left with soil on, and overwintered in a
dark basement/garage without any harm, no need for
packing, just don't let them freeze.  Getting an early
start such as Tim suggests is probably a good idea
when growing them in climates with short or cool
summers.  It is somewhat surprising to me to hear that
Cannas are shy bloomers in parts of England, as they
seem to bloom just fine in places like Seattle, which
I would have thought would be similar for summer
climate.  I remember many cannas already in bloom all
over Seattle as early as mid July, and it even seemed
that they were ahead of schedule as compared to the SF
Bay Area, which I thought might have something to do
with the longer day lengths or more heat units earlier
in late spring, (no fog like we often get here). 

Regarding the difference in Cannas and Hedychiums for
ease of culture in cooler summer areas/more northerly
latitudes, the native habitats for both might explain
this.  Many of the most commonly grown Hedychiums here
in California come from fairly high elevations in the
Himalayas, where the night time temperatures do not
stay warm.  Most Cannas come from lower elevation and
much hotter/more humid locations, and do not have the
same vigor in cool climate areas.  Both seem to grow
just fine here in the SF Bay Area, and handle our cool
nights(average temps 55F), but sometimes Hedychium
flavescens and H. flavum do not bloom here for me if
the summer has been cooler than normal.  This summer
has also been cooler than normal, but warm enough that
they are blooming right on schedule, and with the mild
winter last year, some even bloomed as early as late
June, which had never happened before.

I'd suggest that looking for species of both Canna and
Hedychium from higher elevations would be the way to
go, and also consider other Ginger allies that are
easy such as summer blooming/deciduous Cautleya
spicata and C. gracilis, Roscoea cautleoides and C.
purpurea, Alpinia zerumbet variegata; these all do
well in more northern/cooler summer areas.  Alpinias
do need proper siting to shelter them in winter as it
is evergreen, the others are all deciduous. 

I also wonder if some of the species Cannas such as C.
ehemannii and C. indica might be easier than hybrids? 


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