Overwinter your Canna Lilies!

I’ve been meaning to dig up my canna lilies for the past couple of weeks. That’s due to my crazy schedule these days. However, our weather is changing dramatically. It includes includes temperatures in the teens along with the “S” word). That convinced me to go right outside and get the job done!

A couple of years ago, I researched how to overwinter canna lilies. It was nice to discover it’s far easier than one might think. Since I love canna lilies and like to save money, it makes a lot of sense to overwinter them. I don’t want to toss them into the compost bin at the end of the season. After all, potted canna lilies tend to sell for around $10 each at nurseries and garden centers.

What’s even better is that the bulbs you grew in your garden this year have grown in size. So if you overwinter them, you’ll end up with a lot more plants than you started with! This means you can either go wild with cannas next year or share some with a friend (or both).

Wondering what it takes to get your canna lilies through a tough winter? It’s very quick and easy. Here’s my short video on the technique:

Isn’t that simple? Remember to check on them once a month. Make sure there isn’t any rotting going on. If there is, either trim off the problem area(s) or — if it’s really bad — toss the bulb altogether.

I usually pot them up in February, using gallon-size pots, and keep them indoors or in our small greenhouse. They can’t be planted out in the garden until all danger of frost is past.

I hope you’ve found this useful. It’s always fun to learn new things and, especially, to save money!