Well, I just got a live canna plant from Plant Delights Nursery and it arrived in good shape. They took the plant out of a pot and used newspaper to wrap the soil (I would say a 6" pot worth of soil) and then used celophane to wrap the newspaper. For the plant itself (about 18" tall) they packed strip shredded paper around it (not the cross cut kind, but the long strips) and then used some heavier paper wrapped around the plant to hold the shredded paper in place (think a cut up paper bag). This was then put into an appropriate sized box with more shredded paper as packing around it. The box was seriously mishandled by the shipper and arived badly damaged, but the plants themselves were just fine.

In the winter I store mine in the basement. I dig them, let them dry, and wash off any excess dirt. Once they are dry again, I put them on a small table. I only have one variety at this point, so I just pile them up. They really are tough plants!

I agree with above, they are very tough plants. Everyone talks about how to overwinter these in cold climates, but I just dig mine, cut the leaves off, dry a couple of days & pile them in large paper bags til spring. As long as they are cool & dry, they can be out of the soil for months, assuming you have healthy mature rhizomes. If you are moving during winter months you could not plant til spring in Missouri anyway.

Last year I moved mine from Ohio to Florida. Since mine were going right back into warm ground, I put them in plastic dish pans with some of the soil. They did fine and I moved them three times in a year. Since it will be cold at the other end I would do like all of the above. Cut off to about ground level, dry and store in something that gets some air. Don't forget to mark them if you have different kinds as you will want to know what they are at the other end. Color, foliage, and height.