First keep in mind that cannas should not be considered to be drought tolerant plants. I believe that if you have allowed the pictured feeder roots to be exposed to the sun and air for even several minutes they are likely beyond help. The plant appears to be much too large to be supported by the root system present. Therefore I would definitely remove most of the top growth leaving a couple of inches of the stem and replant in a small container with good soil and keep moist until the buds on the rhizome generate new growth. I think your plant will need some TLC. Do not plant very deep. Good Luckâ¦

Kent

These are extremely tough things, I wouldn't worry about it. Just cut off the stem and stick it back in. In June, I dug up a whole patch of these, filled 2 5-gallon buckets. I shook off the dirt, cut off the stems, threw them in the buckets. By the time the last ones found somewhere to go, it had been about 3 weeks. They're already growing back nicely and should have time to bloom yet here. That's why they are able to sell naked rhizomes in a bag at stores. They just wait until it gets wet, warm and sunny again, then they come back to life. The reason I was digging those up is because I had put them there the previous June, not thinking how there was nothing stopping them from invading other plants in that area. They bloomed great last year after being moved there from my Mom's yard, that move was completed almost a month sooner in the season. If that lil' guy manages a bloom this year, I hope you can post an update here, that would be cool, not too terribly surprising, depending on when mother nature throws the first frost toward San Fran.

So, why do you think they're falling over? Can you add a pic of the whole patch?

Hi! Thank you both for your helpful advice. Here's a picture of what the cannas looked like:

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They were taller than me so well over 5 feet. Maybe that's why these fell over. This picture was taken a couple of months ago, but the flowers have since withered. Most of them ended up flopping over.

I have now put the rhizome into a little pot with soil and watered it after cutting it down to about 3 inches. It's on the window sill that gets the most sun.

Hmm... those don't look right. Do you think they're so dry that they're wilted? They should still be blooming like crazy, the leaves should be much more flat.

Awww - you know that can easily be the case. The landlady takes care of the watering and perhaps she doesn't do it enough. I'll just chip in and help with that from now on. By the way, sending another picture - do you think these are canna shoots (the cluster of 4 shoots up in the upper left hand corner), and if so, do you think they are planted too close together?

Awww - you know that can easily be the case. The landlady takes care of the watering and perhaps she doesn't do it enough. I'll just chip in and help with that from now on. By the way, sending another picture - do you think these are canna shoots (the cluster of 4 shoots up in the upper left hand corner), and if so, do you think they are planted too close together?

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I don't know what those are. You might want to ask on name-that-plant forum. From this angle, I can't tell if they're a few inches tall, or much taller.

Cannas quickly form a solid patch of rhizomes, some on top of each other, so it's hard to put them closer together than that. They'll figure it out and adjust themselves, older parts can die off, new parts form. The ground in that spot looks quite moist, BTW...

Just wanted to provide an update to the planting. Three buds are starting to come off on this!

Heck yeah! Looks great!

Update: New leaf!

Very cool. Fast growing plants, aren't they?

They are - and fascinating to watch!

purpleinopp, thought you'd appreciate this. Here's another bulb I found the same day I found the one in this original post:

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It looked pretty hopeless but I figured I'd stick in soil and water it. Now it looks like this:

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Super! I would be surprised if you didn't see a few more tips coming up. That rhizome looks ready to make several.

Just thought I'd give you guys updates on the cannas:

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hrrm that leaf looks awful glossy to be a canna.. maybe its just the lighting

Mike, you were correct. As it turns out, that second plant is actually a Calla Lily! Here are how both are doing:
From this week:
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Canna (from a few weeks ago):
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I feel silly for not noticing earlier that the two plants are different - their leaves are completely different from eachother!