you will know whenyour canna blooms,like bananas canna throws up a small "flag" leaf and then the flovwer. it will flower multiple times from new flower shoots replacing the old.If you want to grow in the sun potted,you must provide lots of water, dry summer or not.In youir zone I would not trust a garage because cannas cannot freeze. I am in zone 6 and my garage freezes.That should have read "your" zone.

A-I grow mine in large pots that have deep (3-6") saucers, I try to not ever let those saucers go dry, they are watered daily. But even so, only one of my tropicanna bloomed this year but I just noticed that Pretoria is finally sending up a bloom stem. None of the other 5 pots are doing a thing.

I overwinter mine in the garage. I let the frost hit the foliage then cut them back to the soil line and haul them into the garage. They stay there till March when I bring them into the house and start watering them a bit, once I see some growth I divide them and then around Memorial Day they go outside again. Most of mine are about 5 years old now, so it works for me.

Purchased a red dazzler and ran into the same scenario, all foliage and no bloom. Possible due to the dry summer in the N.E. and/or keeping it in a pot, but it was watered. What are the needs of the plant for the winter indoors as far as light and temp? Months of cool darkness in a basement or warmer temps, my enjoyment and winter sun light near windows? Help!

timolo,I am in the same region as you.I keep a few in pots but they are more work.They do all bloom though.You can let the first frost kill the leaves.I knock them out of their pots and let the rhizome "dry out for a few days.You can store the rhizomes (you don't need the roots )dormant in a paper bag or cardboard box.YOu can then divide the rhizomes in spring and repot in fresh soil.You do not have to keep them growing in winter.