how warm is your basement? i keep mine in the basement where it is cool and dark in a cardboard box. Maybe it is too warm for them in your basement?

Thank You joanne77. I will try your method.My basement is in the 40s in the root celler part were I keep the cannas.

hi folks,

do you just toss your canna rhizomes in an empty cardboard box, or do you throw in something like peat moss as well?

thanks so much!

I find rot from being too moist is more of a problem than drying out. My method: dig after frost has killed top growth, let the rhizomes dry in a freeze-free place for a few days. Then brush (not rinse) off the soil, trim back tops, and store whole in plastic bags of un-moistened peat moss in cool, dark cellar. Check on them every month or so, cutting back any rot. Might moisten slightly mid-February.

There are always a few small ends which I compost when potting up in the spring, but they increase so much each year that the loss is mimimal.

I keep mine right in their pots in my basementwhich remains 65 degrees throughout the winter. I have no problem with loss at all. In the spring I pull, clean, divide and replant in fresh soil.
I am in Z5 and my garage, I believe, gets far to cold.
I wish the garage were an option. Lugging those huge pots downstairs isn't so easy but it keeps the plants safe.

Grancru