I recently took care of a garden task that’s been on my list for a while. My goal was to overwinter Canna lilies that were just too beautiful to let die! The variety is ‘Cannova Rose’ and as you can see by the photo below, they are truly eye-catching.
I’ve been overwintering Canna lilies for years because it’s a great way to save money. And the method is so easy that I thought I should share it with you, too.
Before I proceed, here’s an interesting piece of trivia: Canna lilies actually aren’t members of the Lily family! It’s funny how plants get their names. They are actually in the Cannaceae family, which only contains 10 species.
In this video, I start by showing you examples of what Canna lilies look like. Sometimes folks are familiar with a plant but they don’t know the name of it. So I wanted to clear that up first. And I think you’ll agree their leaves are every bit as pretty as the blossoms!
At that point, I quickly go through the steps to overwinter Canna lilies:
- Let the plants get frosted first.
- Carefully dig up the roots
- Wash the soil off the root system as best you can.
- Trim back the plant stalks to about 6″ (you can compost the stalks you cut off)
- Place the roots into a waterproof container or onto a boot tray.
- Most the container indoors to a light, warm area for a few days. This allows the remaining soil on the roots to dry up and fall off.
- At that point, place the prepared roots into a box or bin (don’t seal it!).
- Move the container to a dark, cool location (we use our basement).
- Check on the roots once a month, just to make sure there isn’t any rotting going on.
- In February, pot up the roots and place the pots in a bright area indoors.
- Water them regularly.
- Once the danger of frost has passed, move them out into your garden. Or plant them in containers.
I think you’ll agree this is an easy project and definitely worth the small amount of time it takes.
Here’s my video on how to overwinter Canna lilies:
I hope you enjoyed the video and that you’ll give this a go! Here’s a link to my flower video playlist on my YouTube channel, just in case you’d like to see more.