Jim, this is an excellent site for to ask questions about gardening, seems there are a lot of knowledgable folks on here. Wow, from coaching to gardening...lol! Both are physically demanding though...have fun with it!
calilillies in my backyard will put off many "shoots" from the bulbs, so more than one lillie stalk will come from the bulb. I love those plants...your's are very nice looking :)
** So question is this: IF I cut the stems and place them all ini a vase - looks really nice, BUT then teh plant outside is back to just leaves again. so the question is do I cut them for my wife and out them in a vase hoping new ones sprout right back? or just enjoy them outside and when they die, just cut the stem to the ground?
I agree. If you change the water regularly, they should last a while in the vase, and that will give the new flowers a chance to grow. Might as well enjoy them inside.
I think placing them in a vase would be very romantic, Jim, and the plant will keep putting on blooms, even when you cut them back (I cut my plants back to the ground after the first frost), the plants will begin to grow and bloom fro the summer :)
Oh bulbs...they are so fun. I had the same "to cut or not to cut" question, but with my daffodils. I had a bank of them that were SO gorgeous in the yard. I loved coming home around the corner every night and seeing them. Loved them in a vase last year too though.
If you don't cut all of the blooming buds/shoots, then the cala's, I would think could still bloom. Not so much rebloom as it is just the same bloom budding out that you didn't actually snip.
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As for the ones you DO cut, I don't think they will regrow and bloom in the same season. For most bulbs (cala's included I think) they need a dormant, usually cold, season in between blooms. Tempted as I am to cut back thick greenery to put in something more colofrul, we need to leave it be because they are storing energy for the next season's bloom. Once they die back and you cut them back, that's okay and they'll be ready to shoot back up next season.
Just my experience though. Sure there is a master gardener or two on here who can give us the real skinny.
Bernadette, calla lilies actually grow from an underground rhizome, not a bulb. What most people call the flower is actually a spathe. They are only hardy to zone 8, so they do need a period of cold. But they do go into an annual period of dormancy, when they want drier conditions than they otherwise do. Your advice is spot-on in terms of not cutting back the greenery.
I was given some rhizomes from a friend in VA but I live in central PA. Do I need to dig up the rhizomes after the first frost or will they be ok to remain in the ground. I am in zone 5.
I didn't know the callas come from rhizomes...thanks Douglas :)....My callas took a while to start really coming up this year, and I noticed that alot of them still are dormant, so I'm wondering if they will come up again or not. They are putting out beautiful orange blossoms :).
we were just talking minutes ago about my brother-in-law up in LI, NY. (I'm orignally from LI), he digs his Canna rhizomes up, stores them for the winter in his basement, then spilts them before replantinig in spring. I live in Southern VA (believe in ZONE 7) and believe I can leave teh rhizomes in teh ground. (Dig them up, split them, then replant?) Mine are all under mulch, so that helps also. BUT I will dig a couple up, SPLIT them, replant the ones in the ground and take a
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couple of the split rhizomes and store for ?? / experiment / learning?
knew someone smarter would come on and clue us in (smile). So, do all rhizomes vigorously spread or just the crazy sunchokes in my yard? Now THAT is out of control.
so Liz cuts 5 flowers low on the stem and now today there are 6 out there! we didn't have 6 all year last year. Granted warm winter, so everything is growing better.... Doug: my mulch is probably 6-7 inches deep!we are actually in Zone 7b, southern most part of Zone 7. (If I read the Zone maps correctly. Just across the NC border.
Jim, the maps can be tricky to read. But you don't have to! Just plug your Zip Code in this site, which will give you the latest hardiness zones (they were revised earlier this year):
I love canna lillies, plan to get some more if I can and plant them in an area where I have wildflowers growing...I love wildflowers, but they tend to out "grow" any plant that may be near them...they tend to be overbearing in a way...
** So question is this: IF I cut the stems and place them all ini a vase - looks really nice, BUT then teh plant outside is back to just leaves again. so the question is do I cut them for my wife and out them in a vase hoping new ones sprout right back? or just enjoy them outside and when they die, just cut the stem to the ground?
If you don't cut all of the blooming buds/shoots, then the cala's, I would think could still bloom. Not so much rebloom as it is just the same bloom budding out that you didn't actually snip. ...»
Just my experience though. Sure there is a master gardener or two on here who can give us the real skinny.
http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/
(And don't go crazy with your mulch depth!)