Help! Canna Tropicana yellowing and cracking

[Canna Newbie]

Hi! I’m new to gardening and having cannas. I live in Los Angeles. They were planted 6 months ago and have not been doing well. None of the initial plants that were planted have stayed green or produced a flower. What is happening now is that there are a ton of new, beautiful purple shoots popping through but then they also start to fade, get brown around the edges and crack. I’ve started watering them heavily everyday and tried to spray an iron supplement on the leaves but neither seem to be making a difference. Any suggestions? I want them to succeed so bad!

 

[oneeye]

Those cannas are a little different than the green variety when it comes to growth, but the same when it comes to watering. You are giving them too much water with the soaker hoses. Don't water every day and don't give them chemicals because your problem is from over-watering. Cut the water and remove the mulch and take a hand cultivate and loosen the top two inches of soil. Let the soil dry well before watering. There's no need to water canna' more than once a week and maybe even two weeks in the rainy spring. I hope they don't have root damage but they may. Its a common mistake to over water cannas. You won't get flowers until Summer.

 

[vette-kid]

I have not known cannas to be that picky with water. I have seen them grow in bogs, next to ponds, in full sun and even in near full shade. There are of course more ideal conditions and less ideal, but they seem to be a hardy plant from my experience. I get conditions similar to yours at times and water only three times a week for 20 minutes (it's just on the lawn irrigation timer). I've grown them several years now, but I'm certainly no expert. I do believe they are prone to certain disease which causes a similar symptom and they are a favorite food for a few insects as well.

Maybe someone else has more specifics for you. Overall I think your plants look good. One of my favorites!

 

[oneeye]

These are my canna and they have the same water needs as yours. The soil may be a little different than yours but watering is the same. I haven't watered my canna one time this year, and I never do in Spring. The only time these get water is in late June or early July when its hot and when they start flowering. For new plants you will need to water about 1 time a week for the first month. Anymore water than that you will cut off the oxygen and you will get yellowing. I hope its not too late and your roots are damaged. Keep you fingers crossed.

 

[oneeye]

Here's what I'm talking about: Canna doesn't like wet feet or else you will get what you got. And good luck

 

[Canna Newbie]

Thanks so much for all of the advice! I started excessively watering because I was told they love to be in water and now I do think I’ve been over watering I’ve cut down the shoots that stopped producing leaves (I hope that was correct). I’ve also now moved the mulch and dug around them and the soil is like wet clay. I’ll let them dry out and see what happens. Hopefully they can recover but I do see a lot of new shoots that are already yellow or decayed. Very sad.

 

[edinburgh]

Sorry but I totally disagree with this. Cannas will grow very happily in ponds, so over watering is not a problem.

 

[vette-kid]

Sorry but I totally disagree with this. Cannas will grow very happily in ponds, so over watering is not a problem.

I've seen this as well

 

[Macrophylla22]

As others have mentioned, Cana is perfectly suitable for bog and pond planting so short of drowning the whole plant understanding water above its leaves; it is not possible to overwater it. That said, since you are growing in soil, you probably can (and should) cut back a bit on the water. As for the growth issues, it looks like one or more nutrient deficiencies. Cannas (at least mine) are heavy feeders. Has the bed ever been fertilized with a complete fertilizer (3-4-3 or similar if going organic, 10-10-10, or similar if you're doing synthetic)?

If they were mine, I'd grab whatever synthetic fertilizer I could get my hands on and mix a couple of gallons per the instructions for outdoor plants. Drench the plants and the area immediately around them and stop watering for at least a few days and see what happens. The severely damaged older growth is probably beyond saving, but my guess is the new growth will perk up, and you'll be off to the races.

If you go with the organic approach, the initial results will take longer (you're feeding the soil, not the plant) but eventually will catch up.

 

[Canna Newbie]

Just wanted to say that with a little less water, and cutting the dead parts back, my cannas are doing amazing. Thank you!

 

[Lightworker]

Thanks so much for all of the advice! I started excessively watering because I was told they love to be in water and now I do think I’ve been over watering I’ve cut down the shoots that stopped producing leaves (I hope that was correct). I’ve also now moved the mulch and dug around them and the soil is like wet clay. I’ll let them dry out and see what happens. Hopefully they can recover but I do see a lot of new shoots that are already yellow or decayed. Very sad.

Where did you purchase your cannas. I bought 6 from 2 different companies and was cheated. None of them are yellow/orange leaves like yours. Thanks