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I have dug up my Canna flower rhizomes and I want to store them for the winter. Last year, I put them in the garage and I had to buy more this spring, so the garage is out. How can I store them?

There are a couple of ways to story your rhizomes, tubers, corms and bulbs and all involve the Goldilocks Theory: not too hot and not too cold, but just right. If the temperature goes below freezing, you've got frozen stuff. If the temperature is close to 70 degrees or above, you're got shriveling, dehydrating stuff. For the sake of faster reading, I'm now calling all these things bulbs. So find the coolest inside temperature you've got that doesn't go below 40 to 50 degrees. Take your Cannas and cut back the top stems to about four or so inches long. Cutting flush with the top on summer bulbs can allow rots to begin at the top. Let the soil on the bulbs dry and carefully pick away as much as possible. Some people will wash away the soil. Allow them to dry very thoroughly. The goal is to not bruise or crush the tissue. Rots can start there, too. In the Good Old Days, we all had root cellars that were 50 degrees all winter and humid. All your bulbs would be trembling with delight to spend the winter in a root cellar. Most homes might have a spot that would be cool, but most homes aren't humid. Exposed bulbs start to prune up until they become wizened, useless lumps. You need to find a way of keeping them from drying out too fast. Some people will store them in containers filled with dry Canadian peat or sphagnum peat moss. Others will use vermiculite. These kinds of material serve the purpose of separating the individual bulbs. The advantage of Canadian peat is that is an acidic medium that tends to prevent rots. Check your stored bulbs in January or February to make sure everybody is alive and well. If you have a "rotter" in the bunch, pluck it our and throw it away.

I live in a new apartment building and when I look out the back windows, there is a row of yews that was put in early this year. All of them are brown or yellow now. The soil is heavy clay and the management had the sprinklers on all year, even when it was raining. They were mulched. I talked with somebody who said that these were going to get replaced with all new yews in the spring. If all 28 died this year, what's the chance the next bunch will be fine?

It's more likely that a falling weather satellite will hit you on the way to your car. Placing plants in the landscape is like real estate: location, location, location. It's that right plant in the right location thing. Yews want full sun and excellent drainage. One out of two isn't good enough. The heavy clay soil, very wet May, June and July and sprinklers spewing water is just wrong. The mulch held in even more water. The yews objected in the only way they could. They died. Even if we have a drier season, there still are sprinklers, clay soil and mulch. It looks like another 28 will be headed for the great compost pile in the sky. If the management company is smart, they will raise the soil into an 18 to 24 inch berm. They will use really sandy, well draining soil. Now they can mulch because the drainage has gotten better. But sadly, none of this will probably happen. Ah well, somebody has to support the ornamental plant industry by buying often.

Gretchen Voyle, MSU Extension-Livingston County Horticulture
Agent 517/546-3950

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