Next time you are ready to dig up the tubers in the fall, leave about 8-10" of the stalk, which will have some "green" to it in the center, and store the whole plant that way...you can monitor easily during storage, as long as it stays green you know the tuber is still alive. This worked for me.

My general rule of thumb is about 2" below the soil surface. However, that said, it really isn't an exact science. When I first pot 'em up, it's usually about 3 plus inches deep as the potting soil will settle and the eventual depth will be anywhere from 1" to 2" deep. If you're going to transplant them inground, then basically you just want them up and growing, with the rhizomes starting to put out new roots. To get them started once you have them potted, water moderately and put them in the warmest spot you can find, hopefully in a window with direct sun. When they start to feel dryish on top, water them well. You don't want to overwater at this point as they can rot. Once you have them outside and the temps are hot, then they'll take all the water you can give them. Here, in our hot, zone 9 summer climate, we can't give them enough water. Hope this helps some. Jenna

If you soak your canna seeds for 48 hrs. in a solution of half apple-cider vinegar, and half very hot water for 48 hrs., you will find that it is extremely easy to nick your canna seeds. What happens is that the natural acidic reaction of the vinegar wears off the hard outer coating so that if you just firmly rub the canna seed against any hard rough surface, like a brick, it can easily be removed. Also, it weakens the hard outer coating of the canna seed, making it easier for the embryo within to emerge. This is further discussed in a new group of people who are interested in learning how to hybridize new types of cannas from seeds. I can't post the link, but it's a new yaho group called Cannahybridizers. If you do a search, you can find it and join. There are lots of generous canna growers in the group who frequently give away seeds for the asking or for SASE.

While many cannas do not produce seeds, some do. Where the flowers are is where the seeds will form once the flowers fall off. You will see green, spiky, round seed pods forming where each flower was. If that canna doesnt produce seeds, the pods will be elongated, oval-shaped. If that particular canna produces seeds, the seed pods will continue to round and enlarge. The pods will dry and eventually theyll split open, revealing big black seeds inside. The seeds are now ripe for gathering. Discard any shriveled, dimpled, tan or white seeds.