Things You'll Need:
- Gardening trowel
- Plastic bin or bucket
- Pruner
- Garden hose
- Newspaper
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Step 1
Trim canna stalks down to 1 inch above ground level after the first frost and discard or compost them.
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Step 2
Search for new canna eye buds poking through the ground around the canna planting bed where the tip of the stalks remain. Cannas will typically triple the amount of bulbs over a growing season so don't be surprised if it seems like they multiplied. They did!
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Step 3
Insert a garden trowel at a 45 degree angle under the bulbs and gently push in deep, then lift and pry gently to bring the bulbs up through the soil.
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Step 4
Repeat this process throughout the entire canna lily flower bed until you think you've lifted out all the bulbs.
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Step 5
Shake off excess dirt from the flower bulbs. For heavy or clay soil rinse the bulbs with a garden hose to blast off most of the dirt and make storage a little less messy. This also retains that soil in your planting bed.
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Step 6
Place newspapers in the bottom of a plastic bin or large bucket and put the canna bulbs on top of the paper to form a layer of bulbs, then put down another layer of newspapers, then more bulbs, and repeat until all the bulbs have been stored. Do not cover the bin or bucket. Leave it open to allow air circulation around the bulbs and prevent them from getting moldy.
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Step 7
Store the bucket of canna bulbs in a cool, dark place such as a basement or garage as long as the temperature does not get below freezing during the winter. Your cannas will be ready for planting next summer.
