Question
Canna
Hi! I planted tropicana canna lilys and the ones with the green leaves and red blossoms along my fence last august. The drain where my washing machine water goes is near them, so I'm not sure if that is bad. They are in a very heavy clay like soil and I water them everyday because it drys up fast. I live in California on the coast. They started to bloom the other day and have already wilted and the blooms are dead!! I am so disappointed!! It has been warm but never above 85! I was looking at pictures online and it looks like they have that rust disease on the leaves, but would that make the blossoms wilt? How can I heal them?! Oh by the way, the tropicana ones are suffering, the green cannas are just fine, they haven't bloomed yet either. Thanks so much for your help!!
AnswerHi Zina,
Thanx for your question. The washing machine runoff could very possibly be causing the problem. Cannas love heat, they are heavy feeders and they don't like to sit in wet soil. Is the soil really that dry? Clay will usually retain water much better than other soils so the cannas could be sitting in too much moisture which would cause leaf browning and wilted blooms. Additionally, phosphates in the washing machine runoff can cause the blooms to wilt. One of the key components of the N-P-K rating in fertilizers is phosphorus - P. There could be too much phosphorus in the soil. Western soils tend to be higher in phosphorus and potassium already. You might consider aiming the run off away from the plants or just moving them. Check the plants out and make sure there are no insect pests on them. Cannas are usually pretty carefree though. A viral disease called canna mosaic virus could also be the problem. Here is a link to Mississippi State University that talks about it.
http://web1.msue.msu.edu/imp/modzz/00000277.html
You'll probably need to get rid of the plants so they don't spread the disease. Because canna mosaic is spread by aphids, you should buy a horticultural soap and hose down the healthy cannas. I hope this helps.
Tom
