CANNA 



299 



Plants such as you have left over at the end of the bedding 

 season can be planted out in the field. If wanted for the increase 

 you can get out of them in the way of eyes for propagating for 

 another year, keep them cut down; that is to say, as soon as a flower- 

 spike forms, instead of letting it come into bud and bloom, cut it 

 off, say 8 or 10 in. from the ground. This will make the plants 

 keep on sending up new. shoots which in turn can be cut. It is well 

 not to practice this after September first, as you don't want too 

 many small shoots, only 5 or 6 in. above the ground, by the time you 

 lift the plants. The first heavy frost will finish the plants, but if 

 they are labeled and a spell of good weather sets in, as usually does 

 afterward, let them remain in the soil for several weeks; they will 

 make better roots, or rather rhizomes, as they are called, which 

 contain the eyes. 



Storing Gannas 



The reason your customer usually loses his Gannas stored away 

 over Winter is that the plants are lifted, every bit of soil is shaken 

 from the rhizomes, and these are thrown in a box and most fikely 

 placed somewhere near the furnace. The right way is to lift the 

 plants (after they have been cut down to within 6 in. of the ground) 

 with as much soil clinging to the roots as possible, and store them 

 away in a dry, cool place, with just enough moisture in the soil to 

 keep them plump. The florist can store his stock under a Carnation 

 bench, setting them on boards close together. The boards are put 



Fig. 121.— Bed op Gaiwa, vabiety Surprise. Gannas never show to best advantage 



in a three-foot bed; indeed, the larger the bed or border, the more effective the 



display. Surprise is one of the many good varieties now available 



