How to Remove Overgrown Cannas

Cannas (Canna spp.) produce tall flower spikes topped with lilylike red, orange or yellow flowers and broad green leaves that lend a tropical look to bright, sunny garden beds. These perennial plants, which grow in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 7 through 10, grow from a tuberous root system called a rhizome. The rhizomes grow larger each year, which can result in an overcrowded garden bed. Removing the excess canna roots in fall after the plants begin to die back rejuvenates the remaining plants.

Trowel
Knife
Compost

Instructions

- 1
  Insert the blade of a trowel into the soil about 8 inches from the base of the canna plant. Pull the handle of the trowel backward to loosen the soil and lift the roots. Work around the perimeter of the canna clump with the trowel, using the same method, until you can slide the trowel beneath the clump and lift it out of the ground.
- 2
  Cut back the leaves to within 2 inches of the top of the rhizome. Rinse the excess soil off the roots with a light spray of water.
- 3
  Examine the rhizome and roots and trim off any soft, rotten or shriveled sections. Cut apart the remaining healthy rhizomes into 4- to 6-inch long sections. Cut so each section has at least one bud, which is a raised bump that produces the leaves, on the top of the root. Dispose of the damaged roots and any sections without buds.
- 4
  Spread 2 inches of compost over the top of the garden bed. Dig the compost into the top 6 inches of soil, mixing it in thoroughly.
- 5
  Plant the saved rhizomes with the buds facing upward. Set the roots so their tops are 3 inches beneath the soil surface and space them 18 to 24 inches apart in all directions. Water immediately after planting so the soil settles around the roots.

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