Do you dig up or leave alone?

[Babru]

I have a canna in a pot, first time growing one. Do I treat it like a dahlia ie wait till it browns in the frost, dry off the tuber, keep frost free? I bought it already growing in a pot so I'm not even sure if it is a dahlia-like tuber!

As an alternative, I could put the whole pot in the greenhouse. I overwintered argyranthemums like this last year, with a bit of fleece over them when it was frosty. Last winter was a pretty mild one though....

[chillithyme]

Babru as you are further up north than I am, I would go with the first, dry off and keep somewhere frost free, or move the pot to somewhere frost free, but this will require more room. I have previously lost outdoor cannas in a hard winter when the soil was vey wet, followed by a hard and prolonged frost.

[MillieBee2]

I haven't got anything exotic, just tulips and alliums and some other purply things that I already forget what they even are so it will be a nice surprise when they show up.....anyway my mum never lifted her bulbs, neither will I. There's about 150 of them in the flower bed, so that's a definite nope! I'm.not into making work.....

[SarrissUK]

Same as Millie - I have very few bulbs at the moment, and I'm about to put some tulips into my little front garden. They will fend for themselves or not survive.

[Bren In Pots]

I only have a few bulbs and I leave them alone, some have been there for years.

[Scarlet]

Well dug some of my dahlias up - it's been really wet and soggy for a few weeks with some of my borders really squelchy -
Some of them are already mushy and have been composted.

[Babru]

I had some anemone blanda in a trough this spring. I emptied it out a few weeks ago as I thought I'd plant them in the border. I imagined they would have bulked up....enough to give some to a friend. Nope, all but one had rotted to a mush. We've had some heavy rain at times over the summer, obviously did for them.

[chillithyme]

I am lucky enough to have a lot of bushes under which I can move potted canna, dahlias and tulips to in their pots. Rain doesn't reach the pots,so they don't get soggy and they don't freeze over and mash up the bulbs etc. But in prolonged hard winters I lift and move my favourites indoors(not tulips), which I haven't had to do for a number of years due to the weather etc.

Dahlia and Canna in the ground I always dig up as they never survive in the ground for me, too wet, exposed, lack of drainage. In comparison my friend has dahlias in very protected well drained ground along a protected wall close to her house, and they happily survive.

[greenishfing]

Well I did say that I don't dig my bulbs up but my husband decided to do some "weeding". I have just discovered he has dup up several daffodil bulbs and tulips. The ones that are intact I will replant.

[Scarlet]

^^^ just what you needed in this cold weather Greenishfing!

[Babru]

I am lucky enough to have a lot of bushes under which I can move potted canna, dahlias and tulips to in their pots. Rain doesn't reach the pots,so they don't get soggy and they don't freeze over and mash up the bulbs etc. But in prolonged hard winters I lift and move my favourites indoors(not tulips), which I haven't had to do for a number of years due to the weather etc.

Dahlia and Canna in the ground I always dig up as they never survive in the ground for me, too wet, exposed, lack of drainage. In comparison my friend has dahlias in very protected well drained ground along a protected wall close to her house, and they happily survive.

That's interesting that it's more to do with drainage than temperature. As you're in London I'd have assumed you could safely leave dahlias in the ground. I left a dahlia in the ground last winter, not expecting to see it again, and most years I'd probably be right, but up it came!

This year I have some in pots so as we've just had our first real frost, I'll be taking them out and drying them off. I lifted a Bishop of Llandaff already as it had died back. The tuber was about 4oz in spring and looks to be about four times the size now, so if I can get it through the winter it'll be fab next year.

[chillithyme]

Bishop of L is gorgeous. The pots remaining on the drier side and not freezing also helps with leaving them under the bushes. I've left Dahlias in the ground and every winter they have turned to mush, along with the muddy ground. I can have very dry soil in the summer and very wet and boggy ground in the winter, I could improve drainage more but I just find it easier to move the pots.

Veg like broadbeans do fine at mine they are not as planted deeply as my bulbs in general. If I leave the bulbs higher in the ground the squirrels will have them