Do you need to cut the old leaf of a canna lilly right down this time of year or leave as they are?

If you live in an area of hard frosts, dig them up,leave on all foliage,dry them out and store in frost free place till spring. In frost free zones you can leave then in. When the foliage has died cut back to 2'' from soil level

Do you need to cut the old leaf of a canna lilly right down this time of year or leave as they are?
Do you mean Kaffir lily? If so, you only need to remove the seed heads after they stop flowering and let the leaves die down.
Reply:leave +mulch to protect from weather.
Reply:Where are you? I'm in zone 5, and mine are dug up waiting for warm weather. Here they die in the cold.
Reply:In zone 7, we cut them back as soon as the cool weather kills the leaf, so as to keep a neat appearance. You can leave them if you like, but sometime before spring, the old growth needs to be removed to make way for the new,
Reply:depending on your zone but in zone 7 we cut them back to the ground and cover with mulch ( pine straw,bark etc. ) before the freezing temperatures come
Reply:We have a tremendous amount of Canna Lillies in our yard and have the best results when we cut them back in the winter. This allows the roots to continue to grow and the bulbs to divide and.... the plant is not trying to feed the stalks and leaves which will eventually get burned if they get a freeze. Don't worry given the right amount of water and fertilizer your Cannas will come back to great heights each year. Ours average 5 to 6 feet in height on average. Good luck with yours and take care. :%26gt;)
Reply:Hi, here in the UK we have to protect canna from the winters as the corms will rot if we leave them out in the ground because of the frosts.Most gardeners plant up the corms in large pots and over winter in a glass house or some where cool and dry. taking only the dead or damaged leaves away.


As I am not sure in which zone you are in I would say err on the side of care!.


Best to treat them like they need the protection of being under cover in winter. On the storing of them over winter keep them cool and the compost damp but no over watered . I try to keep them on their sides in their pots. In the spring I tease some of the top layer of compost away and replace with a mixture with some plant food added for slow release.


Hope some of info might be of help.
Reply:leave till spring then cut down they are a bulb