About Long Island Gardener Expertise Growing Tulips? Dahlias? Daffodils? Gladiolus? It doesn't get easier than bulbs and tubers. Once in a while, something goes wrong: The dreaded Narcissus Bulb Fly, which resembles a honeybee. Mosaic virus, which can ignite a field of tulips in a single season. Nematodes, lurking underground. Here on the North Shore of Long Island, the garden is full of surprises. If you live in the Northeast/Atlantic Coast, I can help you pick the right bulb for every season, indoors and out, and help you fertilize, bloom and harvest for home or work. How: I have degrees in related fields, but my best understanding is all learned from trial and error. For most of my 53 years I have been gardening somewhere. No matter what the problem, I've learned the best answers are always Organic -- Earth friendly, less expensive, healthier for people and pets, easier and cleaner than toxic liquids and powders that big chemical companies sell so smoothly.
Experience Besides degrees in related fields, and a few favorite horticultural societies, I work as a docent at our local botanical gardens -- but it's the years of work in the garden that's the real test.
Question I notice there are dried seeds that have formed on my cannas plants. It there a way of planting these seeds to start more cannas.
Answer These Canna Seeds are so hard they were used as bullets by tropical natives in their slingshots at some point in time.
To grow them, you'll have to break the coating. Soak them for 24 hours in a glass or warm water. Alternately, you can slit the hard seed shell with a knife or single edged razor blade, then soak briefly and plant and inch deep in rich loam, potted or au natural.
Remember, they will need a few seasons before they are big enough to bloom.
For your viewing pleasure, observe the Cannas posted by one obsessed gardener:
