How to help canna lilies thrive?

[hink]

Hello everyone, 

Just wondering why these canna Lillie’s are not thriving and how to help them flourish. 
They were purchased at a nursery and planted 2 years ago when my sister had a landscaper do her yard… 
Could it be the rocks? Or planted too close together ? Any suggestions will help !!

  

[Akanksha]

Hello @hink,

A warm welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. We're delighted to have you join us and hope you've been finding the site a great resource for all your home improvement and garden projects. 

Sorry to hear about your canna lily. Let me tag some of our garden experts @Noelle and @mich1972 for their thoughts. 

While waiting, I'd suggest reading this helpful article: How to diagnose a sick plant. You may also find some useful tips in the Bunnings guide How to grow and care for a canna lily. 

Akanksha

[mich1972]

Good morning @hink sending you a Spring welcome to the Workshop Community 🌿💚.

First of all, can I please ask what state you live in ? If these are two years old, they should definitely be bigger than that. But if you are in a cold climate they will grow a bit slower. In summer, those rocks would definitely heat up a lot more if this garden bed is in a full sun position. Also the heat reflecting off the wall as well. Feeding your Cannas regularly will help boost growth. When Cannas flower and finish, it’s best to cut them back to the ground and they will continue sending new shoots and flowers. I’m wondering what the soil is like underneath, if the landscaper filled the planting holes with good soil or did they plant into sand and just covered it with rocks and a bit of mulch……. @Noelle 

[Noelle]

Hi @hink 

Agree with @mich1972 - in a cold climate growth may be slower but even so, the cannas should be a lot bigger than this after two years.

Rock mulch, while it may look attractive, is better suited to plants that thrive in hot, dry deserts like cacti, as the pebbles will become very hot from direct sun and that heat will transfer into surrounding soil and potentially fry the roots of any plants growing there, even in heavy soils.

Not the best treatment or location for cannas unfortunately. They do thrive in direct sun but not the landscaped conditions yours have. That bed would be better suited to bird of paradise (strelitzia) from first appearances!

[mich1972]

Thank you @Noelle absolutely agree with you 😃