... or You Canna go past a Canna!

by Melanie Kinsey

The Canna Lily is one of those plants that was introduced to Europe in the late 1800’s, enjoyed incredible popularity, was hybridised to the n^th degree and was seen everywhere. Eventually its moment of glory passed and another plant took its place and today Cannas are often only seen in old gardens and municipal plantings.

Well fashions come and go, the wheel turns and once again Cannas are coming back into style, particularly with the current penchant for bold foliage in our gardens. Cannas come from the West Indies and the tropical parts of North and South America. Canna flaccida the Golden Canna is native to Florida. Their other common name Indian Shot Plant refers to the hard black pellet-like seeds. Arrowroot from whence we get flour is actually Canna ‘Edulis’.

The word Canna comes from the Greek kanna and refers to a type of reed. It is worth remembering this as Cannas love moisture and in fact some varieties will grow on the edges of marshes and ponds. The Canna is a herbaceous perennial coming up each spring and dying down each autumn. Most cultivars are described as being small (.5m), medium (.5m-1.5m) or large (1.5m- 2.5m) so can be planted at the front or rear of the garden bed depending on the variety and the effect you are trying to achieve. In my first effort at growing a Canna, I planted a medium size plant at the front of a bed as a sort of exclamation mark among much smaller plants. I thought it looked quite good, but my husband disagreed - everyone perceives a garden in a slightly different way.

A rich moist soil suits a Canna best with a heavy accent on the moist - Cannas will take all the water you can give them!! As the new shoots emerge in spring some snail bait may be needed. If the particular variety you have does not shed its old flowers, dead heading will help, although be careful not to remove the sideshoots as the next crop of flowers will emerge from these. Cannas do not need staking.

Cannas were originally grown mainly for their gorgeous flowers in all the hot colours of orange, red, scarlet, vermilion, pink, cerise and yellow. Flowers can be spotted, edged in another colour or mottled - the combinations are endless. The flower shape has been variously described as orchid-like, iris-like and even gladiolus-like. Canna ‘Charles Hawlett’ has yellow flowers and is very vigorous, C. ‘M.Holtz’ is yellow heavily spotted with red and one I have in my garden is C. ‘Firebird’ which is scarlet red and grows to just under 1m - it is a little cutie!

These days more accent is being put on the foliage of Cannas. Originally Cannas came with either green or bronze leaves of various shades, but hybridisation and careful selection has resulted in a wide variety of leaf shapes, sizes and variegations.

The bold tropical look is in and Cannas can provide that lush leafy appearance in even cold climates - we get frosts where I live and that doesn’t deter them!

The ‘hot’ Canna of the moment is ‘Tropicanna’ a bronze leaved variety striped with red and producing orange flowers. Like many of the variegated leaf Cannas, the best view of the leaves is obtained when they are backlit by the sun and all the stripes and veins show up to perfection. A beautiful yellow and green veined Canna called C. X generalis ‘Striata’ is incredibly striking when viewed this way. Another variegated Canna called ‘Stuttgart’ has green leaves marked with white and silver. This stunning plant is a very slender grower to about 2m. Because of its pale markings it does best in part shade where it won’t get scorched. It has small apricot flowers.

Cannas can be a bit difficult to track down although there are some specialist nurseries around. Often your best bet is to ask for a division from a plant you have admired in someone’s garden. Division of the roots in late autumn is the best method of increasing your plants. The seed can be sown but results will be variable. Check out the website of one of the National Collections of Cannas in the U.K. for more interesting information - www.cookecannas.co.uk.

Illustrations from top to bottom:
1.This bronze-leaved Canna makes an interesting contribution to a garden bed with its bold purplish-bronze leaves that last from spring through to late autumn.
2. A large clump of a red flowering Canna with bronze leaves photographed at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne.
3. This unnamed yellow Canna has apple green leaves, grows about 1m high and flowers all summer long.
4. With the sun shining from behind the leaves of Canna X 'Striata' the effect is quite stunning, flowers are really just a bonus.