Why are canna flowers so unusual?

By Chelsie Vandaveer

September 26, 2002

Series: | 1 | 2 |

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The garden canna has a confused parentage. There are fifty to sixty species (depending upon the authority) found in the tropics and subtropics of Asia and the Americas. Prized for the dramatic foliage and odd flowers, Canna have been grown, accidentally and intentionally hybridized, and traded between Western gardeners for more than four hundred years.

Dutch Canna Collection (Not edible!) Enjoy flamboyant blooms and showy foliage when big, bold flowers are scarce. Perfect for the back of a border or in a pot to brighten up any garden. Plant 15-20" apart in full sun or partial shade. Lift in fall. #1 rhizomes.

In this collection you will receive:
2 Wyoming
2 Rosemond Coles
2 Carnival
2 The President
2 City of Portland

Grows 3-4'

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When John Gerard wrote The Herbal in 1597, he mentioned the Flowring or Flourishing Reed as a popular garden plant in Italy and "...many other places of those hot regions." Canna were new to Europe for Gerard states, "There is not any thing set downe...of this Flourishing Reed, either of the Ancients, or of the new or later Writers."

The hundreds of hybrid cannas are generally lumped into two horticultural designations, Canna X generalis (garden canna) and Canna X orchiodes (orchid-flowered canna). The distinctions between the various hybrids were determined by Liberty Hyde Bailey of Cornell University in the early 1900s. (Hortus Third, Cornell University, 1976)

The garden cannas are the oldest hybrids, descendents of cannas hybridized in Europe (example: City of Portland). The orchid-flowered cannas are apparently descendents of Canna flaccida of the southeastern U.S. (example: Roi (King) Humbert). Bailey's designations are blurred in later hybrids between the two types.

Canna flowers are not what they appear to be. The three sepals and three petals are seldom noticed, they are small and hidden under extravagant stamens. What appear to be petals are the highly modified stamens or staminodes. Only one of the staminodes bears pollen from a half of an anther. A fourth, somewhat narrower, 'petal' is the pistil connected to a three-chambered ovary. Although gardeners enjoy these odd flowers, nature really intended them to attract hummingbirds and bats.

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killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~

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Louis Cotton Dwarf Canna

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Torchlike, brilliant yellow and peach blooms flame above dramatic, bronze leaves. Seed capsules spark up dried arrangements. Sun to partial shade. Blooms summer to fall. Lift in fall. Canna 'Louis Cotton' #1 rhizomes.

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Canna Mixture

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Enjoy flamboyant blooms and showy foliage late in the season, when big, bold flowers are scarce. Our stunning assortment includes fiery orange, flaming red, warm pink and exciting two-tones.

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Fit for royalty! With their yellow and red blooms and upright form, these gorgeous cannas resemble glowing torches. Lush foliage has striking, bronze-red markings. Ideal for pots or massing in borders. #1 rhizomes. Deer resistant.

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Canna, Dwarf Collection

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Big, beautiful cannas look tropical but are easy to grow, even for Northern gardener

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