It’s a very true saying ‘what goes around, comes around’ and this is certainly true regarding Canna Lilies. This is hardly surprising when you begin to explore some of the new varieties made available over the past few years. Cannas no longer are limited to huge plants displaying green leaves and orange or red flowers.
My past reluctance to grow this exotic-looking tropical has been mainly due to its growing requirements – plenty of sun and plenty of space, the former of which I have less of each year. However, I have now come up with an ideal solution – Cannas in containers!
I have several cast iron urns of different sizes, which I have collected over the years and the largest is ideal for displaying Cannas. The rich flower colours as well as exotic banana-like leaves gradually unfurling like scrolls of parchment, contrast beautifully with their solid, elegant temporary residence. Although possibly a little more expensive than other containers these urns are an excellent investment. They are very versatile and, once planted, extremely stable. In fact this provides an excellent insurance against pilferage when located in your driveway or near an entranceway to your home and they can be utilized during the winter months with plantings of evergreen boughs and berried branches.
Planting in containers enables you to locate your canna plants where growing conditions are best even if your sunny spots are mainly covered with a hard surface like concrete or asphalt. Sunny spots are often at a premium in a small garden. Containers contain (thus the name!) and therefore they dictate the ultimate growth of your plants, which makes them ideal for Cannas.
Cannas are native to the Caribbean and Tropical America where they will grow to over 3m tall. One of the most beautiful, called ‘Canna indica’, commonly referred to as ‘Indian Shot’ can be seen growing wild along roadsides and in open fields. The round black seeds of this plant are extremely hard and due to their superficial resemblance to lead shot – ammunition of the 18th and 19th centuries – became known as Indian Shot. Stories suggest when lead shot was in short supply these seeds were substituted for the real thing.
An extremely versatile plant, the shiny black seeds are also used in making jewellery in tropical regions of the world and Buddhist worshippers make they into rosaries. The tubers of the plant are used as food in the Andean Mountains and are the source of arrowroot starch in Australia.
Here are three you are more likely to find in this part of the world.
Canna ‘Pretoria’ (AKA Bengal Tiger)
This unusual Canna, originating in India, is a delightful choice for an urn. The foliage is boldly zebra-striped with vivid yellow and green and towering shafts of brilliant orange flowers top the plant.
Canna ‘Tropicanna’
This Canna is certain to catch the eye. The green leaves gradually unfurl to show burgundy stripes that turn red, pink, yellow and gold. Attractive orange flowers complete the picture.
Canna ‘Yellow King Humbert’
This is a beautiful specimen displaying large yellow gladiolus-type flowers, painted with red spots towering above lush deep green foliage.
Although these are classed as tall Cannas and will grow to approximately 1.2-1.5 metres in open ground, many new dwarf Cannas are now also available.
Cannas rarely require staking, but dead-heading is beneficial to the plant, together with a monthy feed of 20-20-20 fertilizer such as Plant Prod. Their biggest requirement for top performance is plenty of water. While their heads require plenty of sun, their fat fleshy roots require plenty to drink. Water Cannas are now becoming available, derived from Canna glauca, and these can be grown as marginal aquatics at the edge of a garden pond during the summer months.
Cannas are tropical plants from Zones 9 and 10, and in their native land would be hardy outside year r
