[/url] ( photo / image / picture from fatbaldguy's Garden ) ( photo / image / picture from fatbaldguy's Garden ) ( photo / image / picture from fatbaldguy's Garden ) ( photo / image / picture from fatbaldguy's Garden ) ( photo / image / picture from fatbaldguy's Garden ) Here are a few photo's of hybrids and cultivars of Canna that I have selected over tha past few years. Let me know what you think of them. Good, Bad, and Ubly, all welcome. [/img]
Beautiful!! I particularly like the coral color. How early do you start your cannas? I ask because I don't bother starting them indoors, and in the cold of New England, they rarely bloom before the frost gets them. I don't care, I grow them for their outlandish foliage.
I've never had much luck with cannas. As I come from Scotland in the UK it's hardly the best climate for them I'm afraid. I love all of yours but the first, the third, as well as the yellow one, are my favourites. :-D
I put out the rhizomes about the 7th of May, or when the soil temps are 60 plus. Sometimes I push it and plant at 50 if the forecast is favorable. 90 days is what it usually takes for them to bloom. I've got beaucoup seeds, open pollinated, but not enough garden room to plant and wait to select what I'm looking for. I look for different leaf shape/color. Different bloom type and color. Been trying for years for a yellow bloom on bronze/red/striped leaves. Reckon if I had 40 acres it wouldn't be enough. 8)
The first and third are the same cultivar. The yellow is a variant of Glauca. Unfortunately, the photo's were taken during a dry spell, so the blooms don't show off so well. For size reference, my thumb is 1 inch wide.
Your cannas are lovely. I especially like the red. I planted some red cannas last year, given to me by my neighbor and turned out fantastic. In the fall, I dug them up and put them in the garage. To my dismay they froze. So this year I mail ordered twelve red president cannas; only five have come up, and one is blooming. Bummer.
So, fatbaldguy, do you collect seed from your cannas, and then sow it the following year? If so I am impressed.
Around here, there's tons of the orange ones. I do have one red one with the "reddish-striped" leaves. Got it off the river bank. It did bloom did this year, but was pretty "skimpy". I love that yellow one. Have never seen one that color!
Spectacular FBG, I like the yellow one. We have a neighbor that grows them but I have never seen them flower. Jerry
Cherylad--Do they grow wild in Texas? Or just naturalized there? Jerry--In years past, I could get cannas to bloom, but only by starting them indoors in Feb or Mar.
I let mother nature do the pollinating, I just collect the seed. Canna have a learning curve when starting from seed. One must sand or rasp the hard coat until white just shows through. Do this on the 'side' not the axis of the seed. The soak in room temperature water, changing water often, until the embryo bursts out. Planting depth is about three times the diameter of the seed. Keep moist, but not wet. It helps to use a germination mat, these plants love the warmth. Harden off and plant as you would any other seedlings. To quote Coppice, canna "are the swine of the garden". They want all the water, light, and food. Edit: As for Cheryl finding one one the riverbank, If my assumption that she lives near Houston is correct, canna will naturalize in temperate/sub-tropical regions. Canna can be found growing 'wild' all along the Gulf Coast.
Cayuga... seems everyone in this area has Cannas (usually the orange ones) growing in their yards. I wouldn't consider them "wild".... naturalized may be more like it. And since they make so many more bulbs/corms, they get divided and passed around. Would be nice to have a variety of colors though.
Really interesting information about cannas that you provided, FBG.... As for your flowers -- whew, pretty! The one I like the best is the 2nd picture because I really like the contrasts between the coral blossom, purple stem and green leaves... That's so striking.
Tell ya'll what. This fall, when I lift the rhizomes, I will for postage send some off, won't give away the farm of course. I will also provide, for postage, seeds open pollinated of course, I can select the parent plant sometimes. Remember, 90 days from sprout or transplant to bloom is the average. For those interested in growing canna, look for Ian Cooke's book 'The Gardeners Guide to Growing Canna'. I think that is the title, the author for certain.
