Species Canna compacta Roscoe

A medium sized species; green foliage, ovoid shaped, branching habit; oval stems, coloured green; spikes of flowers are erect, self-coloured orange-red, staminodes are long and narrow, edges regular, fully self-cleaning; fertile both ways, self-pollinating and also true to type, capsules globose; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured pink and purple; tillering is prolific.

Species canna introduced to England in 1820 (Johnson’s Dictionary 1856).

Synonyms: C. 'Robert Kemp', C. rotundifolia André, C. 'Tiki Torch', C. 'Tiki Tourche'

Species Canna coccinea Mill.

A small species; green foliage, oval shaped, branching habit; flowers are erect, self-coloured scarlet, staminodes are long and narrow, edges regular, petals red, fully self-cleaning, average bloomer; fertile both ways, self-pollinating and also true to type; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured purple; tillering is prolific.

The species was named by Philip Miller (1691 - December 18, 1771) who was a botanist of Scottish descent. Miller was chief gardener at the Chelsea Physic Garden from 1721 until shortly before his death. He wrote The Gardener's and Florists Dictionary or a Complete System of Horticulture (1724) and The Gardener's Dictionary containing the Methods of Cultivating and Improving the Kitchen Fruit and Flower Garden, which first appeared in 1731 in an impressive folio and passed through numerous expanding editions.

Miller corresponded with other botanists, and obtained plants from all over the world, many of which he cultivated for the first time in England. His knowledge of living plants was unsurpassed in the breadth in his lifetime. He trained William Aiton, who later became head gardener at Kew, and William Forsyth, after whom Forsythia was named.

The standard author abbreviation Mill. is applied to species he described.

Revisiting Canna 'Nepalensis grandiflora'

A medium sized Foliage Group cultivar; glaucous green foliage, lanceolate shaped, upright habit; spikes of flowers are erect, orange-yellow with red spots, staminodes are narrow, edges regular; fertile both ways, not known if true to type, not self-pollinating. Introduced by A. Crozy, Lyon, France in 1866. This was the first Canna variety that he introduced, although he had been introducing new rose varieties for a number of years previous.

Subtropical Gardening - Robinson 1868 stated: "Has the same habit and foliage as the type (C. 'Nepalensis'), but is a dwarfer variety with better-shaped flowers of a sulphur-yellow, sometimes dotted with red."

Revisiting Canna 'Van Houttei'

A tall Foliage Group cultivar; green and purple variegated foliage, very large, lanceolate shaped, maroon margin, upright habit; oval stems, coloured purple; spikes of flowers are erect, self-coloured scarlet, staminodes are small, edges serrated, petals purple with farina, fully self-cleaning, good bloomer; fertile both ways, not self-pollinating or true to type, capsules globose; rhizomes are long and thin, coloured white; tillering is average.

Introduced by Lierval, rue de Villiers, au Thernes, France, EU. in 1861.

Named for Louis-Benoit Van Houtte, 1810–76, a Belgian horticulturalist and politician . He assembled extensive plant collections on travels in South and Central America. He was associated with the Jardin Botanique de Bruxelles, 1836–8. In 1839, he moved to Gentbrugge, where he founded the Ecole d'Horticulture and the horticultural journal Flora des serres et des Jardins de l'Europe. Walter Pfitzer, son of the founding Wilhelm Pfitzer, gained his early training at the Van Houtte nursery establishment in the 1860's.

Revisiting Canna 'Sky Hawk'

Margaret being dwarfed by Canna 'Skyhawk'. and the photograph was taken in August, when there was still much of the growing season left.

A giant Foliage Group cultivar; dark chocolate foliage, very large, ovoid shaped, maroon margin, spreading habit; oval stems, coloured green + purple; spikes of flowers are erect, self-coloured orange-red, staminodes are long and narrow, edges regular, fully self-cleaning; fertile both ways, not true to type, self-pollinating, capsules round; rhizomes are thick, up to 7 cm in diameter, coloured white and purple; tillering is prolific. Introduced by Johnny K. Johnson, USA.

This is the giant of our collection. J.J. excelled himself with this one. Red-edged, chocolate coloured gigantic leaves on red stems. The flowers are carried so high you won't reach them without a ladder. They are long spikes of large orange/red orchid shaped blooms. Size up to 3.3m (11').

Revisiting Canna 'Ferrandii'

A tall Foliage Group cultivar; dark foliage, oval shaped, maroon margin, spreading habit; half-round stems, coloured green; spikes of flowers are erect, self-coloured cherry-red, staminodes are long and narrow, edges regular, petals red with farina, fully self-cleaning; fertile both ways, not true to type, self-pollinating, capsules ellipsoid; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured white and purple; tillering is average.

Introduced by Messrs Ferrand, Marseille, France, EU. in 1864.

Revisiting Canna 'Ehemannii'

A tall Foliage Group cultivar; green foliage, oval-acuminate shaped, spreading habit; round stems, coloured green; flowers are pendant panicles, self-coloured carmine, staminodes are large, edges regular, labellum is carmine, petals red; seed is sterile, pollen is fertile; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured white and pink; tillering is prolific.

Introduced by Théodore Année, Passy, France, EU. A hybrid cross of C. iridiflora and C. indica warscewiczii. It was distributed by M. Kolb, Inspector of the Botanical Garden at Munich, who first distributed it as C. iridiflora hybrida, but later as C. 'Ehemanni', named after Herr Ehemann of Stuttgart. They were able to do things like that in those days as there were no International rules of naming behaviour.

Awards:

• 1880, R.H.S. First Class Certificate (equivalent to the AGM).
• 2002, 'Award of Garden Merit' at the RHS Wisley trials.
  

The two highest awards possible and earned 122 years apart. It says it all for the quality of this hybrid.

Revisiting Canna 'Daniel Hooibrenk'

A medium sized Foliage Group cultivar; dark green foliage, large, acuminate shaped, maroon margin, upright habit; spikes of flowers are erect, self-coloured orange-red, staminodes are narrow, edges irregular, petals yellow, fully self-cleaning, outstanding bloomer; fertile both ways, not self-pollinating or true to type, capsules globose; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured white and pink; tillering is average.

The earliest reference is Subtropical Gardening by Robinson 1868. He describes it as "Rhizomes large. Stalks strong, green. Leaves large, glaucous-green, and acuminate. Flowers large, bright orange. Free flowering; fine habit. Height over 6 ft."

The flowers of this specimen were considered to be large in 1868, when Monsieur Crozy was working to produce the larger flowered specimens we now enjoy.

Canna Rust

The online "New Disease Reports" published an article on 2nd December 2002, in which they reported the discovery of a previously unknown disease that affects Canna. During December, 2002, Canna edulis plants at the Central Tuber Crops Research Institute, Kerala, India, were found to be infected with a rust fungus.

Figure 1. Lower surface of an infected canna leaf

The pathogen produced numerous small yellow powdery pustules, primarily on the lower surface of the infected leaves (Fig. 1) and a corresponding small yellowish lesions of 1-2 mm diameter were seen on the upper surface (Fig. 2). In advanced stages of infection, the upper leaf-surface spots coalesce, turn dark brown-to-black and finally the infected leaves become dry and fall.

Figure 2. Upper surface of an infected canna leaf

Microscopic observations revealed the uredinospore rust stage. Uredinia were hypophyllous, subepidermal, erumpent, dark yellowish, circular to irregular in shape. Urediniospores were light yellow in colour round to ovate in shape, echinulate and 25-35 µm x 15-20 µm include wall thickness. The pathogen was identified as Puccinia thaliae (HCIO. NO. 44.744). A reference sample has been deposited in the Herbarium of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi.

This is the first record of P. thaliae infecting C. edulis in India. Literature searches show that there are no previous records of this disease from India (Bilgrami et al, 1991; Butler, 1997). Bagyanarayana & Ramesh (1999) reported Puccinia cannacearum, another rust fungus on Canna indica from India. The only previous report of P. thaliae infecting canna is from Hawaii on Canna indica (Gardner & Hodges, 1989).

Revisiting Canna 'Chatei grandis'

A giant Foliage Group cultivar; purple foliage, very large, broadly oblong shaped, upright habit; oval stems, coloured purple; flowers are erect, self-coloured scarlet, staminodes are long and narrow, edges regular, petals purple with farina, low bloomer; fertile both ways, not true to type, self-pollinating, capsules globose; rhizomes are thick, up to 7 cm in diameter, coloured purple; tillering is prolific.

Introduced by E. Chaté et fils, route de Charenton, 143, Berey, France, EU. in 1862.

Introducing Canna 'True Heart'

A medium sized Foliage Group cultivar; green and purple variegated foliage, oval shaped, maroon margin, upright habit; oval stems, coloured green + purple; flowers are open, rainbow-shaded rose-red, staminodes are long and narrow, edges regular, style is red, petals purple with farina, fully self-cleaning; fertile both ways, not self-pollinating or true to type; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured white and purple; tillering is slow.

Introduced by Malcolm Dalebö, Claines Canna Collection, Worcester, England, EU.

Revisiting Canna 'Auguste Ferrier'

A giant Foliage Group cultivar; green and purple variegated foliage, large, oval shaped, maroon margin, upright habit; oval stems, coloured green; flowers are erect, self-coloured orange-red, staminodes are long and narrow, edges regular, petals red, fully self-cleaning, low bloomer; fertile both ways, not true to type, self-pollinating, capsules round.

We have grown this for several years alongside Canna 'Red Stripe', and we have no doubt that the latter, a recent introduction from TyTy Nurseries in the USA, is simply a synonym of this old cultivar.

It's earliest reference is the George Nicholson book, The Illustrated Dictionary of Gardening, of 1888. Nicholson described it as "Flowers orange-red, medium-sized. Leaves very large, oval, erect, pointed, deep-green, with narrow stripes and margins of dark purplish-red. Stems green, very thick, downy. Height 10’.

Slugs are on the march this year

Gardeners in the UK have been warned to expect an epidemic of slugs over the next few months. The wet and mild weather throughout spring has made perfect conditions to create 'the stuff of nightmares' for gardeners.

Experts claim there could be up to 200 slugs per cubic metre of soil, four times the usual amount, with each capable of eating double their weight in plants each day.

Slugs, which are impossible to eliminate completely, live below the soil surface all year round but are particularly active at this time of year.

They routinely frustrate us gardeners who have carefully nurtured plants under cover, only to see them eaten overnight when they are put in the ground.

The damp summer last year meant more than 70 per cent of UK gardeners had a serious problem with slugs. The early indications are that this summer will be even worse.

This year, the weather over spring has been mild with showers which creates the perfect moist conditions slugs do well in. We Canna enthusiasts have now got our plants growing outdoors, where they are targets for these menaces.It can be really disheartening when you've looked after your plants in pots for months only for them to vanish when you plant them out.

Not only are slugs unattractive, they can also do a huge amount of damage to your garden - they really are the stuff of gardeners' nightmares.'

The very best way to tackle slugs is to treat the ground just before putting the plants into the soil. Biological controls such as Nemaslug or Defenders Slug Control are one option. They work by releasing slugs' natural enemies into the soil and kill them underground.

Liquid concentrates work in the same way as traditional pellets, but are watered on as a liquid and are more likely to kill underground slugs than pellets.

Gardeners can also spray WD40 oil around pot plants or put copper around flower containers, as slugs hate it.

The alternative is the good, old slug pellet. Scatter metaldehyde slug pellets (Scotts Slug Clear Advanced Pellets, Bio Slug and Snail Killer Pellets, Gem Superslug Killer, Westland Slug Buster Pellets, Westland Slug Attack Mini-pellets, Doff Advanced Slug Killer or Doff Slugoids Slug Killer) thinly around vulnerable plants, such as seedlings and young shoots on herbaceous plants.

A liquid formulation of metaldehyde (Scotts Slug Clear) is available for watering on to ornamental plants and the soil.

However, be warned that pellets may harm other wildlife, pets and young children if eaten in quantity, although slug powders based on aluminium sulphate (such as Doff Slug Attack) are less toxic. A relatively new form of pelleted bait containing ferric phosphate (Growing Success Advanced Slug Killer) is also relatively non-toxic to vertebrate animals.

An alternative approach is to partly sink a jam jar, or similar, in the soil and add cheap beer. Slugs find this irresistible and drown in large numbers in the liquid. The author has a bad back and finds it just too demanding to consume the beer!

If you encounter slugs, but cannot bring yourself to squash them, then another less messy method is to apply some salt on them, which causes them to dry out and die. However, carrying a salt cellar around permanently can be an irritation, and others may find it just a touch eccentric!

Most Canna plants, once well-established, will generally tolerate slug damage and control measures can be discontinued.

Introducing Canna 'Trent'

A medium sized aquatic cultivar, equally at home as a water marginal or in the border; glaucous green foliage, lanceolate shaped, upright habit; flowers are open, self-coloured sulphur-yellow, staminodes are long and narrow, edges irregular, labellum is burnt-red with a wide sulphur-yellow margin, stamen is burnt-red, style is sulphur-yellow, petals yellow, fully self-cleaning, good bloomer; fertile both ways, not self-pollinating or true to type, capsules globose; rhizomes are long and thin, coloured white; tillering is average.

Introduced by Malcolm Dalebö, Claines Canna Collection, Worcester, England, EU in 2007.

The breeding is Canna 'Endeavour' x C. 'Thames'.

Growing more species specimens

Well, at long last we have finished transplanting the collection outdoors, and the watering system is installed. However, still no time to relax as we are erecting another polytunnel, which will ensure that all our Cannas can be grown indoors, and in the ground over the winter.

As Cannas never become dormant, unlike bulbs, the cultivars thrive best if kept growing slowly through the winter. It is amazing how much growth the healthier ones put on during late winter and early spring.

Altogether we lost about 20 cultivars, which were mostly planted around the edges of the largest of our polytunnels. The use of another tunnel will mean that we can leave a 60cm (2 foot) empty space around the inside next year.

We have not solved the problem of the dying species. The only species specimens to survive the winter were the indica, patens, discolor, and glauca specimens. Experience has shown that the rest are too delicate to withstand any frost at all, and we will have to look at other ways of over-wintering them.

It may be that we stop trying to over-winter them and just rely on growing them as annuals from seed. A correspondant, living in the Dominican Republic and enjoying tropical weather, confided that he only grows his species plants for two years, and then he replaces them with new seed-grown specimens. There they grow 52 weeks of the year quite naturally. As species grow true-to-type, there is no problem with growing them from seed.

However, one of our Canna wild species is totally sterile. Canna discolor is sterile for both seed and pollen, and as we have to rely on the rhizomes thriving, we intend to grow several specimens in the future, and over-winter them in different places, to try and guarantee their survival. It took many years of trying to acquire the genuine C. discolor, and we don't want to loose it. In addition, next winter we will be making it available to enthusiasts, so providing some insurance for the future.

Introducing Canna 'Thorvald Dalebö'

A small Premier Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, branching habit; triangular stems, coloured green; panicles of flowers are open, self-coloured burnt-red, staminodes are medium size, edges irregular, petals red with farina, fully self-cleaning; fertile both ways, not self-pollinating or true to type, capsules globose; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured purple; tillering is slow.

Introduced by Malcolm Dalebö, Claines Canna Collection, Worcester, England, EU in 2006.

Natural pollination of Cannas

Canna pollination is basically trivial in practice. Hold a flower stem steady and smear some pollen onto the stigma of the style. Roughly six weeks later, there's a pod of ripe seeds if all has gone well. But there are some good reasons to know more and do more, because sometimes our efforts fail. Sometimes we want to do more than just a self-pollination, and make crosses between different cultivars, and sometimes even cross with species.

Pollination means transferring pollen from the anther onto the stigma of the flower. In the case of canna the hard part has already been done, and the pollen has been squeezed out of the anther and is waiting for us on the style. If we do not perform a hand pollination, then an obliging pollinator will almost certainly do it instead.

Pollen contains the male reproductive cells of a plant. Canna pollen, is heavy and sticky, and has a high protein content. It cannot be blown in the wind, so it must be gathered and distributed by insects or other active pollinators. You can laugh if anyone claims that canna gives them hay fever, as the only way you could get canna pollen in your nasal passages is to stick a flower up your nose. The plants trade some food to the bees in exchange for the transfer of pollen, called pollination.

The easy way
Most of the large canna hybridizers let the honey bees do their ad-hoc pollinating for them, although they do tend to isolate and plant varieties of interest together, this is why this blog pays a lot of attention to the honey-bee. The benefits of this type of planting are many:

• lots of seed.


• no worry about compatibility.


• no expensive hands-on care.

The downside is that only one parent is known for certain, and in our experience we have also found a much lower proportion of 'special' flowers. With hand pollination many more of your resultant offspring can be uniquely 'special'. The small, home garden hybridiser just doesn't have room for a lot of poor seedlings. On the other hand he or she can provide the daily attention that will yield specific crosses for specific goals and a high proportion of special blooms.

Further information on hand-pollination will follow.

Introducing Canna 'Theresa Blakey'

A small Crozy Group cultivar; bronze foliage, ovoid shaped, spreading habit; flowers are open, apricot (RHS 33B) with a salmon (RHS 29A) blush, staminodes are medium size, edges irregular, stamen is marked with gold; fertile both ways, not known if true to type, not self-pollinating, capsules round; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured white and purple; tillering is prolific.

Introduced by Malcolm Dalebö, Claines Canna Collection, Worcester, England, EU in 2005.

Nothing can replace the real Theresa Blakey, but this is a fitting tribute to a special person.

The breeding is C. 'Louis Cottin' x C. 'Jessie Dalebö

Musifolia Group Definition

Canna 'Musaefolia Rubra'

A first-cut at defining what constitutes a Musifolia Group cultivar.

"A cultivar that would also qualify as a member of the Foliage Group, but which has foliage that is truly Banana-like, and not just 'similar' to the Musa family. It must also be similar to the Banana in size and general conformation."

How does that sound as a starting point, and can anybody come up with improvements?

Introducing Canna 'Ombersley'

A small Premier Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, maroon margin, branching habit; triangular stems, coloured green + purple; panicles of flowers are cupped, orange tinged with red, staminodes are medium size, edges frilled, petals red with farina; fertile both ways, not self-pollinating or true to type, capsules globose; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured pink and purple; tillering is average.

Introduced by Malcolm Dalebö, Claines Canna Collection, Worcester, England, EU in 2006.

Fades to interesting pale shades, never quite the same twice!

UK weather changing again!

At last, the Claines Canna collection is all outside and enjoying the sunshine while it lasts. I have been able to relax a little in the sun with an ice-cream, as the picture shows. The scorching summer weather of the past few days is about to end in a spell of cooler temperatures and showers, according to the Met Office.

By the end of the week, temperatures could have dropped 10 degrees - from yesterday's Mediterranean 27C (81F) to a far more British 17C (30F) .

All that is left to do is to get the leaky-hose watering system laid out again and connected to the water supply, and I can start relaxing again, even if the temperatures are not too good. At the moment it is taking over an hour each day to water the collection by hand.

Introducing Canna 'Oberon'

A Miniature Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, branching habit; oval stems, coloured green; spikes of flowers are cupped, self-coloured light orange, staminodes are medium size, labellum is yellow with orange markings, stamen is gold, style is tangerine-orange, petals red with farina, fully self-cleaning; fertile both ways, not self-pollinating or true to type, capsules globose; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured white and pink; tillering is average.

Introduced by Malcolm Dalebö, Claines Canna Collection, Worcester, England, EU in 2006.

New Musifolia Group

I have been in correspondence with several Canna enthusiasts over C. 'Musifolia'. Those who have read the Canna article on Wikipedia will know that the earliest Canna treatise is the French book of 1867, Le Canna, son histoire, sa culture, published by Libraire Centrale d'Agriculture et de Jardinage, and authored by Eduard Chaté and Sons.

In this book the author described a species, already called C. excelsa in England and Germany, as C. musaefolia. It was given this name by Monsieur Théodore Année, the retired French diplomat who created the world's first Canna cultivars.

In earlier times, each country felt justified in giving species their own native names, as International rules of botanical nomenclature did not exist over 150 years ago. Also, International co-operation was unknown, as most of the major powers were at war with each other quite regularly.

Canna (Musifolia Group) 'Peruviana'

The author also described five hybrids created by breeders of the day, Cannas 'Hybrida', 'Minima', 'Peruviana', 'Perfecta', 'Rubra'. Two of these cultivars were said to follow after the species and did not have rhizomes, but 3 of them 'Hybrida', 'Peruviana' and 'Rubra' took after the seed parents and had normal rhizomes. We are growing those three rhizome-based cultivars.

No modern-day taxonomists recognize the species name C. musaefolia, and treat C. excelsa as a synonym of C. latifolia. And none recognize a Canna species without rhizomes.

Nowadays, in the gardens of Canna enthusiasts we have specimens that we call C. 'Musifolia', but we have no way of ever proving their backgrounds. Are they Hybrida, Peruviana or Rubra? The descriptions of each show distinct differences, and Canna enthusiasts should be able to assign their own cultivars to one of these.

My suggestion is that we create another new cultivar group, called Musifolia Group, and all cultivars that have banana-like foliage should be assigned to that group. My proposition is that we should stop worrying about history that we can never prove one way or the other.

We also have two more recent Musifolia Group specimens, namely C. (Musifolia Group) 'Grande' and C. (Musifolia Group) 'Nigra'. In the new group world, we can stop worrying about their (unprovable) history and just look at their physique. Do they have banana-like foliage? If the answer is yes, then they are members of the Canna Musifolia Group. Otherwise they are members of the Canna Foliage Group.

And so we move on...

Observations would be appreciated.

Introducing Canna 'May Vince'

A medium sized Crozy Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, branching habit; triangular stems, coloured green; spikes of flowers are open, coral-pink with a wide canary-yellow margin, staminodes are medium size, edges irregular, petals red, fully self-cleaning; fertile both ways, not self-pollinating or true to type, capsules globose; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured white and pink; tillering is average.

Introduced by Malcolm Dalebö, Claines Canna Collection, Worcester, England, EU in 2006.

Introducing Canna 'Mary Layden'

A small Premier Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, branching habit; triangular stems, coloured green; panicles of flowers are open, ivory heavily spotted with rose, staminodes are large, edges irregular, petals green, fully self-cleaning; fertile both ways, not self-pollinating or true to type, capsules globose; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured white and pink; tillering is average.

Introduced by Malcolm Dalebö, Claines Canna Collection, Worcester, England, EU in 2003.

What chemical are you spraying?

One of my regular correspondents, with whom I also exchange Canna cultivars each year, has been writing to me about pesticide sprays. He works in the trade, and therefore has a different perspective from the amateur, who is only enjoying a Canna growing experience.

My normal recommendation, whenever I am asked, is that the gardener could do far worse than to use 'Pravado', as it’s its effective and readily available.

However, as my correspondent points out to me, no one spray/pesticide will kill or protect against all pests. His perpetual concern is pest resistance. When he visits garden centres, nurseries, DIY sheds and the like, they seem to stock a wide range of products, however, many have the same active ingredient, and it’s only the strength of that ingredient that differs along with the product/brand name. As a result, they are offering a limited range of active ingredients to allow for a programme of rotating sprays to lesson the risk of pest resistance.

He is currently involved in using four different basic pesticides, namely bifenthrin, permethrin, acetamiprid and abamectin. The last one is a product only available from commercial pesticide suppliers, for which you would be required to hold the necessary pesticide certification.

It seems to me that, if we Canna enthusiasts and growers are to get in control of this virus and pest situation, we need to have a more complete understanding of the chemicals we can use to assist. This blog will do it’s best to assist in the months ahead.

Introducing Canna 'Mark McGuigan'

A medium sized Foliage Group cultivar; green foliage, ovoid shaped, upright habit; panicles of flowers are open, self-coloured red, staminodes are medium size, edges regular, petals red, fully self-cleaning, low bloomer; fertile both ways, not self-pollinating or true to type, capsules globose; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured pink and purple; tillering is prolific.

Introduced by Malcolm Dalebö, Claines Canna Collection, Worcester, England, EU.

Another summer washout on it's way!

Britain is set for a Mediterranean-beating June - but forecasters warn that July and August will be a wet washout. The picture on the right recalls the flooding in Worcestershire during last summer.

Meteorologists predict that some days in June will see the temperatures in Britain top the Med's average of 80F or 26C - with the North in particular looking forward to a month of warm summer weather.

However make the most of it, because July and August is set to be cool and wet, meaning sunseekers will have to look abroad to keep their tans topped up.

Met Office spokesman Dave Britten said June would be 'as good as it's going to get and we're not expecting it to get any hotter. Although it is unlikely to be as wet as the previous two years.'

Looks a bit bleak for those growing tropical and sub-tropical plants, and wasn't this supposed to be global warming and not global wetting?

Introducing Canna 'Pink Lemonade'

A medium sized Crozy Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, branching habit; flowers are open, ivory heavily spotted with rose-red, staminodes are medium size, edges irregular, stamen is yellow, style is yellow, petals yellow, fully self-cleaning, good bloomer; fertile both ways, not self-pollinating or true to type, capsules globose; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured white and pink; tillering is average.

Introduced by Karen Burch, USA.

The flower parts

I have been asked to explain the various parts that constitute a Canna flower, and the first thing to do is to explain that the petals aren't really petals, they are actually infertile stamens that have been adopted to the role. There are two types of these 'petals', namely the staminodes and the labellum, which is sometimes called the lip and which normally acts as the landing platform when an insect ascends onto the flower.

Anther
The part of a stamen that produces pollen. In the case of Canna, the pollen is released through longitudinal slits in the anther.

Labellum
A lip. A modified stamen that acts as the lower lip. When visiting the flower, this is where insects will normally alight.

Ovary
The enlarged, rounded, ovule-producing base of the female portion (the pistil) of a flower that eventually develops into a fruit after its ovules have been fertilized.

Ovule

An outgrowth of the ovary, which upon fertilization, becomes the seed.

Pistil
The female part of a canna flower. A complete pistil consists of three parts: stigma, ovary, and style.

Pollen
The dust-like particles on the anthers of a flower are pollen grains, these contain the male gametes. They must unite with the female gametes before fertile seeds can be produced.

Pollination
The transfer of pollen from the anther to the stigma of the same or a different flower to ensure fertilization of the ovules to produce seeds.

Sepal
Part of a flower, usually green, that surrounds and protects the flower in bud. The sepals are derived from modified leaves, and are collectively known as the calyx.

Stamen
The male floral organ, bearing the anther, which produces pollen.

Staminode
A sterile stamen.

Stigma
The part of the pistil of a flower, normally on the tip of the style or ovary, which receives pollen. Normally sticky so that pollen stays attached and grows pollen tubes that descend to the ovary to fertilize the eggs.