The lost 6 months - dry rhizomes

Canna 'Uncle Sam', photo by Malcolm McFarland

For Cannas in the rhizome trade it is quite simple. They have the foliage chopped off and the rhizomes are ripped out of the field at first frosts, they go through a high pressure water spraying system that removes most of the soil still clinging to them. They dry for a week or so in a controlled temperature, then they are hand separated and packaged ready for sale.

Up until then everything went just fine for the Cannas, but now the problems start. The packaged rhizomes enter the distribution chain, and they spend their time in warehouses and despatch points in temperatures that are very often uncontrolled. Eventually, in January they arrive at the premises of the final part of the chain, the garden centres. There they go onto sales racks and any weak ones perish there, with no water, and little light. No more to say, except that they stay there slowly dehydrating until May and early June, when they get offered in 2-4-1 deals to cover up their disadvantaged state.

For the survivors, the rhizomes sold through the rhizome trade are normally very dry by the time they are sold to the public, and I feel that they should not be judged at all that first year. The rhizomes are normally very de-hydrated and the root system is normally dried out and useless. All the remaining energy stored in the rhizome has to be used to protect its very life existence and is mainly used to grow a new root system.

If it is planted in soil with little nutritious value, then it is now in a doomed cycle. Growing a new root system means it does not have the energy available to produce large, luxurious foliage or produce large expansive blooms. It will grow some foliage to allow the capture of more energy to keep it alive, and that will probably be sub-standard, showing its state of stress. It may produce minimum flowers in a desperate attempt to produce some seed to ensure its DNA lives on, but nothing that will enlighten the heart of a gardener. So the Canna manages to hang onto life, but the gardener thinks it is a poor variety and doesn't deserve to have space in the garden again.

Gardeners who give up on Cannas at this point have just lost out on one of life's raffles. So many, if nurtured properly through the winter and grown on in good conditions next year will more than make the grade. I believe that many plants thrown out as having virus are just heavily stressed through mistreatment. That doesn't mean that many don't have virus, I am sure that they do, but my guess is that at least 50% are just suffering from this mishandling during the lost 6 months.

Introducing Canna 'Hilary Owens'

A small Premier Group cultivar; green foliage, ovoid shaped, branching habit; oval stems, coloured green; panicles of flowers are open, self-coloured deep coral, staminodes are large, edges ruffled, 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; tillering is average.

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

Cannas not politically correct

Yew must be joking! Grower's fury at Monty Don's call to use only British plants

Extracted from an article by REBECCA CAMBER in the Daily Mail, 25 April 2008.

They say you reap what you sow. And when Monty Don returned to the United Kingdom from a tour of the world's greatest gardens to extol the virtues of British plants above others, he presumably hoped to inspire.

Instead, the BBC presenter has ignited controversy by telling growers to stick to our native species and turf out foreign ones.

Don - who recently hosted the Around The World In 80 Gardens series - now stands accused of trying to uproot thousands of years of plant-collecting history in the UK.

At the Oxford Literary Festival, he told his audience: "British gardeners must learn to tell you a story through their gardens."

"Gardening with indigenous plants and working with nature by tweaking it is so much more interesting than imposing on to the natural world."

"The interesting gardens are related to geographical/historical/ personal context."

"Growing plants in a garden that would not exist without you is not very interesting."

In a recent interview, the Gardeners' World presenter - who has pledged to plant only native species in his Herefordshire garden - said: "Elsewhere in the world, indigenous plants play a key part in establishing national identity."

"We have an incredibly rich and fascinating plant heritage which we downplay - so I am planting oak, ash, hawthorn, yew, aspen and alder, as well as primroses, violets, roses."

So, should we go native in our gardens? The rundown of British plants and their foreign friends

But his rallying call met with a prickly reception.

Dr Mark Johnstone, a lecturer at Myerscough College, Preston, and an expert on native versus foreign planting, said: "I'm amazed someone as high profile as Monty Don should recommend sticking to native British plants.

"He is confusing biodiversity and native plants. Plants and trees are used for social, economic and environmental reasons."

Luke Harding, manager of Westonbirt-plant centre, said: "Doing away with 'foreign' plants would effectively wipe out several thousand years of plant- collecting history.

"The vast array of non-native plants available in Britain is something that we are recognised for and that has given us our identity."

Nottingham University grounds manager Ian Cooke said: "Has Monty lost the plot? Does he think gardeners will take his suggestions seriously when we have a wonderful palette of exotic plants from around the world that seem to thrive in our unpredictable climate?"

Guy Barter, of the Royal Horticultural Society, said: "The RHS suggests that a range of native and non-indigenous garden plants are good for wildlife. There is no reason to restrict yourself to native plants, of which there are rather few. In fact it's essential for wildlife to have a healthy mix of native and non-native plants."

My personal comment would be that it is good to see Ian Cooke standing up for real gardens, and I believe that not only has Don lost the plot, he's lost the garden as well! How can anybody treat this clown seriously after coming out with such baloney?

And why? It won't save the planet, it would just make our lives so much poorer. Just to satisfy the ego of this over-opinionated TV presenter? Most definitely not a real gardener!

Sorry if I shouted a bit there, but I do feel so passionately about the many styles of gardens we have created over the centuries, and, of course, the role of Cannas, a non-native plant, in those gardens.

Introducing Canna 'Arne Dalebö'

A medium sized Italian Group cultivar; green and purple variegated foliage, large, oval-acuminate shaped, maroon margin, upright habit; oval stems, coloured purple; panicles of flowers are open, red-orange streaked with scarlet, throat orange-red, staminodes are large, edges frilled, labellum is orange-red, stamen is orange-red, petals purple with farina, fully self-cleaning, average bloomer; seed is sterile, pollen is fertile; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured purple; tillering is prolific. Introduced by Malcolm Dalebö, Claines Canna Collection, Worcester, England, EU in 2006.

Named for Arne Dalebö, who, in 1940 fled to the Shetland Isles from Norway in a stolen fishing boat, to escape the pursuing Gestapo, and fought on in the Royal Norwegian Airforce in the R.A.F. No. 331 (Norwegian) Squadron. The squadron defended London from 1941 onwards, and was the highest scoring fighter squadron in South England during the war.

Sport of C. ‘Nero’.

The lost six months - introduction

Here in northern Europe we plant our Cannas outside in early to mid May and we bring them back indoors again in late October, or early November. So for six months of the year our Cannas are stuck away, normally out of sight, and left to get on with it; whatever that means.

That is half the life-time of our Cannas, where we don't really understand what is going on. Cannas are not bulbs, they do not have a dormant period. They grow for 52 weeks each year and bad things that happen to our Cannas happen during that 6 month period, where they are trying to grow, but the environment does not allow it.

A few articles follow, which explore the lost six months. In the meantime, here is a picture of a Canna 'Africa' in full bloom! It is not shown for any good reason, other than it is not a well known cultivar, so the picture may be interesting.

Introducing Canna 'Bevere'

A small Premier Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, branching habit; oval stems, coloured green; spikes of flowers are orange with peach stripes, edges frilled, 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; tillering is average. Introduced by Malcolm Dalebö, Claines Canna Collection, Worcester, England, EU in 2006. Seedling of C. ‘Topaz’ x self.

Canna News: Star of the Day: Canna X 'Van Houttei'

A heritage cultivar rejoins the Canna world.

Introducing Canna 'Alice McGuigan'

A tall Crozy Group cultivar; dark foliage, upright habit; round stems, coloured purple; panicles of flowers are reflexed, burnt-red rayed with apricot, throat apricot, staminodes are medium size, edges irregular, petals purple, 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 purple; tillering is prolific. Introduced by Malcolm Dalebö, Claines Canna Collection, Worcester, England, EU in 2006.

Seedling from C. ‘Ingebourg’ x open.

Canna News: Wild species tamed

At long last the confusion over Canna species is solved!

Introducing Canna 'Berenice Emsley'

A medium sized Premier Group cultivar; green foliage, ovoid shaped, branching habit; round stems, coloured green; panicles of flowers are open, self-coloured red, staminodes are large, edges ruffled, petals red with farina, 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 purple; tillering is average. Introduced by Malcolm Dalebö, Claines Canna Collection, Worcester, England, EU in 2006.

Seedling of C. ‘Merle Cole’ x C. ‘Jessie Dalebö’.

Canna News: Systemic sprays give virus protection

Systemic sprays give virus protection.

Pollution threatening bees

Bees under threat as pollution means flowers are losing their natural scent. As Canna growers we rely on honey bees to pollinate most of our flowers.

They are a quintessential sign of summer - the scent of blossom on the wind and the buzzing of bees. But scientists claim that both are now under threat - as flowers lose their natural scent due to pollution.

A new study suggests that gases from car emission are dulling floral aromas and disrupting insect life.

Gases from car emission are dulling floral aromas and disrupting insect life, says study

Researchers claim pollution is dramatically cutting the distance travelled by the scent molecules of plants.

This is preventing flowers from attracting bees and other insects needed to pollinate them.

As a consequence, the numbers of insects are dramatically dwindling as they struggle to located the nectar off which they feed.

Professor Jose Fuentes, of the University of Virginia, which carried out the research, said: "Scent molecules produced by flowers in a less polluted environment could travel for roughly 1,000 to 1,2000 metres.

"But today they may only travel 200 to 300 metres. "This makes it increasingly difficult for bees and other insects to locate the flowers."

The study, funded by the US National Science Foundation, examined the smell given off by snapdragons.

They found that the scent molecules are volatile and quickly bond with pollutants, such as ozone and nitrate radicals - formed mainly from vehicle emissions. This chemically alters the molecules so that they no longer smell like flowers.

As a result, bees and other insects - which rely on the scent of flowers to locate them - fail to do so and do not get enough food.

The ability of the insects to attract mates and repel enemies is also impeded, scientists fear.

While the flowers, which rely on insects to pollinate them, also suffer. Scientists have found that bees, which pollinate most of the world's crops, are in unprecedented decline in Britain and across much of the globe.

At least a quarter of America's 2.5million honey bee colonies have been wiped out by colony collapse disorder (CCD) where hives are found to be suddenly deserted.

Although the mysterious phenomenon has yet to appear in the UK, insect numbers have been declining here too.

Agricultural minister Lord Rooker has warned that "the honey bee population could be wiped out in 10 years".

The scientists do not believe pollution is necessarily the cause of CCD but they claim it is making it harder for many insects to survive.

Research shows it is not just insects that are affected by the actions of humans. The number of birds visiting our gardens and parks has plunged by a fifth in four years, a survey has revealed.

The decline follows a succession of mild winters and the growing popularity of paving and decking, which robs gardens of valuable plants and insects.

Changes in farming techniques, a decline in hedgerows and increased used of pesticides may also have hit bird numbers.

Introducing Canna 'John Layden'

A small Crozy Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, transparent margin, branching habit; spikes of flowers are open, cerise-pink with a narrow gold margin, staminodes are medium size, edges irregular, petals yellow; fertile both ways, not self-pollinating or true to type, capsules globose; 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 in 2002. Breeding is Canna 'A. Eisenbarth' x open

The many uses of Canna

1. The leaves are washed and used in water as a cure for fever in Nigeria and in Gabon, especially for children.
2. In Ghana they are pounded and put into baths for fever.
3. For jaundice the Brong of Ivory Coast take a leaf-macerate in draught and in eye-instillations and the Akye add the pounded leaves to a prescription with other drug-plants for taking by draught and as a wash.
4. The tender shoots are applied to bruises and cuts in Nigeria. The steins produce an emollient and analgesic action, and this is made use of in Ivory Coast to assuage rheumatic pains, buboes, urethritis and even fractures, and for coughs, fevers and jaundice.
5. In Congo a tisane is given to children to sooth paroxysmal coughing in whooping-cough, and the sap is applied to sores and to arrest bleeding.
6. The Shien of Ivory Coast cook the stems wrapped in Maranta or banana leaf and apply the juice which is expressed as an embrocation for painful breasts.
7. In India the stalks are chopped up and boiled in rice-water with pepper and fed to cattle as an antidote after eating poisonous grasses.
8. The leaves serve as wrapping for food in Ghana and doubtless elsewhere in W Africa.
9. In India and SE Asia the leaves are commonly used to wrap parcels.
10. A fibre can be extracted from the plant and is of a quality to substitute jute in the making of twine and sacking.
11. The roots are starchy. Starch has been extracted in a small way in Indochina. They are eaten in Asia, and have been eaten in W Africa in time of dearth.
12. In parts of Kenya the root and in Malawi the whole plant is cultivated as a cattle-food.
13. More generally the roots have medicinal applications. The powdered root is taken in Nigeria as a cure for diarrhoea and dysentery.
14. In Gabon the rhizome is used in enemas against dysentery and intestinal worms, and an aqueous decoction is taken in Congo by women with irregular menses.
15. In India the roots are recognized as diaphoretic and diuretic and are administered in fevers and dropsy.
16. The flowers are said in Ghana to be good for curing eye-disease.
17. They contain a little sweet nectar which is used as a bait to trap birds.
18. The seeds are black, hard and the size of a pea. The English name, ‘Indian shot’, derives from their occasional use in India as shot for guns.
19. In Ghana children use them in popguns.
20. Throughout Africa and Asia they are used as beads for stringing into necklaces and rosaries, and making into rattles.
21. Several Ghanaian names refer to ‘European’s rosary’ indicating an exotic origin.
22. The seeds are used in S Nigeria as counters in a game of chance called ido, the name being taken from the Yoruba name of the plant ido or idora. The looser of the game acquires the title ọmọ-odobo, lit. ‘awkward child’. No medicinal usage of the seeds is recorded for the Region.
23. In SE Asia they may be pounded to a paste for poulticing headaches.
24. A trace of alkaloid has been reported in Nigerian material.
25. The seeds also yield an attractive evanescent purple dye.
26. The plant enters into a Yoruba invocation for protection against wizards and witches who are said not to eat ido, and to help little children to stand.
27. A purple-leafed form is used in ordeal trials in Gabon in cases of alleged adultery.

Canna News: Low Cost - Indestructable - Plant Labels

How to make your own low cost - indestructible - plant labels.

Introducing Canna 'Sophia Young'

A medium sized Premier Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, branching habit; triangular stems, coloured green; spikes of flowers are open, burnt-red rayed with old-rose, staminodes are large, edges lightly frilled, 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 purple; tillering is prolific.
Introduced by Malcolm Dalebö, Claines Canna Collection, Worcester, England, EU in 2006. Seedling of C. 'Joseph Buchan' x open pollination. Thanks to Dale for the seed.

Frosts destroyed our plants again!

For the second year running we, at Claines Canna, have lost 1,000+ Canna rhizomes that I had patiently cleaned, divided and packaged ready for distribution in trades and sales. I spent many days of my life, that I will never have back again, creating these packages.

The losses were caused again by failure of our electric thermostatically controlled heaters. Last year the losses were caused by a failure in the electric supply on the coldest day of the year.

To see the labeled plastic bags full of black rotting rubbish is soul destroying, and I have had enough for this year. Sorry if we had organized trades or sales, but all we have left is the collection, and a few spares that Margaret is selling on eBay.

Right now I feel totally deflated and I I just want to concentrate on getting our collection outside growing in the soil again, intact and ready for a great year of growing.

Describe Cannas: Rhizomes

It was Dr Nobuyuki Tanaka, the Japanese taxonomist, who created a set of working measurements for Canna rhizomes, and he used them to help him categorize the wild species, resulting in his Taxonomic revision of the family Cannaceae in the New World and Asia in 2001. This revision was the start of bringing order to the chaos we had previously experienced in naming of our Canna species. The categories defined by Tanaka are:

1. thick, up to 3 cm in diameter
2. thick, up to 7 cm in diameter
3. long and thin
4. tuber-like groups
5. no rhizomes
   

To the first four specified by Tanaka, we have added the fifth category. At Claines Canna we have grown C. paniculata that did not have any rhizomatic growth, and Dale McDonnell, in Australia, has had this same experience, having inherited an old Foliage Group specimen that displays the same characteristic.

We have used this classification for some years now, and we cannot find any fault with it.

Canna seeds last forever

Although most sensational claims for seed longevity are almost certainly bogus, seeds of Canna compacta apparently can live for at least 600 years. Viable Canna seeds were obtained from inside a walnut (Juglans australis) in a tomb in Argentina.

The Canna seeds had apparently been inserted into the immature seeds of a growing walnut fruit before the hard outer shell formed. Once the shell hardened and the nut dried out, the result was a rattle. Native people strung the rattles together to form a necklace.

In this case, the seeds had to be at least as old as the walnut shell, and carbon dating of the shell indicated that it was about 600 years old (Bewley and Black 1994).

The seeds were planted and subsequently germinated. Unfortunately, there is no trace of the plants grown from that seed, which would have been of great interest to the species collectors.

Reference:

Ed. Lerman, J. C. and E. M. Cigliano. 1971. New carbon-14 evidence for six hundred years old Canna compacta seed. Nature 232: 568--570

Introducing Canna 'Sarina'

A large Australian Group cultivar. The outstanding feature is the foliage, which is almost black, the darkest foliage that the introducer, Mr Bernard Yorke of Australia, has ever developed. The new introduction has beautiful medium sized deep rose blooms.

Mr Yorke is quoted as stating that "This is a hardy grower, up to to one and a half metres...the foliage stands out in the garden and has been remarked upon even from a distance."

Cannas by Bernard Yorke

Describe Cannas: Height

When describing Cannas we need to use terminology that can be understood by everybody concerned. However, height does give us special problems. Wherever we are in the world we can categorize Cannas as being:

• Miniature
• Small
• Standard (medium)
• Tall
• Giant

So, that's simple enough. Job done, let's go home!

Problem... a cultivar that will grow to 50cm (1'8") in Northern Europe will grow up to 90cm (2'6") tall in tropical countries. The perfect growing conditions in the tropics and sub tropics can add 30 cm (1ft) to the smaller varieties and up to 100 cm (3'3") with the largest giant varieties.

It is obvious that collectors in different latitudes need to provide their own definitions of what the terms above mean in their own areas. While there may be exceptions, it is likely that individual cultivars will stay in the same height categories at each latitude definition.

So, for us in the northern European growing range, I would state that our definitions are:

• Miniature - up to 50 cm ((19")
  
• Small - up to 100 cm (3'3")
  
• Standard (medium) - 100 cm (3'3") to 200 cm (6'6")
  
• Tall - 2 metres (6'6") to 3 metres (9'9")
  
• Giant - over 2 metres (9'9")

It would be interesting to hear from other collectors and growers at other latitudes adding their own definitions to these height categories. I believe that the northern American states would probably have the same sizes. However, in Southern Europe and the Southern States we can expect additional height growth.

Margaret Dalebö fronting Canna 'Skyhawk'

Canna 'Skyhawk', a giant Canna, which in Northern Europe grows up to 3.5 metres (12'), but which has reports of 4.5 metres (15') at latitudes closer to the equator.

The next question is whether these height categories should be translated into Cultivar groups. More to follow on that subject.

Introducing Canna 'Brisbane'

Another new cultivar from the house of Yorke, a Variegated Group cultivar. A tall, quick clumper, the foliage is lime green, with a dark green background, the variegation placed randomly over the leaves. The flowers are similar to C. coccinea, being small, species-like, held about 230 cm (7 feet) from the ground.

The parentage is C. 'Red Stripe' x C. 'Bengal Tiger' (aka Pretoria) and one other. Bernard is holding his cards close to his chest over the last cross!

It is a most sturdy canna which develops huge bulbs at the base, even before applications of Seasol.

Cannas by Bernard Yorke

Bernard's new Canna Group

Canna 'Elaroo'

A few months ago I wrote descriptions of several new Canna cultivars introduced by Bernard Yorke, the Canna hybridist from Australia. I was at a little bit of a loss, as I could not assign them to the existing Canna Groups. The existing groups for those with short memory retention (like me!) are:

• Foliage Group- right foliage, but flowers too small.
• Crozy Group - flowers are OK, but the overall plant size and foliage size is much larger than this group permits.
• Italian Group - although a contributing group, it does not match the overall size, foliage size or flower size.
  
• Miniature Group - definitely too large
• Variegated Group - obviously not.
• Conservatory Group - not been tested in conservatory conditions.
  
• Agriculture Group - no connection with agriculture.
• Premier Group - flowers way too small for this group
• Aquatic Group - no aquatic connections.
  

These were cultivars that Bernard had created by crossing Canna 'Red Stripe' of the Foliage Group with Canna 'Bengal Tiger', of the Italian Group. The latter are very tall, with very large foliage, but with flowers that are much larger than the traditional Foliage Group.

Then it eventually dawned on me, the reason that they did not fit into any of the existing groups was because they *ARE* different. Nobody, before, has introduced cultivars with this breeding behind them. So, I believe that we now have a new cultivar group on our hands. Well done to Bernard Yorke!

All we need now is a suitable name for the group. It appears that the originator normally decides the cultivar group name, so come on Bernard, let's have a name for this group of cultivars.

Introducing 'Canna Malrose'

A medium sized Crozy Group cultivar; green with purple blotched foliage; flowers are open, rose pink, staminodes are large, good bloomer. Introduced and submitted for trial in the 2008 International Canna Trials by by Malcolm McFarland, France, EU.

Fanfare for Horn Canna

In 1928, Frances Horn received six canna bulbs from her aunt in Arkansas, USA, and planted them in her yard. They grew so well and were so popular with neighbours that within a few years her husband, John Horn began peddling bulbs to surrounding towns in his 1925 Model 'T' Ford.

The same as today, only the very best bulbs were personally selected for Grandpa's daily sales run.

At the young age of 15, Neil J. Horn traded his parents, John and Frances Horn, a Jersey calf for the rights to the canna business. From that time forward, Horn Canna Farm has grown to over 120 acres and 20 varieties. Today, Horn canna bulbs are shipped throughout the United States. This achievement is the direct result of the hard work and pioneer instinct of Neil and Louise Horn. From inventing and building all the equipment used in production, to drilling and installing the first irrigation system in Caddo County, they were truly pioneers in the canna industry.

Horn Canna is now one of the world's largest Canna farmers, growing hundreds of acres devoted to Canna.

Introducing Canna 'Croome'

A medium sized Premier Group cultivar; dark green foliage, ovoid shaped, branching habit; flowers are open, rose-red and ivory, staminodes are large, edges irregular, petals red, 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 purple; tillering is average.

Introduced and submitted for trial in the 2008 International Canna Trials by Malcolm Dalebö, Claines Canna Collection, Worcester, England, EU.

Visit Croome Court this year!

Inca food planning better than ours!

The Inca Empire stretched the entire length of South America in the Andes and included virtually every type of environment imaginable, ranging from tropical to ‘cold and miserable’. The Inca developed agricultural systems and plants that could grow in these diverse habitats and they were so successful that they were able to grow enough food to feed 15 million people with their "primitive" technology, but amazingly also had a 3-7 year surplus in reserve, much better than we can now achieve!

The ruins of Machu Picchu.

The Inca’s grew a diverse array of plants compared to "modern" systems of agriculture. The Conquistadors forced the Incas to switch to the use of "Western" plants such as wheat, barley, carrots, and broad beans. The Incan foods included a dozen root crops, 3 grains, 3 legumes and more than a dozen fruits. These plants are still grown and sold in markets in the Andes by rural, Indian peasants. However, the white and part-Indians are resistant to their use because they are "poor peoples' food".

Several of these crops were introduced to the rest of the world: potatoes, lima beans, peppers, and tomatoes. However, the majority of Incan crops are generally unknown outside the Andes. Resistance to Incan crops and agricultural methods has begun to lessen and there are movements by South American governments to take another look at these crops. The interest and research into these are in very preliminary stages for the most part and it is not clear how many of these plants, if any, will enjoy widespread acceptance. There are many barriers to overcome including adaptation of crops to climate, daylight, cultural bias, and diseases.

Achia, aka achiras, an Agrigultural Group canna, has already made this exodus and is well established all around the world. In many countries it is so well established it is considered to be indigenous, and in some it prospers so well that it is treated as a weed.

Introducing Canna 'Compact de Villée'

A medium sized Crozy Group cultivar; green foliage; spikes of flowers are cupped, cream with red throat, staminodes are large size, edges irregular, petals yellow, self-cleaning, good bloomer. Introduced and offered for trial in the 2008 International Canna Trials by Raphäel Roger, of Belgium.

Link to Canna RC

Wet and warm UK summer forecast

The UK is facing a wet and warm summer this year, according to a long-range forecast by the Met Office.

Its forecasters said temperatures were likely to be warmer than average for the UK, and rainfall near or above average for the three months of summer.

However, it said there was a very low probability of the exceptional rainfall on the scale of last year which caused devastating floods in some parts.

The Met Office described the forecast as a "typical British summer".

'Accurate advice'

Met Office head of forecasting Brian Golding said: "Seasonal forecasting is a difficult thing to do and this places some limitations on our forecasts.

"Our predictions for last autumn, winter and spring have all given accurate advice, giving more confidence in our latest summer forecast."

Parts of England and Wales, and particularly the Midlands, had their wettest summer last year since rainfall records began in 1914.

Last month, figures obtained by the BBC suggested that more than 10,000 people were still unable to return to their homes after last summer's flooding, with Hull, East Riding and Tewkesbury, near Worcester, the worst affected areas.

The worst of the floods - estimated to have cost £3bn - hit Yorkshire, Gloucestershire and Worcestershire.

Forward planning

A wetter than average summer is also likely this year in southern Scandinavia and a drier than average one across southern and eastern Europe.

The forecast is designed to help official organisations with their forward planning.

Met Office government services director Rob Varley said: "Our long-range forecasts are proving useful to a range of people, such as emergency planners and the water industry, in order to help them plan ahead.

"They are not forecasts which can be used to plan a summer holiday or inform an outdoor event."

Malcolm's comments are, "It seems to me that 'wet' can be translated into 'not a lot of sunshine'. In which case we will have to adopt a policy of only growing Cannas where they get potential all-day sunlight, because I can't see how they can get enough light to prosper any other way."

Introducing Canna 'Bethany'

A medium sized Italian Group cultivar; variegated green and yellow foliage, oval-acuminate shaped, upright habit; round stems, coloured green; flowers are open, orange (RHS 28B) with yellow (RHS 14B) blotches, staminodes are large, edges irregular; seed is sterile, pollen is low fertile; rhizomes are long and thin, coloured white; tillering is prolific.

This cultivar was discovered by Brian West, who lives at South Cheam on the outskirts of London, growing in his garden as a sport of C. ‘Bengal Tiger’. He named it after the name of his house.

The mutation was described at the 2002 RHS Trials as C. 'Bengal Tiger' with a flower like C. 'Roma'. At the RHS Trials 2002, this cultivar was awarded the coveted AGM, subject to being made available to the UK general public.

Synonyms are Canna "Tropicanna Gold", Canna "Mactro", Canna 'African Gold'

Photographs courtesy of Malcolm McFarland

Five year trek to Terra Ceia Farms

In 1938, Leendert Van Staalduinen, an experienced Dutch bulb farmer, emigrated from Holland with his wife, Cornelia, and their 10 children.

The original destination was the small Dutch enclave of Eastern North Carolina known as Terra Ceia. Instead, the family ended up spending 5 years in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada because of war-time immigration policies.

Finally, the paperwork was in order for moving to the United States, and in 1943, the family arrived in Pantego. It was here they hoped to establish the Terra Ceia Farm to grow cut flowers.

[Ed. Here is a link to what became one of the most successful mail order Canna suppliers. Terra Ceia Farms]

Introducing Canna 'Abundance'

Giant new cultivar from Bernard Yorke, Australia. Large green foliage, topped by medium sized prolific yellow blooms. The breeding is C. 'Red Stripe' x C. 'Bengal Tiger' (aka 'Pretoria').

Cannas by Bernard Yorke

Hornets hit France and could reach Britain

Swarms of giant hornets renowned for their vicious stings and skill at massacring honeybees have settled in France. And there are now so many of the insects that entomologists fear it will just be a matter of time before they cross to Britain.

Global warming has largely been blamed for the survival and spread of the Asian Hornet, Vespa velutina, which is thought to have arrived in France from the Far East in a consignment of Chinese pottery in late 2004. Thousands of football-shaped hornet nests are now dotted all over the forests of Aquitaine, the south-western region of France hugely popular with British tourists.

"Their spread across French territory has been like lightning," said Jean Haxaire, the entomologist who originally identified the new arrival. He said he had recently seen 85 nests in the 40-odd miles which separate the towns of Marmande and Podensac, in the Lot et Garonne department where the hornets were first spotted.

The hornets can grow to up to 1.8in and, with a wingspan of 3in, are renowned for inflicting a bite which has been compared to a hot nail entering the body. A handful can destroy a nest of 30,000 bees in just a couple of hours — a major concern among the beekeeping industry.

"The problems are not necessarily public health ones, but ecological ones. These hornets can cause immense damage to beehives," said Mr Haxaire. The hornets are renowned for feeding their young with the larvae of other social insects, including bees, whose nests they break into and ransack. The French beekeeping industry has already been decimated by pesticides and long, hot summers. Honey production from the 1.3 million hives run by 80,000 beekeepers has been decreasing annually — down by 60 per cent in south-western France during the past decade.

A spokesman for the French National Been Surveillance Unit said the bee death rate during winter was now up to six in ten. As a result France has to import some 25,000 tons of honey annually. "The arrival of these hornets has made the situation considerably worse," the spokesman added. "The future of our entire industry is at stake."

Yesterday, there was concern that it may not take long before the Asian hornet makes its way to Britain. "There's no doubt that these hornets are heading north and will probably find their way to Britain at some point," said Stuart Hine, manager of the Insect Information Service at London's Natural History Museum. "Climate change certainly means they can cope with European summers. However, they would still have difficulty coping with our winter frosts."

While some 40 people a year die from hornet stings — mainly because of allergic reactions — Claire Villement, of France's Natural History Museum, said there was no need for a "national panic about killer wasps".

Mrs Villement said: "The legend that three bites from a hornet can kill you are totally false. People can still enjoy their picnics in the countryside."

Honey bees in England are already under threat from colony-collapse disorder, and this latest threat is not at all welcome. We have noticed in the last few years that we now have more wasps than honey bees fertilising our Cannas. Wasps are unpleasant creatures, and I much prefer sharing our Cannas with the honey-bee than with them.