Introducing Canna 'Orange Ballcap'

A medium sized Crozy Group cultivar; green foliage, ovoid shaped, branching habit; spikes of flowers are open, red-orange with burnt-red spots, staminodes are narrow, edges irregular, labellum is red-orange streaked with gold, style is gold with red-orange stripes, petals green; fertile both ways, not self-pollinating or true to type; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter.

Introduced by Karen Burch, USA.

Let's have another try!

With an improvement to the weather forecast we feel ready to make another attempt at transferring the collection from their indoor growing environment to the outdoor canna beds. We will start the transplanting today.

Canna 'A. Eisenbarth', one of those lost to the collection this winter.

In the meantime, the damage done to the plants already transplanted outdoors is quite serious. Good, large foliage has been ripped of by high winds, and foliage that has started to unfold in the last few days has shown serious stress; when up to then, safe in the winter polytunnel, there had been nothing but good foliage. Just a week in extreme storm conditions has subjected those plants to a high level of stress. These are tropical and sub-tropical plants that cannot easily withstand the extremes of an erratic, northern climate being interfered with by external circumstances.

We will keep regulars informed of progress.

Introducing Canna 'Gozée'

A small Crozy Group cultivar; green foliage, lanceolate shaped, upright habit; spikes of flowers are open, self-coloured red-orange, staminodes are narrow, edges irregular, petals red, fully self-cleaning, average bloomer; fertile both ways, not self-pollinating or true to type, capsules globose; rhizomes are long and thin, coloured pink and purple; tillering is average.

Introduced by Raphaël ROGER, Belgium, and a member of his Collection La Thudinie.

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Flooding on it's way

Britain has been lashed by storms as almost a month's worth of rain fell in just one day - and the washout is set to continue until the end of the week.

An average of 60mm of rain falls on the UK in May - and some areas had that in just a morning.

Forecasters have warned of more heavy downpours today, with yet more rain into the weekend.

Flooded: Southampton Central Train Station was closed because of today's heavy rain

The foul weather has already caused widespread Bank Holiday misery as roads ground to a halt and train lines were submerged under water.

The Met Office recorded that 57mm of rain had fallen on the tiny Hampshire village of Otterbourne, by noon yesterday while nearby Petersfield, had 52mm of rain in the same period.

A Met Office forecaster said: 'Thursday will be the best day of weather this week with sunny spells but there is another band of rain coming on Friday.

'Unfortunately, Saturday is not looking too good either - it will be showery. Sunday also looks unsettled.

'The temperature by the weekend should be in the early twenties though, so at least it won't feel too cold.'

The Met Office warned that some parts of the country could experience more localized flooding.

After the disaster of the last weekend, at Claines Canna we were looking forward to some good weather next weekend to get the collection growing outside for the summer. It now looks as though we will be delayed at least a further week. The plants in the polytunnel are demanding more water each day as they prosper indoors, and moving them outdoors is impractical with the present weather conditions.

Introducing Canna 'Biesme-sous-Thuin'

A medium sized Premier Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, branching habit; flowers are open, pale yellow with old-rose spots, staminodes are large, edges irregular, petals green, fully self-cleaning, good bloomer; fertile both ways, not self-pollinating or true to type, capsules ellipsoid; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured white; tillering is average.

Introduced by Raphaël ROGER, Belgium in 2005.

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And the Heavens Cried

Flooding is expected over large parts of England this week as the torrential rain which battered southern and western regions over the Spring Bank Holiday moves north.

While most of the North enjoyed a sunny Bank Holiday, some southern counties saw 50mm of rain fall in 12 hours today - more than half the monthly average.

The Environment Agency (EA) issued 44 “flood watches” and a Met Office spokesman said today that the dismal weather was expected to move into the Midlands and the North tonight and tomorrow morning, causing some localised flooding.

“A new pulse of rain will come in tonight that will move up over the northern parts of England tomorrow. Everywhere will see some rain," he said.

He described the last two days as “the wettest bank holiday” he could remember. The beaches in the south were deserted of holidaymakers.

“Some counties have seen 40mm of rain already yesterday and about 55mm over Sunday,” he said.

“We would normally expect 60 to 70 mm through the course of the month so they have had almost all of that over this weekend.

“It’s early to say if it’s the wettest bank holiday because it’s still bucketing down. But it’s the wettest I can remember for some time.”

My only comment, here we go again! We have about 20% of the Canna collection planted outside, and the remainder has stayed put, inside it's safe winter storage while we wait for normality, whatever that is, to be restored. The Heavens have cried this weekend, and I've come close to tears as well! It will be into June before we can attend to the rest of the collection, which is the latest planting-out that I can remember.

Collection La Thudinie

La Thudinie is a region of Hainaut in Wallonia, Belgium, with Thuin as its largest town. La Thudinie is also the home region of Raphaël Roger, the holder of the largest Canna collection in the French speaking world, and he has named a collection of his Canna introductions after his home region.



The Canna cultivars in the collection, or series as many would call it, are:

• Canna 'Thuin'
• Canna 'Gozée'
• Canna 'Thuillies'
• Canna 'Donstiennes'
• Canna 'Biesme-sous-Thuin'
• Canna 'Ragnies'
• Canna 'Leers-et-Fosteau'
• Canna 'Biercée'

Descriptions and photographs of the individual cultivars will follow in the forthcoming weeks.

Visit Canna RC

Then along came the winds!

Well, we started the long trek on Saturday, and the photo shows how far we had got by the end of the day. We haven't been helped by light rain showers, but they have just been shrugged of. What dedication to our Cannas!

The along came the winds. Starting first as gusts of wind and then becoming a continuous wind at about 20mph, gusting up to 50mph!

The tender Cannas, nurtured in a polytunnel have not been prepared for these conditions, and very soon we started to loose fragile foliage. Quickly we decided to stop planting out the largest specimens and to concentrate on those that would have their feathers ruffled, but would not have their large leaves battered by the winds.

Eventually, we had planted out all suitable candidates and had to give up planting out any more. We have transplanted about 20% of the collection, and much remains to be done.

It may be that for the first time ever we find ourselves into next month still transplanting the collection. Transplanting in June is totally unheard of, but these winds at this time of the year are also unheard of previously as well.

And they still try to convince us that nothing is wrong with the climate!

Introducing Canna 'Jezabel'

Bernard Yorke, of Australia, has stated that having been inspired by Canna 'Eva Maree Lleonhart', he has developed a darker version of this dwarf canna, but they are not directly related.

C. 'Jezabel' is a dwarf canna, with wavy green foliage and over-sized, dark spotted flowers of deep purple overlaid on pale yellow which fades to ivory.

Jezebel multiplies up prolifically from the base, and forms a tight bunch of wavy foliage in a short time.

Cannas by Bernard Yorke

We are going for it!

Subject to no bad weather forecast between now and Saturday morning, at Claines Canna we will begin moving the Cannas from their winter home into the open Canna beds on Saturday. This coincides with a Public Holiday on Monday, and so gives us 3 days to do the whole job. The weather forecast for the weekend looks promising as well.

Whether we will manage to dig up and transplant all of the 200 plus plants in the collection is questionable. We have never been so well organized before, and previously we had to move plants from all over to bring the collection together, but this year it is just a case of moving them 20 yards, and so we will gain a measure of how much work is involved and how long it will take.

The Canna beds have been weeded, dug and fertilized and look splendid, just waiting for the collection to emerge and grace it once again. I have to give credit to Honda for the state of the beds. Last year I treated myself to an expensive birthday present and bought a Honda tiller. It is a splendid piece of machinery, and has made the maintenance of the beds and our vegetable gardens a treat, rather than the hard work that it used to be.

The machine is the Honda FG110 0.86hp Tiller, and comes highly recommended. I am more pleased and excited about this piece of machinery, than any new car I've bought in the last 20 years!

Introducing Canna 'Eva Marie Lleonart'

Submitted by Bernad Yorke, of Australia, it is interesting to be introduced to a southern hemisphere favourite that is unknown in Europe or the USA.

Bernard stated that, "I thought growers would like to see this Australian hybrid developed in the late 1990s...a most attractive dwarf growing canna with beautiful ivory petals featuring broken stripes of pale magenta with the lip being of a darker shade,... this is a hybrid from Cannabrae Gardens in Victoria and will be in collections for a very long time. I am pleased to have this in my collection."

I also understand that Bernard has also used this cultivar in his own breeding programme.

Cannas by Bernard Yorke

Hibernation of Canna seed

Cannas are unique in many ways, one of them being that they are the only member of the the Liliopsida Class (monocot family) in which hibernation of seed is known to occur, due to its hard, impenetrable seed covering.

Seed hibernation, is different from seed dormancy. Seed dormancy can be defined as a seed not germinating when conditions, e.g. light, water/nutrient availability or the presence of activating substances like smoke, are favourable. While, hibernation is the ability of a seed to remain in hibernation when there is a lack of things essential to their development (water, sunlight, nutrients, etc.) or in harsh conditions (extreme cold, extreme heat, hard ground, etc.). There is not a specific time limit in which a seed may hibernate; some seeds found in the arctic grew after an estimated 10,000 years. When conditions are right for the particular type of seed, they can come out of hibernation and grow.

We have a famous instance of Canna compacta seed that was discovered by archeologists in an Inca rubbish tip, and subsequently germinated! See left. I have never been able to trace anybody with any personal knowledge of that well-documented experience, and the fact that the plant grown from it has been lost to us is a cause of frustration.

Seeds display hibernation for very short periods of time every year. In autumn, seeds produced in summer may have a chance to grow while the soil is still warm, but instead do not grow until spring. The seeds have chemicals encoded into them that will not allow them to germinate until the soil warms up again, a sign of spring. This is called after ripening.

Seeds may also go into hibernation for other causes. Many pines have adapted to forest fires that destroy trees by creating pine cones that open in extreme heat (fire) and release seeds coated with a material that will break down only in extreme heat. The seeds hibernate until this happens.

Canna seeds have a hard coating that must be broken down by contact with rough rock, soil, etc. before they begin to grow. Until the shell is broken and water reaches the seed, the seed remains dormant.

When released, some seeds (especially those in a desert environment) must wait for rain before the seed is triggered out of hibernation and begins to grow. There are many other causes of dormancy. It is an unclear phenomenon; the limits of seed hibernation are still unknown, and many triggers have yet to be discovered.

Introducing Canna 'Malvern'

A medium sized Premier Group cultivar; green foliage, ovoid shaped, branching habit; half-round stems, coloured green; spikes of flowers are open, burnt-red with a narrow gold margin, staminodes are large, edges ruffled, labellum is gold with a wide burnt-red margin, stamen is gold rayed with burnt-red, style is burnt-red, 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 pink and purple; tillering is average.


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

Bug Clear Ultra

Countries in the EU have taken a hard-line on the use of chemicals for agriculture and horticulture and many products have been taken of the market. This has made it difficult to find a good systemic spray that is effective for a large number of problems.

However, I am informed that there is a new EU approved systemic insecticide on the market, based upon a chemical called acetamiprid. It's been about in the commercial world for a little over eighteen months and my informants company tried it last year.

He reports that "Its very good against aphids(green and black), and supposed to be equally effective against white fly, scale and mealy bugs. Has no recommendation for spider mites, only a useful control of thrips, and the juries still out about caterpillars. But having said all that it is good to have a systemic back after many years absence. I used it already and shall rotate it with the rest."

BugClear Ultra , from the Scotts Company, works in two ways:

1. On contact - It kills pests rapidly.
2. Systemically - It is absorbed into the plant so that it kills difficult or hidden pests as they feed (for example, scale insects on ornamental plants)

At Claines Canna we attempt to use an organic solution whenever possible, but sometimes the use of a systemic spray is the only viable answer. It would be interesting to hear about other peoples experience of this new chemical spray.

Introducing Canna 'Ludlow'

The sheer size, and long-lasting qualities of the flower spikes are surprising. This is not at the expense of the number of stems it produces, as that is impressive as well.

Medium sized Premier Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, upright habit; spikes of flowers are open, self-coloured gold, staminodes are large, 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; tillering is average.

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

Too much weather!

In England when the topic of conversation turns to the weather, people will often state the problem as being, "Too much weather and not enough climate!"

Being a small island in a vast ocean the British Isles are subject to continual changes in wind direction, and that results in the "too much weather " syndrome. In large continents the wind will stay in a single predominant direction for weeks or months, providing a climate that can be predicted quite far ahead.

To illustrate the problems experienced in England I have shown two graphs showing predicted temperatures just 10 days ahead. The graphs are taken from consecutive days, but you will notice how much different they are too each other.

Forecast made 15 May 2008

Forecast made 16 May 2008

Now you can see what we gardeners have to contend with in England! Weather uncertainty is always with us, and a little more climate would be welcomed!

As far as using these predictions to decide whether to start moving the Claines Canna Collection from it's winter hibernation into the open ground for the summer, the conclusion is a resounding *NO*. Temperatures overnight on the next Sunday, Monday and Tuesday are too low to risk moving this 200+ plant collection fully outdoors just yet. The most worrying period is around the 26th of the month, when the overnight temperatures are predicted to drop again to 6°C. That is too low to risk the weaker survivors of the winter hibernation.

Introducing Canna 'Hallow'

A small Premier Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, spreading habit; triangular stems, coloured green; panicles of flowers are open, peach rayed with coral-pink, staminodes are large, edges lightly frilled, 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; tillering is average.

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

Ready to go?

Empty Canna beds waiting for the starting pistol.

At Claines Canna, England, the Canna beds are dug, fertilized and ready to go. The collection is growing away quite happily and contented in the polytunnels, enjoying daytime temperatures of 45°C (110°F), watered daily and spoiled weekly with fungicide sprays and liquid seaweed feed.

This morning I looked at the 10 day weather forecast, and the coldest overnight temperature predicted is 5°C (41°F) on the 17th and 18th of May. The temptation is there to start lifting the plants from the ground in the polytunnel and start planting them outdoors. However, the winds on the 24th are from the North East, and I only have to see the words "north" & "wind" to get cautious. Our prevailing winds are from the south west, bringing warm air from the gulf steam. To the north-east lies Norway, Russia and other cold places, brrr!

We have had frosts at the end of May in the past, so, reluctantly we will go on the side of caution, and give it another day or two before deciding.

I must comment that I have never seen the collection looking so healthy at this time of the year, and we are hoping for a great year of Canna growing after the bad years we have had.

Introducing Canna 'Fröken'

A Miniature Group cultivar; green foliage, small, oval shaped, branching habit; triangular stems, coloured green; panicles of flowers are cupped, self-coloured canary-yellow, staminodes are medium size, labellum is canary-yellow streaked with red; fertile both ways, not self-pollinating or true to type, capsules round; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured white; tillering is average.

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

Fifth of bee colonies killed

British honey bees have been decimated by bad weather, stress and disease, with more than one in five colonies thought to have been killed off over the winter, according to the government and the British Beekeepers' Association.

Annual colony loss figures have doubled in the past four years, from just over 6% in 2003 to nearly 12% in 2007. With 10% of colonies inspected so far this year, losses are running at over 21%, approaching the decline in the US and parts of continental Europe last year.

Tim Lovett, chair of the beekeepers' association, said: "The rate of loss is important - if it climbs to 25%-30% then we are in serious trouble; if it were to go up to 60%, then we will be out of beekeeping in just a few years."

The food and farming minister, Lord Rooker, has said that without emergency measures the honey bee is likely to disappear from Britain, threatening the £165m-a-year fruit industry.

The UK has about 240,000 colonies, run by 44,000 mostly amateur keepers. Yesterday the government said the investigation of bee colony losses would get higher priority, and keepers with significant losses should contact a local inspector.

The National Bee Unit said the poor spring had extended the bees' confinement and the stress had probably let pathogens spread.

In the US, 36% of colonies died last year, largely due to "colony collapse disorder", thought to be linked to the varroa mite and other factors. CCD has spread to France, Germany and Italy but has not been confirmed by government in Britain.

Source: John Vidal
The Guardian,
Friday May 9 2008

Introducing Canna 'Laura Dalebö'

A Miniature Group cultivar; green foliage, small, ovoid shaped, branching habit; triangular stems, coloured green; panicles of flowers are open, white with pale pink spots, staminodes are medium size, edges frilled, labellum is white with old-rose stripes, stamen is white with old-rose stripes, style is white, 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 prolific.

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

Exciting variegation breakthrough

Most of the variegated Cannas we grow are derived from mutations of the Italian Group, the two exceptions to that being Canna 'Kansas City', a Crozy Group mutation and C. 'Stuttgart', a Foliage Group mutation. The Italian Group variegated mutations are: C. 'Bengal Tiger', C. 'Durban', C. 'Phasion', C. 'Pringle Bay', C. 'Trinacria Variegata', C. 'Yellow King Humbert'. Although the Italians are almost seed sterile, a few seeds have been produced, However, there is no recorded instance of any seedlings being produced that carried the variegation trait.

Ms. Alice Harris of Karchesky Canna reports a breakthrough, having produced a Foliage Group canna that she has grown for a number of years now, and that originated from seed and has leaf variegation. The variegation has been stable in this plant for at least three years. The plant was tested for virus last summer and was given the all-clear, so this is a true variegation, and not induced by external means. The plant freely gives seed.

Alice started planting it's seeds late last summer as another experiment, and all seedlings to date have had variegation. She has just repeated the experiment, with another batch of seeds, to confirm the result.

As yet, it has not been established if the blooms are true-to-type, but that should be confirmed this summer when both batches come into flower.

It is interesting to see that the trait for variegation can be transmitted to seed-grown offspring, and this breakthrough offers some interesting future possibilities.

Alice has promised to take photographs regularly this season, and to share them with us, so that we can all join in the experience.

Click on image to visit the Karchesky web site

Introducing Canna 'Apricot Butterfly'

From Bernard Yorke in Australia comes details of yet another new Australian Group cultivar, again a descendant of Canna 'Red Stripe’.

This one has green foliage, as can be seen in the photograph, and the leaves are quite long and wide, plants grow quite easily to 2 metres with masses of lush foliage and long sprays of small apricot blooms. The seed pods are very large and round, with the seed itself being extra large as well.

Bernard states that this is a good one as a parent plant for future hybridization, but I find those large apricot spikes so appealing that I think it could become a firm favourite in its own right.

Cannas by Bernard Yorke

Roots growth explained

Scientists at the John Innes Centre in Norwich have discovered how roots find their way past obstacles to grow through soil. The discovery also explains how germinating seedlings penetrate the soil without pushing themselves out as they burrow.

“The key is in the fuzzy coat of hairs on the roots of plants” says Professor Liam Dolan. “We have identified a growth control mechanism that enables these hairs to find their way and to elongate when their path is clear”.

Root hairs explore the soil in much the same way as a person would feel their way in the dark. If they come across an obstacle, they feel their way around until they can continue growing in an opening. In the meantime, the plant is held in place as the hairs grip the soil.

This ability is governed by a self-reinforcing cycle. A protein at the tip of root hairs called RHD2 produces free radicals that stimulate the uptake of calcium from the soil. Calcium then stimulates the activity of RHD2, producing more free radicals and further uptake of calcium. When an obstacle blocks the hair’s path, the cycle is broken and growth starts in another location and direction.

“This remarkable system gives plants the flexibility to explore a complex environment and to colonise even the most unpromising soils”, says Professor Dolan. “It also explains how seedlings are able to grow so quickly once they have established”.

In nutrient poor soils such as in parts of Australia and sub-Saharan Africa, plants have adapted by producing more root hairs. A better understanding of this adaptation will allow the development of crops able to grow in inhospitable environments.

This research was funded by the BBSRC, a Marie Curie International Incoming Fellowship and MEXT of Japan.

Introducing Canna 'Jessie Dalebö'

A small Crozy Group cultivar; bronze foliage, oval shaped, upright habit; round stems, coloured purple with white farina; spikes of flowers are open, self-coloured red, staminodes are medium size, edges irregular, labellum is occasionally marked with saffron-yellow, petals purple, fully self-cleaning; fertile both ways, not self-pollinating or true to type, capsules round; 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 2003. The breeding is C. 'Red Futurity' x open pollination. Flowers continuously in the UK from late June until the first frosts.

Malcolm states, "I think that this is one of the finest black foliage Cannas, and I would place it alongside C. 'La France' and C. Australia'."

Almost ready to go for it!

What a wonderful long weekend. Some rain, but mostly warm, balmy days. The seedling Cannas in their pots look healthy in their polytunnel, and the collection growing directly in soil in the large polytunnel have never looked healthier this time of the year. The aches in my back and knees are easily overcome by the feeling of sheer pleasure at starting gardening again in warm weather!

The Cannas have all had several doses of fungicide since the New Year, and yesterday I also gave them a dose of liquid seaweed fertilizer. The outdoor borders, where the collection will grow this summer have been dug, pelleted chicken fertilizer has been added in large quantities, and they have been covered with clear plastic sheeting. The sheeting will serve to warm up the beds, which are still cold and wet, and will also quickly germinate any seed on the surface. A couple of days before planting out I will visit them with a hoe, so we start the season without needing a hard weeding session.

The temperatures are fine, and the 10 day weather forecast shows a minimum night temperature of 9° C. over that period, so no frosts threaten. Yet I am hesitant to move the collection and seedlings outside yet. There is still time for wind from the north to bring frosts with it, and that would be the demise of the collection, with so many new tender shoots in evidence.

So, I intend to wait until next weekend and review the 10 day weather forecast then, and if it looks good then I will go for it! It will take two weekends to move the 200 large pots outdoors, and to transplant the collections 200+ specimens in their prepared borders, but I am looking forward to it so much after 6 months of hibernation.

I am not looking forward to the body aches that I will pick up, but the pleasure of seeing the Collection growing outdoors again will override the discomfort!

Another recent acquisition that I am looking forward to watch growing this year

Introducing Canna 'Jacob's Coat'

A medium sized Foliage Group cultivar; green foliage, oblong shaped, spreading habit; triangular stems, coloured green; spikes of flowers are erect, red and yellow, staminodes are long and narrow, edges irregular, 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.

Introduced by Malcolm Dalebö, Claines Canna Collection, Worcester, England, EU in 2002.

Canna News: Red Spider Mite

Get ready for red spider mite.

Introducing Canna 'Imagination'

A small Crozy Group cultivar; dark green foliage, oval shaped, branching habit; flowers are open, red-orange with a narrow gold margin, staminodes are large, edges irregular, petals purple 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 2007.

Breeding is Canna 'Gaeity' x open

Canna News: How Crozy did it

Species and Varieties, their Origin by Mutation

Introducing Canna 'Anette Dalebö'

A small Crozy Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, branching habit; round stems, coloured green; panicles of flowers are open, saffron-yellow and orange-red, staminodes are medium size, edges irregular, style is gold, 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 white and pink; tillering is average.

Introduced by Malcolm Dalebö, Claines Canna Collection, Worcester, England, EU in 2006. Seedling from C. 'Tangerine' x C. 'Theresa Blakey'.

Introducing Canna 'Ellen Layden'

A small Miniature Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, branching habit; triangular stems, coloured green; panicles of flowers are open, self-coloured deep-pink, staminodes are large, edges lightly frilled, labellum is gold with a deep-pink margin, stamen is gold with a narrow deep-pink margin, style is gold, petals yellow, 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. Seedling of C. ‘Topaz’ x C. ‘Theresa Blakey’.