Introduced by Podgora Gardens, New Zealand. Synonym: C. 'Polly Gay'
Forecasters warned of a “severe weather event”, with thunderstorms and torrential downpours hitting a large swathe of the country.
The UK will pay for today’s heatwave, when temperatures are set to reach 81F (27C) from southern England up to the Midlands. The Met Office predicted the “severe event” would affect eastern England and eastern Scotland during tomorrow.
It said: “Heavy showers and thunderstorms will break out during the day. There are likely to be some very heavy downpours in places during the afternoon and evening. The wet summer could end with a bang. Up to 30mm – more than an inch – of rain could fall in a short time in some areas, with the potential for local flooding.”
Most years the first Canna seed are harvested mid-July, so it comes as a shock to realise that we are now almost at the end of August and the summer, and we have not yet had any seed ready to collect!
So, there we have it! At one point in history the Canna was seriously considered to be the National Plant of the USA and Leon Wintzer, who introduced so many of the Cannas mentioned, was considered to be the leading breeder of his day.
Synonyms: C. 'Henry Carber', C. 'Henry Cohen', C. 'Henry Cuban', C. 'Princess Mary'
Introduced by Jean Sisly, amateur, gentleman gardener of Monplaisir, near Lyon, France, EU. in 1866.
Suffers badly in poor light conditions, becoming unable to unfurl it new leaves. These "stuck" leaves must be assisted to unfurl, otherwise bud rot has a high chance of getting established.
Synonym: C. 'Creamy-White'
Maybe, a good aphid controller like the Harlequin could be a blessing to Canna growers in the UK. Our biggest problem, besides the weather, is Canna virus. The vector for transmission of the disease is aphids. Our native ladybirds make a whole-hearted effort at consuming aphids, but they, themselves, are subject to two threats - a parasitic wasp and a fungus.
Dr Helen Roy of the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology said: "It is fascinating, if a little bleak, that the Harlequin Ladybird is totally resistant to natural enemies here."
The harlequin, which was introduced into Europe as a form of biological control aimed at aphids, already rivals other model examples of invasive species without native enemies such as the grey squirrel, added Dr Roy.
The growing dominance of the harlequin was also illustrated by its first appearance in the Royal Horticultural Society's list of the ten biggest garden pests of 2007. Only slugs and snails presented a bigger problem for gardeners.
Andrew Halstead, principal entomologist for the RHS, said: "The harlequin ladybird rapidly established itself in England and there is no possibility of eradicating it or preventing its further spread.
Hart Canna are gearing up for their Open Days, which are this weekend, 22nd to 25th (Friday to Monday) with a party there on the afternoon and evening of the 25th, when the public that happen to be there can mingle with our own friends, and Keith will be getting the barbecue going. 
Photo courtesy of Dr TanakaThis is a wild species that has not adapted to a temperate climate and its winters. It is used to growing 52 weeks of the year and if you cannot bring it indoors over a cold winter to continue growing there, then it is pointless trying to treat it like a cultivar and try to make it as dormant as possible, as it will not survive such treatment.
Introduced by the partnership of Messrs Rozain and Boucharlat, one of the oldest French nursery houses, to celebrate their first 100 years of trading in 1930.
The true pink colour was one of the Holy Grails for early Canna growers, and this was the first cultivar that could claim to have achieved a "true" pink colour.
Synonyms: C. 'Centenaire', C. 'Centenaire de Rozain Boucharlat', C. 'Centenaire de Rozain-Bourcharlat'
Introduced by Johnny K. Johnson, USA in 2004.
It's news which will come as little surprise to anyone in the UK caught in a downpour during recent weeks. According to forecasters Britain is on course for the wettest August since 1912.Some parts of the country are expected to see more than double the average rainfall for the month. The wettest August was recorded 96 years ago when 193mm fell on the country, compared to the overall average for the month of 58mm.
Forecasters said heavy rain would continue to fall throughout the week and would also be accompanied by gusty winds and cooler temperatures. The miserable prediction for what has been dubbed 'awful August' comes after a weekend deluge wreaked havoc across large parts of Northern Ireland. Rivers burst their banks, mud slides blocked roads, flood waters submerged properties, and dozens of residents were left stranded in their homes.
Met Office forecaster Kevin Hogg said: 'It's certainly a good deal wetter than the average August. 'A lot of places have already had the average August rainfall and we are only halfway through the month. 'Some places might see as much as twice the amount of rain they would normally expect. 'It's definitely going to be a wetter than average August and it could be the wettest on record.' He said the weather would not improve in the coming days with yet more rain and wind buffering the country.
'It's going to be another unsettled week,' he added. 'We are going to see more rain and it's going to be heavy in places. Most of the UK will be wetter than average. 'We are going to see spells of rain pretty much every day in some shape or form. 'Nowhere is going to escape. It's going to be a mess.'
Figures on rainfall for the month of August will not be known until September. In the meantime, we just wring our hands helplessly. We have so many of our stock plants producing terrible foliage, which we believe is down to the lack of light during these overcast, rainy periods. Only weeks ago they were producing good quality foliage, and now so much is showing foliage features that we would normally associate with Canna virus!
We will not know until we get a period of 4-6 weeks of steady dry weather with a reasonable amount of sunlight. It does not look like we will get that this year, and we will wander into a second year without knowing the true health of our Collection.
This year, at Claines Canna, we are establishing which specimens we think are healthy, and they will go on sale in November. Last year we were just devastated by what the weather did to our plants, and such considerations were not given priority.
Introduced by Malcolm Dalebö, Claines Canna Collection, Worcester, England, EU in 2007.
Synonyms: C. 'Los Angeles', C. 'Miss Oklahoma', C. 'Mrs A. Conrad', C. 'Mrs Alfred Conard', C. 'Mrs Alfred Conrad', C. 'Mrs Oklahoma', C. 'Oklahoma', C. 'Pink President', C. 'President (Pink)', C. 'Pride of Holland'
Introduced by W.H. Morse in 1898. Winner of the Award of Merit from the R.H.S., 1901.
Synonyms: C. 'Kate Gray', C. 'Miss Kate Gray', C. 'Queen Anne'
Looks like flooding and heavy rains are becoming the norm, maybe not as bad as last year, but enough to blight what we are trying to do. For 10 minutes I saw heavier rain coming down today than I have ever seen anywhere, even in northern Norway during bad storms. Much damage was done to the foliage on our Cannas, and some large leaves were totally shredded by the rain. This was not rain as we know it, this was a monsoon!
After last years disatrously wet summer we found ourselves contending with a new problem... Bud Rot (Xanthommonas sp.).
The bacterium that causes bud rot of canna enters through the stomata (tiny openings or pores, on the underside of leaves and used for gas exchange) of young leaves and flower buds, usually before they have opened. As the leaf unfolds, numerous spots are visible which enlarge and run together along the veins, sometimes giving the leaf a striped appearance.
The spots may at first be whitish, but soon turn to black. Infected flower buds may turn black and die before opening.
The disease may progress down the leaf stalk and kill the young stem and buds.
If older leaves are infected, the disease area spreads slowly, forming irregular, yellowish spots with water-soaked margins.
The bacteria live through the winter on the rhizomes. The disease occurs early in the season on young plants in hot-houses and gardens.
Control: Use only healthy rootstocks for propagation. Suspicious ones should be dipped in a streptomycin solution before planting. Streptomycin bud and leaf sprays might also help.
Avoid over-watering, overcrowding, and poor ventilation.
Introduced by C. Sprenger, Dammann & Co., Naples, Italy, EU. Featured in the 1908 outdoor trials at Wisley, without award.
Introduced by Vilmorin-Andrieux in 1937.
So, where are we now? We had a disastrous year in 2007, and we ended the year in total disarray. We had bad foliage everywhere, and we had no way of knowing what was affected by virus and what was just suffering from lack of light and decent growing conditions.
This picture, taken 4th August 2008 shows the collection growing in reasonable conditions, as each leaf is grown out they are better and better. Initially the Cannas were dependent on the energy stored in the rhizomes, and we saw bad foliage and poor growth. However, as the sun shone and the roots ventured into the richer surrounding soil we gradually saw the plants change from being pressurized victims into flamboyant sub-tropical specimens.
It is now so clear to us, that 90% of the problems perceived in Cannas are directly attributable to trying to grow tropical and sub-tropical specimens in a temperate climate. The stress symptoms they display sometimes look like some of the Canna Virus's. However, by just growing them out in the best conditions you can provide, you will establish whether your plants have virus or are stressed sub-tropicals trying to make it in a temperate climate!
Introduced by Vilmorin-Andrieux in 1934. Our earliest reference to this specimen is Vilmorin Catalogue, 1941. Still grown in the EU.
Awards: Under the synonym of Canna 'General Eisenhower', won the Award of Garden Merit (AGM) at the 2002 RHS outdoor Canna Trials.
Synonyms: C. 'Black Tropicanna', C. 'General Eisenhower', C. 'President Roosevelt'
Introduced by Antoine Wintzer of The Conard & Jones Co., West Grove, PA, USA in 1899.
In general, scholars concerned with the ancient culture history of the Americas believe that there were no significant connections by voyaging between the Old World and the New World before 1492. It has long been held that Canna is native to South America and stayed unique to that continent until Columbus arrived and the Spanish then spread it around the world. Examination of an extensive literature has revealed conclusive evidence that nearly one hundred species of plants, a majority of them cultivars, were present in both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres prior to Columbus' first voyage to the Americas, this includes Canna.
The evidence comes from archaeology, historical and linguistic sources, ancient art, and conventional botanical studies. Additionally, 21 species of micro-predators and six other species of fauna were shared by the Old and New Worlds. The evidence further suggests the desirability of additional study of up to 70 other organisms as probably or possibly bi-hemispheric in pre-Columbian times.
This distribution could not have been due merely to natural transfer mechanisms, nor can it be explained by early human migrations to the New World via the Bering Strait route. Well over half the plant transfers consisted of flora of American origin that spread to Eurasia or Oceania, some at surprisingly early dates, including Canna.
The only plausible explanation for these findings is that a considerable number of transoceanic voyages in both directions across both major oceans were completed between the 7th millennium BC and the European age of discovery.
Our growing knowledge of early maritime technology and its accomplishments gives us confidence that vessels and nautical skills capable of these long-distance travels were developed by the times indicated. These voyages put a new complexion on the extensive Old World/New World cultural parallels that have long been controversial.
English honey will run out by Christmas because pests have decimated the honey bee population, shoppers were warned last night.
