The story seems to originate first at the Southern Floral Nursery Co. of Fruitdale, AL. whose sale of the famous canna ‘Queen of Beauty’ to the Frank Cummings Bulb Co. for $1,000 was widely advertised, and caused great expectation.
The following advertisement appears in Horticulture Feb. 10, 1906; Mass. Horticulture Society:
Canna ‘Queen of Beauty’. The $1000.00 Canna. This is the grandest pure rich scarlet canna yet introduced; immense blossoms, thick, heavy petals, great trusses of bloom, is a rapid grower, producing many new roots. Stock is limited. Get in your orders. PRICE $1.00 EACH. We grow 132 varieties of cannas including the standards. State your wants and let us quote you prices. We have 11 standard varieties at 35 cents per dozen and 28 high class varieties at 50 cents per doz. Charges paid. All dried bulbs. FRANK CUMMINGS BULBS & PLANT CO., Meridian, Mississippi.
As fast as this Canna appeared, it vanished from published information. However, around the same time we had a fantastic cultivar appear that still holds its own against all modern Cannas, namely Canna 'President'. There is no evidence of who introduced C. 'President', and many enthusiasts, including me, suspect that this is the origin of our most favoured cultivar. Sooner, or later, we will obtain more evidence.
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