Canna 'Louis Cayeux'

A medium sized Premier Group cultivar; green foliage, spreading habit; triangular stems, coloured green; panicles of flowers are open, self-coloured salmon, staminodes are large, edges irregular; 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 H. Cayeux in 1924. Awards: 2002, 'Award of Garden Merit' at the R.H.S. trials at Wisley. Synonym: C. 'Louise Cayeaux'

Canna 'Madame Legris'

A medium sized Crozy Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, branching habit; triangular stems, coloured green; spikes of flowers are open, yellow heavily spotted with red, staminodes are medium size, edges regular, petals green, 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 white and pink; tillering is average.

Featured in 1908 outdoor trials at Wisley, England, EU.

Canna 'Shelley's Pride' and 'Mellow Yellow'

Canna 'Mellow Yellow'

I have had somebody in the USA writing to ask if anybody can help, "I am looking for Canna 'Shelley's Pride', which has a wonderful wide tropical leaf. I would also like to know where to get C. 'Mellow Yellow'", obviously in the US because of Phyto sanitary issues across continents.

If anybody can help then please just leave a comment on this posting... thanks in anticipation.

In the meantime the 10 day weather forecast is looking good, and so we have now totally committed ourselves to moving the collection into their outdoor summer beds. A late frost in June would be a disaster, but there is no indication of such a thing this year. The daily temperature drop is a touch worrying, but there is no indication of severe weather following this graph, and the overnight temperatures stay relatively stable during the forecasted period.

Canna 'Llanthony'

A small Premier Group cultivar; bronze foliage, ovoid shaped, arching habit; round stems, coloured purple; flowers are open, self-coloured pink, staminodes are medium size, edges ruffled, 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 Martin Davis, Gloucester, England, EU in 2002.

Canna 'Lincroft'

A medium sized Crozy Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, branching habit; triangular stems, coloured green; spikes of flowers are open, yellow with cerise-pink spots, staminodes are medium size, 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; tillering is average.

Earliest reference is Peter Henderson & Co, Catalogue 1937.

Canna 'Liberty Coral Rose'

A medium sized Crozy Group cultivar; purple foliage, lanceolate shaped, maroon margin, upright habit; panicles of flowers are open, self-coloured deep coral, staminodes are medium size, 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 purple; tillering is average.

Introduced by Dr. Jack Roberson. Synonym: C. 'Zulu Rose'

Canna liliiflora Warsc. ex Planch.

A giant wild species; green foliage, very large, acuminate shaped, spreading habit; spikes of flowers are reflexed, self-coloured white, staminodes are medium size, fully self-cleaning, late bloomer; fertile both ways, self-pollinating and also true to type; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured white; tillering is slow.

Introduced by Warsc. ex Planch. The name means lily-flowered, a native of Bolivia. Flower 10-13cm. (4-5") long, honeysuckle-scented. Leaves large, Musa-like, oblong, acuminate. Stems stout, erect. Height 2-3 metres (6-10feet). The only white species, and the only canna with scent, but very difficult to grow in a temperate climate, only a few documented instances of it being successfully grown outside its native environment.

The illustration is from Flore des serres et des jardins de l’Europe by Charles Lemaire and others. Gent, Louis van Houtte, 1855, volume 10 (plate 1055-1056).

Professor Paul Maas, Dr. Hiltje Maas and Dr. Nobuyuki Tanaka are in total agreement that it is a distinct and separate species.

Synonyms: C. brittoni, C. 'Lily Canna', C. 'Scented Canna', C. 'White Canna'

Weather contrasts

Well that's it then. The Worcester, England weather forecast above shows no more frosts in May, and also June starting off very warm. So now the great Exodus begins, moving nearly 400 plants outdoors. I'll post photographs of our progress.

Meanwhile in the Southern hemisphere it's winter in Australia. However, there has been no frosts yet in Victoria, but Dale McDonnell confides that her Cannas are already looking sorry for themselves and so yesterday evening she turned the sheep in to them.

Dale stated that "With luck they should halve the amount of trash from cutting them back when I get around to it, and manure the beds at the same time."

Now that is lateral thinking...

Canna 'Libération'

A medium sized Italian Group cultivar; dark green foliage, oval-acuminate shaped, branching habit; panicles of flowers are open, self-coloured yellow-orange, staminodes are large, edges ruffled, petals purple with farina, fully self-cleaning; seed is sterile, pollen is fertile; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured white and purple; tillering is prolific.

Introduced by Vilmorin-Andrieux in 1920.

Canna 'La France'

A medium sized Italian Group cultivar; bronze foliage, oval shaped; round stems, coloured purple; flowers are open, self-coloured orange-red, throat yellow, staminodes are large, edges frilled, 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 purple; tillering is average.


Introduced by C. Sprenger, Dammann & Co., Naples, Italy, EU in 1898. Under the synonym of Canna 'General Eisenhower', won the Award of Garden Merit (AGM) at the 2002 RHS outdoor Canna Trials. Synonyms are C. 'Black Tropicanna', C. 'General Eisenhower', C. 'President Roosevelt'

Mediterranean weather this summer?

BRITAIN is being warned to prepare for a potential heat wave this summer, with weather more akin to the Mediterranean than northern Europe.

The Met Office published its long-range summer forecast last month and they predicted temperatures could soar as high as 30C and above and that this summer could be drier than usual.

Canna will survive in drought conditions without much water, as we have witnessed in Australia over the last few years, but it will be so enjoyable to be able to have our Cannas prospering under good light and with adequate water, especially after the last two miserable summers we have endured.

Anyone growing tropical and sub-tropical plants should think about their future watering arrangements.

Our Canna collection will be watered by a series of interconnecting porous hose pipes, laid carefully around the Cannas, and which will ensure that no water is wasted at all.

The hundreds of new seedlings are always grown in pots, so we cannot make use of porous pipes, but we have a micro watering system that uses drip feeders in each pot. We start each pot with a basic drip feeder, and then adjust them higher or lower depending on the plants requirements, i.e. a tall, large leaved plant will require more water than a small Crozy Group cultivar.

The water for the system is supplied from a 700 litre water tank, which harvests water from roofs, and means that even if we get a hosepipe ban we can keep the Cannas well watered.

What is for sure is that we will see some hose pipe bans this summer in the UK, and anyone living in an area where that is possible should make plans for how they will cope with that eventuality.

Canna 'Lenape'

A medium sized Conservatory Group Cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, transparent margin, branching habit; round stems, coloured green; flowers are cupped, yellow (RHS 12A-C) heavily spotted with red (RHS 33A), staminodes are large, edges regular, 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 white; tillering is average.

Introduced by R.J. Armstrong, of Longwood Gardens, USA. Canna 'Lenape' cannot receive the AGM recommended to it in the 2002 RHS Canna Trials until it is readily available for purchase in the UK.

Canna 'La Traviata'

A medium sized Crozy Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, branching habit; panicles of flowers are open, self-coloured old-rose, throat pale yellow, staminodes are large, edges frilled; fertile both ways, not self-pollinating or true to type; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured white.

Introduced by Howard & Smith Nursery, California, USA. A member of the Wayside Gardens marketing Opera Series.

Revisiting Canna 'Wyoming'

A tall Italian Group cultivar; bronze foliage, oval shaped, spreading habit; oval stems, coloured purple; flowers are open, self-coloured orange, staminodes are large; seed is sterile, pollen is low fertile; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured purple; tillering is prolific.

Introduced by Antoine Wintzer of The Conard & Jones Co., West Grove, PA, USA. The registration of this cultivar was confirmed in the Massachusetts Horticultural Society publication, called Horticulture, 1915. Vol.22. p.851. Dec.25 and shows that the introducer was Antoine Wintzer of The Conard & Jones Co., West Grove, PA, USA.

There has been confusion for many years, with many insisting that Luther Burbank introduced the cultivar, but there is no evidence to show his interest in cannas went beyond his documented introductions of C. 'Burbank', and C. 'Tarrytown'.

Awards: 2002 Award of Garden Merit (AGM) in the RHS outdoor trials at Wisley, England. Synonyms: C. 'Biarritz', C. 'G.V. King', C. 'Glow of Love', C. 'Liberté', C. 'Professor Lorentz', C. 'Professor Lorenz', C. 'Stellar Blut'

Canna 'La Californie'

A medium sized Crozy Group cultivar; green foliage, oblong shaped, branching habit; panicles of flowers are open, self-coloured pink, staminodes are medium size, 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 slow.

Canna 'La Bohème'

A medium sized Crozy Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, branching habit; spikes of flowers are open, peach tinged with pearl, staminodes are medium size, edges frilled, 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 and pink; tillering is slow.

Reputedly introduced by Howard & Smith Nursery, California, USA in 1930's. One of the Opera series of Canna, marketed from the 1950's onwards.

Canna 'Kyneburg'

A small Crozy Group cultivar; dark foliage, oval shaped, maroon margin, branching habit; triangular stems, coloured green + purple; spikes of flowers are open, self-coloured salmon, staminodes are medium size, edges frilled, 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 purple; tillering is average.

Introduced by Martin Davis, Gloucester, England, EU.

Canna 'Kronos'

A medium sized Italian Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, branching habit; panicles of flowers are open, yellow with orange spots, staminodes are large, edges irregular, fully self-cleaning, good bloomer; seed is sterile, pollen is low fertile; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured white; tillering is average.

Introduced by C. Sprenger, Dammann & Co., Naples, Italy, EU. Featured in the 1908 RHS outdoor trials at Wisley, without award.

Canna 'Königen Charlotte'

A medium sized Crozy Group cultivar; green foliage, oblong shaped, spreading habit; spikes of flowers are open, orient-red with a wide canary-yellow margin, staminodes are medium size, edges irregular, petals purple, 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 average.

Introduced by G. Ernst in 1892. Awarded the RHS Award of Merit in 1893. Synonyms: C. 'Königin Charlotte', C. 'Queen Charlotte', C. 'Reine Charlotte'

Canna 'Journey's End'

A small Crozy Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped; round stems, coloured green; flowers are open, pale yellow heavily spotted with rose-red, staminodes are large, edges regular, 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 white; tillering is average.

Introduced by Ty Ty Nursery. Synonyms: C. 'Fay's Orchid', C. 'Fay's Orchid Red', C. 'Jimmy Carter'. This cultivar does bear a strong resemblance to the old heritage specimen C. 'Percy Lancaster', and we will be growing them together this year to establish if they are the same plant.

Canna 'Jupiter (1)'

A medium sized Italian Group cultivar; green foliage, oblong shaped, branching habit; panicles of flowers are open, scarlet with a narrow yellow margin, staminodes are large, edges irregular, petals purple with farina, not self-cleaning; seed is sterile, pollen is low fertile; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured pink and purple; tillering is prolific.

This is a heritage plant that featured in the 1906 RHS Canna Indoor Trials, without an award. Unfortunately, a cultivar with the same name is registered as having been introduced by Georges Truffaut, France in 1952; flowers reddish carmine, leaves green, height over 80cm.

Planting out the collection

Part of the collection growing in a polytunnel

We are at the most traumatic time for anyone growing Cannas in a large volume in the northern hemisphere. The 10 day-ahead weather forecast, the 'longest reach' that we dare go to in the variable climate of the UK, tells us that there will be no frosts up to the 18th May, when the overnight temperature will be a Canna friendly 8C. However, I cannot recall a May when we did not have frost, is this the first one?

The Canna beds waiting to be dug and fertilized

The collection is growing away inside the polytunnels quite happily, and so do we steal a march on the growing season and plant the 230 stock plants outside now, or do we wait until nearer to the end of the month? Do we risk the collection for a few weeks of extra growth? That growth could be the difference between another disappointing year and a great success.

In the meantime, as the result of failure is not so high, we have planted out our vegetables, potatoes, runner beans and our sweet corn, all will be destroyed by a late frost. But all we have to do then is buy another packet of seeds, but with the Canna collection we have responsibility for dozens of plants that are not readily available elsewhere, or at all.

Canna 'Joseph Bischau'

A medium sized Crozy Group cultivar; bronze foliage, oblong shaped, spreading habit; triangular stems, coloured green + purple; panicles of flowers are open, self-coloured rose, staminodes are narrow, 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.

Our specimen at Claines Canna originated from Sonja Mrsich, Podgora Gardens, North Island, New Zealand.

Canna 'John Tulett'

A medium sized Crozy Group cultivar; green foliage, oblong shaped, spreading habit; triangular stems, coloured green; spikes of flowers are open, yellow with red spots, staminodes are medium size, 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. Featured in the 1908 outdoor trials at Wisley, but without award.

Canna 'Jivago'

A small Crozy Group cultivar; green foliage, ovoid shaped, branching habit; flowers are open, self-coloured deep tangerine, throat yellow, staminodes are medium size, average bloomer; fertile both ways, not self-pollinating or true to type, capsules globose; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured pink; tillering is average.

Introduced by Ernest Turc, Angers, France, EU.

Canna 'Jean Krupp'

A medium sized Premier Group cultivar; dark foliage, oval-acuminate shaped, maroon margin, branching habit; triangular stems, coloured purple; panicles of flowers are open, self-coloured apricot, staminodes are medium size, edges regular, petals purple, 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.

Canna jaegeriana Urb.

A giant species; green foliage, very large, oblong shaped, arching habit; triangular stems, coloured green; spikes of flowers are bell-shaped, self-coloured yellow-orange, staminodes are long and narrow, partial self-cleaning; fertile both ways, not known if true to type, self-pollinating, capsules round; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured white and pink; tillering is average.

A giant wild species, that is difficult to grow in northern climates, but which rewards successful husbandry with its giant green leaves, lower side and sheaths more or less lanuginose, and topped by yellow-orange flowers and yellowish-green fruits.

This 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 the winter to continue growing there, then it is pointless trying to treat it like a cultivar, as it will not survive such treatment.

Synonyms are C. domingensis Urb., C. leucocarpa Bouché, C. pertusa Urb.

Canna 'J.B. van der Schoot'

A medium sized Crozy Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, branching habit; triangular stems, coloured green; panicles of flowers are open, gold heavily spotted with deep-crimson, staminodes are medium size, edges irregular, opening at dawn, 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.

Introduced by W. Pfitzer, Stadt Felbach, Stuttgart, Germany, EU in 1902. Awarded RHS Award of Merit in 1907. Synonym: C. 'Dr van der Schoot', possibly others as well.

Canna iridiflora Ruiz & Pav.

A medium sized wild species; green foliage, oblong shaped, branching habit; hanging panicles of flowers are bell-shaped, self-coloured rose, staminodes are medium size; fertile both ways, self-pollinating and also true to type, capsules globose; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured white and pink.

Synonyms: C. 'Iris', C. 'Iris canna'

Canna 'Italia'

A medium sized Italian Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, upright habit; triangular stems, coloured green; panicles of flowers are open, self-coloured yellow, throat cardinal-red, staminodes are large, edges frilled, labellum is red, stamen is yellow with a wide red margin, style is red, petals red with farina, fully self-cleaning; seed is sterile, pollen is low fertile; rhizomes are long and thin, coloured white and purple; tillering is average.

Introduced by C. Sprenger, Dammann & Co., Naples, Italy, EU in 1894. Announced along with C. 'Austria' in 1894, these two new cultivars caused a sensation at that time, producing much larger flowers than the Crozy Group had been capable of producing. It is a seedling of Canna 'Madame Crozy' x C. flaccida.

Planting outdoors

The 10 day weather prediction for Worcester shows no frosts in the immediate future, but it still has to be too early to commit the collection to the vagaries of the weather Gods.

Weather in UK looking promising

The UK is "odds on for a barbecue summer", with no repeat of the washouts of the last two years, according to Met Office forecasters.

Temperatures are likely to be warmer than average across the UK, topping 30C at times. Rainfall should be "near or below average" for the three months of summer, the forecasters say. However, they warn that heavy downpours cannot be ruled out.

Chief meteorologist at the Met Office, Ewen McCallum, said a repeat of the wet summers of 2007 and 2008 is unlikely. "After two disappointingly wet summers the signs are much more promising this year," he said. "We can expect times when temperatures will be above 30C, something we hardly saw at all last year."

The prospect of a hot summer will cheer those who felt cheated at having endured the "dullest" August on record last year, which soaked up just 105.5 hours of sunshine against an average for the month of 165. It was also the fifth wettest since records began with 139.8mm (5.5in) of rain falling. It had been preceded by the UK's wettest recorded summer in 2007, when thousands of families were forced out of their homes by floods.

For us at Claines Canna this would be great, those two summers with such little light meant that we had to nurse the Cannas, and only a handful gave of their best. We normally start collecting the first seed in late July, but last year it was mid-September before we had any seed available, other than our hand crosses in one of the polytunnels.

Right now, we are starting to think about when we will plant the collection outside. Currently it is all growing away merrily in the soil in our polytunnels and will be safe from late frosts, but it is almost certain that we will get more frost, as I can't remember ever having a May without frost. Last year we did not dare to start planting out until the beginning of June, but if the current weather trends continue then we may look at starting in mid-May.