Russian snow on its way to UK

Batten down the hatches, turn up the heating and pull on your long-johns... Brrritain is about to get a dumping of Russian snow.

In the UK the temperatures are already starting to drop after the recent mild weather but the country still has a few day's grace before Baltic winds come whistling down the chimney.

The chills will start in earnest on Sunday and the bulk of the snow is expected to fall over eastern parts of England and Scotland. But the white stuff could spread as far as the Irish Sea.

Overnight temperatures could plunge to as low as -6C (21F) in some regions and the mercury might struggle to get above 0C at all on Monday.

Sky News weather presenter Jo Wheeler said: "Snowfall from the east tends to hang around longer than when it comes from the west. We should be on standby."

"It is too early to tell exactly which areas will be affected - this depends on wind direction," Wheeler added.

This has been the coldest winter for 13 years, with the UK battered by winds, snow and temperatures as low as -13C (8.6F) at times. It has not been this chilly since 1995, when temperatures reached -27.2C (-17F), matching the existing record for the lowest UK temperature.

The inability to do any real work outside is starting to become frustrating and each freeze increases the chances of damage to our collections stock plants even when protected by being in the ground, covered in fleece and inside a polytunnel. The only constructive work that I can find to do at the moment is getting seed germination underway! See yesterdays blog for details...

Thinking about planting seeds

For those who have not grown Canna from seed before, this may be a good time to start giving it some thought. The best time to plant the seeds is dependant on the facilities that you have available.

If you have access to a propagator or heated greenhouse then seed can be sown as early as mid-January to early February. Given these conditions and reasonable weather in late spring and early summer we have sometimes had young seedlings burst into flower as early as mid-June.

If you are growing in a warm room, don't sow too early, unless you can provide heat and light to keep the young plants growing nicely through till April-May, when you will be able to transfer them to the unheated greenhouse, as they will likely be too tall for a cold frame.

Cannas have an extremely hard protective seed coat that is impermeable to water, so they will not germinate without some assistance. You can help the germination process by removing a bit of the seed coat through a process called scarification prior to planting.

Once canna seeds have been scarified, they are easy to grow. Only the tiniest amount needs to be exposed and it is better to file too little away than too much. If you look at the seed carefully, you will see a scar (hylem). It is through here that the growing shoot will break through. You should file the coat on the opposite side to the scar in order to avoid damage to the embryo.

How you go about scarification (nicking) is quite easy. There are several variations on this, and everybody develops their favourite method.

• Take a piece of sandpaper and sand the end of the seed until you get through the black seed coat.
• An alternative is holding them in a pair of pliers and using a file, carefully cutting into the coat until you reach the white endocarp within the seed.
• Or you may want to use a grinding wheel, which I use (a cheap Chinese import). I hold the seed in a pair of pliers and hold the seed to the grinding wheel just for a few seconds, until I see white.

Which ever method you use, you'll know that you're through when you see the white endosperm. Basically, what you're trying to do is make a hole in the seed coat so that water can get through.

Again, there are several techniques available to germinate the seed.

• I get some very warm water, almost hot and I put the seeds in for 48 hours or until I see the embryo coming out one end. I change the water twice daily to keep it from souring.
• Another popular approach is to add some vermiculite to a plastic bag, add water to moisten and then add the seeds. The bag is not locked so that air can circulate. The bag is kept in warm conditions, an incubatotor or airing cupboard. The disadvantage with this is that after a while the water will sour, and while I have used this method in the past I now prefer the first one, because changing the water requires a change of vermiculite as well, and vermiculite costs money!
• Some plant the seeds directly into small pots and water, waiting until a growth of some sort is seen, this might be a growing leaf or a white embryo, depending on the position the seed was placed in the pot. As some seeds will not germinate I always feel reluctant to spend on pot and compost until I see the seed has germinated. Call me a skinflint if you want, I just blame my parents!
  

Once you see the white embryo coming out you can pot them up. I use 2 inch peat pots filled with a peat-based compost with added fertilizer. I plant the seeds 1/2 inch deep with the embryo pointing downhill, water well and put in direct light.

Maintain a temperature of 21-24°C (70 to 75°F). In a few days (5-6) you should see growth. As the plants begin to actively grow, the soil will dry out quickly, so check daily and water when needed. Keep the growing medium moist, and do not over-water, as more seedlings die from that cause than from neglect.

Depending on how long a growing period the seedling has indoors it may need planting into a larger pot, and the advantage of the initial peat pot is that this just means planting the whole pot, thus no root disturbance.

Gradually harden off the cannas and transplant them outside, adding plenty of compost to the soil, following the last-frost date. They should flower about 90 to 120 days after the seed was sown.

Keep in mind that most cannas are hybrids bred for their flamboyant blooms and foliage. Seeds from hybrids will not come true to type, which means they will exhibit characteristics that are different from those of the mother plant (but not necessarily unattractive). If you're feeling a bit on the wild side and don't mind growing a few mystery plants, why not go ahead and start cannas from seed?

If you want exact clones of your canna plant, you'll need to propagate by division. The book The Gardeners Guide to Growing Cannas, by Ian Cooke (Timber Press, 2001), has excellent information on propagating cannas by seed and division, as well as information on cultivars and the history of cannas.

I would be interested in hearing about other techniques you might use.

No Cannas Growing in temperate USA

Alice Harris of Karchesky Canna, PA, USA has reported that she is now experiencing even more severe weather conditions, yet another round of cold, snow, ice, sleet... whatever Ma Nature throws out this year.

There are no Cannas growing outside here right now, joked Alice.

The picture is of the road outside Alice's premises, just as the bad stuff started again the day before yesterday.

Alice commented that all the hot climate canna folks will probably enjoy the novelty, but those of us who are cold climate growers can relate and sympathize.

I agree with Alice, normally at this time of the year I can be turning over growing beds and fertilizing, even if I have to wear thermal underwear (too much information), but this year the weather is leaving us trapped indoors, just hoping that the cold will not get to the stored stock plant Cannas.

Karchesky Cannas

Canna 'President' origins established

In an effort to clear any past misconception about the origin of the above cultivar, Kent Kelly has located a brief advertisement from the Conard & Jones Co. stating that "A. Wintzer originated this cultivar and C. & J. introduced it."

"This publication is dated a least a few years after information was published by other companies offering it for sale but not claiming to be the introducer."

"Assuming C. & Jones did indeed introduce ‘The President’ there likely is no correlation between the cultivar ‘Queen of Beauty’ and ‘The President’."

"This C & J information was published in “Gardeners Chronicle of America” in 1922-23."

Thanks are due to Kent for his detective work, but I think that he is being too conservative when he uses the term "assuming" to qualify the Conard & Jones claim. I have been studying their literature for over a decade and I have never encountered a blatant untruth, sometime a little exaggeration over plant qualities, but never a lie. I am happy to believe totally that Canna 'President' was raised by Antoine Wintzer, and introduced by C & J.

What now remains is to establish which is the real Canna 'President'. I have so far encountered four different plants using that name, and over the next few days I will post details and photographs of each one.

Introducing Canna 'Port Denison'

A tall cultivar; bronze foliage, large, oval shaped, maroon margin, upright habit; spikes of flowers are open, self-coloured pink, staminodes are medium size, 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 Bernard Yorke, Queensland, Australia in 2007.

Bernard Yorke CannaBiz

Visiting Canna 'Apricot Ice'

A medium sized Crozy Group cultivar; green foliage, oblong shaped, spreading habit; round stems, coloured green; flowers are open, self-coloured apricot, staminodes are medium size, edges regular, stamen is apricot, style is apricot, petals yellow, fully self-cleaning; fertile both ways, not known if true to type, not self-pollinating, capsules globose; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured white and pink; tillering is average.

Introduced by Kent Kelly, Quality Gladiolus, Arkansas, USA.

Introducing Canna 'Powick'

A medium sized Crozy Group cultivar; green foliage, oval-acuminate shaped, transparent margin, branching habit; oval stems, coloured green; spikes of flowers are reflexed, cardinal-red with a gold margin, staminodes are medium size, edges irregular, labellum is gold with a wide cardinal-red margin, stamen is gold with cardinal-red spots, 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. The breeding is Canna 'Karla Dalebö' x open

More Canna 'President'

By Kent Kelly, 22 January 2009

Photograph by Quality Gladiolus Gardens, of Jonesboro, AR, USA

The President’ canna is without question one of the very best cultivars introduced ever. It has withstood the test of time and has remained both viable and productive for over 90 years. I suspect we cannot count on our hands the cultivars that match this record.

Almost without doubt, its origin lies here in the U.S. but confirming the breeder is still somewhat a mystery.

As you suggest, to date we have not located a plant registration for ‘The President’. Like many other cultivars the present limited information likely points to it being a renamed canna.

My earliest sales listing of ‘The Present’ is an advertisement by HENRY A. DREER of Philadelphia, Pa. They were one of the leading growers and suppliers in this country. This canna advertisement was published in 1920. I also found a “limited view” stating it being trialed in the Chicago parks in 1918.

The cultivar ‘Queen of Beauty’ was registered with the Plant Registration Authority in 1905 by The Southern Floral Company along with 19 other cultivars. This plant description certainly matches the description of ‘The President’. Of course that does not definitely prove the case!

As we have previously stated, the TSFC sold ‘Queen of Beauty’ to the FRANK CUMMINGS BULBS & PLANT CO., Meridian, Mississippi in late 1905 or early 1906. The FCB&PC apparently received all stock of this cultivar and in sufficient quantities to be able to offer it for sale on a “limited” basis in 1906 at the unheard of price of $1.00 each.

For whatever reason, after 1906 I can not find any reference to C. ‘Queen of Beauty’ and even more strangely I cannot find the existence of either of these companies who were growing it. It is as they disappeared off the face of the earth! Of course this may more likely reflect on my ability to do proper searches but one would think these companies would have continued selling and advertising in the trade journals in subsequent years.

All the above information may prove of little consequence relative to ‘The President’, but for now it is what I have along with a gut feeling.

The $1,000 Canna

Recent information released indicates that a special Canna emerged in the early 1900's and it caused quite a stir.

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.

Revisiting Canna 'Primrose'

A medium sized Crozy Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, spreading habit; round stems, coloured green; flowers are pale yellow speckled with pale pink; fertile both ways, not known if true to type, not self-pollinating, capsules round; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured white; tillering is average.

Introduced by W. Pfitzer, Stadt Felbach, Stuttgart, Germany, EU. The earliest reference is the RHS Journal of 1895.

Synonyms: C. 'Pfitzer’s Primrose Yellow', C. 'Primrose Yellow'

Introducing Canna 'Temptation'

A tall Crozy Group cultivar; green and purple variegated foliage, large, oval shaped, branching habit; spikes of flowers are open, orange-red and yellow, staminodes are large, edges irregular, petals purple with farina, 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 Bernard Yorke, Queensland, Australia in 2009. The colour combinations in the flowers are quite unique, in that there is yellow spotting and shading irregularly placed over the hot orange-red blooms.

Bernard was quoted as saying that "I have been hybridizing for some time but this is the first time I have developed this form of spotting. Unfortunately I cannot name the pollen parent, the seed parent being one of my earlier reds, presently unnamed."

"Most of the other forms of spotting I have developed have been red and purple spotting over cream or yellow. To my mind, this is an unusual combination. In just one year, it has grown quite easily into quite a few clumps."

Bernard Yorke Cannas

Is this agro-forestry?

Sheep grazing Dales Canna stock beds

Dale McDonnell has recently recounted a tale of her current problems growing Cannas in rural Australia.

Due to having limited mobility for the past 11 months, the weeds in her stock beds were out of control, particularly the clover. There was also an issue that those of us in Northern Europe do not have to contend with, that of disturbing snakes hidden in this overgrowth!

In desperation, Dale turned their small flock of Wiltshire Horn ewes and lambs into the area. In just a few days they have done a wonderful job and now she can feel confident of getting on top of things, and is also much happier about toddling down the rows and not stepping on an unseen snake.

As usual, Dale is an observant journalist and concluded that:-

• Most sheep do not like the taste of cannas.
  
• One lamb adores them but is very fussy as to which varieties he munches. 'Lilian Cole' Italia' and 'Roma' are his favourites. Burgundy and variegated foliage is not to his taste.
  
• 'King Humbert' makes a cool, inviting mattress to lay on when the temperature soars to blast furnace proportions. Result - flattened!
  
• All sheep love to eat Daylilies.

Dale concluded that the damage done by the sheep was minimal, and on the whole it was a successful exercise.

Thanks Dale, we love your personal stories of life in Australia, and I will be less resentful of weeding our own beds when I remember that I don't have to contend with snakes, just the occasional toad!

US freezes as Arctic air blasts in from Canada

America is not unfamiliar with low temperatures, but the present cold snap is exceptional by any standards

Alabama was colder than Alaska, water fountains froze into ice sculptures in South Carolina, and Florida shivered through an Arctic air blast as the coldest week of the winter continued to grip large parts of the US.

The Northeast in particular suffered from the bitterly cold air from Canada that sent temperatures plunging in some places below minus 34C (minus 30F) and left even hardy veterans of such weather reluctant to venture outdoors.

It brought to an end a week which will be remembered for some time in Chicago. The city has now suffered the most consecutive days of snow since records began in 1884 and, on Friday, the wind chill took the temperature to minus 40C.

The cold claimed at least six lives and contributed to dozens of traffic accidents.

One death involved a man in a wheelchair who was found in sub-zero temperatures stuck in the snow, a shovel in his hand, outside his home in Des Moines, Iowa.

Temperatures of minus 12C to minus 18C and sub-zero wind chills were expected in western New York through the weekend, with more seasonable conditions moving in early next week.

To Southerners, who rarely see temperatures so cold, the icebox-like weather was the most jarring.

Construction worker Allen Johnson wore a grey cap, flannel shirt, long johns and boots as he stopped for coffee in Montgomery, Alabama, after an overnight low of minus 6C on Friday. "No matter how bad it is, it could be worse – we could be in Anchorage, Alaska," Johnson said. Actually, the temperature was about 6C warmer in Anchorage on Friday.

Freezing temperatures threatened to kill picturesque Spanish moss hanging from Gulf Coast trees, and in Spartanburg, South Carolina, a hard freeze coated a water fountain in shimmering icicles.

On a personal note, Canna growers in the southern states of the USA leave their stock plants in the ground over winter, only lifting plants to remove rhizomes for sale. If they have not protected their plants with a very thick mulch, then they are likely to have suffered severe losses.

Karchesky Canna

Get virus into perspective

We have to ask the question why Canna is gaining such a reputation of being riddled with virus and so not fit to grow? This perception has been propagated by the media looking for a story. But, let us examine the real facts.

Until the late 1990's Canna was thought of as being virus-free. Then the web opened up communication, and suddenly Canna rhizomes were whizzing all over the world as everybody happily joined in the new communication freedoms that the web gave us.

Then, several large Canna collections slowly realized that virus was now endemic in the collection, and eventually the UK National Collection was destroyed as the holder could no longer live with the virus that had overcome his collection. Now, the press jumped on the Canna virus story and blew it out of all proportion. However, the whole collection was allowed to become affected, and remedial actions came too late. The other notable large collection is actively eradicating virus.

Let us look logically at the situation without any emotion. Science has discovered 5 virus types that can affect Canna, but just 3 that are seen occasionally. So, let us compare that to other plant families.

• Dahlias have 12 known virus
• Roses have 7 known virus types
• Gladiolus have "more than 7 virus types", how many is that?

All of them are worse than the Canna situation, but nobody suggests that anybody should stop growing them because of virus, in fact, Cannas are one of the cleanest families as far as virus is concerned.

The time has come to get the message across that by growing Cannas in your garden, bought from a reliable source you will have less chance of virus problems than with any other major plant family!

Nobody suggest that gardeners should stop growing Dahlias, Roses or Gladiolus, so why have this orchestrated campaign against Cannas? This is just media engendered hysteria.

So, let us now look at the human species. Humans have over 150 virus's around us that we have learned to live with. The healthiest of us have a few virus in our system waiting to do us damage. Yet nobody suggests that all virus affected humans should be put on a bonfire and be exterminated.

All round, I think that Cannas deserve a recommendation as one of the healthiest plants that can be grown in the garden. There are several rules of common sense, and as long as they are followed then the honest gardener will have little trouble with growing this genus. Those rules are the same as apply to all plants:

• Buy from a reliable source, where the seller states that they believe their produce are virus free. Never buy from garden centres in their low-price packages. They are almost, always virus affected.
  
• Destroy affected specimens

I don't want to be accused of being irresponsible, but I believe that the scaremongers who raise the issue of Canna virus at every opportunity are not doing the genus a favour. We cannot eradicate it, so like humans who suffer with virus, we have to learn to live with it.

Introducing Canna 'Elfin'

A medium sized Foliage Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, spreading habit; round stems, coloured green; spikes of flowers are erect, salmon-red and peach, throat pale yellow, staminodes are narrow, edges regular, 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 prolific.

Introduced by Malcolm Dalebö, Claines Canna Collection, Worcester, England, EU in 2003. The plant is a sport of Canna 'Pixie'.

Revisiting Canna 'Brillant'

A small Crozy Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, white margin, spreading habit; round stems, coloured green; flowers are open, self-coloured cherry-red, staminodes are medium size, edges regular, stamen is gold marked, petals red with farina, fully self-cleaning, low bloomer; fertile both ways, not known if true to type, not self-pollinating, capsules round; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured white and purple; tillering is prolific.

Introduced by A. Crozy, Lyon, France. Very similar to C. 'Strasbourg', emminently suitable for pots and tubs. It is a very poor specimen, which makes us wonder if this is the original raised by the breeder, or yet another poor substitution by the horticultural industry. I would not care to put my name to this below average specimen, and it is not recommended.

Synonym: C. 'Brilliant'

Revisiting Canna 'Yara'

A small Crozy Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, spreading habit; round stems, coloured green; flowers are open, yellow with red spots, throat yellow, staminodes are medium size; 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 prolific.

A German cultivar. Synonyms: C. 'Yara Gelb', C. 'Yara Gleb'

Revisiting Canna 'Wintzer's Colossal'

A tall Italian Group cultivar; green foliage, ovoid shaped, branching habit; flowers are open, self-coloured red, staminodes are large, fully self-cleaning, average bloomer; seed is sterile, pollen is low fertile; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured purple; tillering is average.

Introduced by Antoine Wintzer of The Conard & Jones Co., West Grove, PA, USA.

When reading the nursery catalogues from 100 years ago, we see fantastic claims being made for this cultivar. The flower size was reputed to be 6" across, totally ridiculous, unless we have lost the original and are now growing a poor substitute. Yes, it's a large flower, but in no way does it measure up to the nurserymen claims of 100 years ago. Personally, I think that marketing took over from reality.

Revisiting Canna 'Louis Cottin'

A small Premier Group cultivar; dark foliage, oval shaped, maroon margin, branching habit; triangular stems, coloured green + purple; panicles of flowers are open, yellow-orange and apricot, staminodes are medium size, edges irregular, petals purple 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; tillering is prolific.

Synonym: C. 'Louise Cotton'. It is not known who introduced this cultivar.

Named for Louis Emile Cottin, who attempted to assassinate the French president and fought in the Durruti Column in the Spanish Civil War. Nicknamed Milou, born 14 March 1896 - Creil, France, died 8 September 1937 - Farlete, Spain.

Born 14th March 1896 at Creil, Emile Cottin was raised at Compiegne in a working class family, becoming a carpenter-cabinet maker. He starting reading Zola and became interested in libertarian ideas.

From a breeding perspective, this is one of the best seed parents around, producing full, round Premier Group flowers, and the colour combinations it can produce are not yet exhausted. Anyone wanting to begin experimenting with new Canna varieties could not do better than to start using this one as a seed parent.

Introducing Canna 'Preference'

A medium sized Foliage Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, transparent margin, upright habit; triangular stems, coloured green; spikes of flowers are erect, self-coloured orange-red, staminodes are medium size, edges irregular, labellum is orange-red, petals purple with farina, 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 purple; tillering is prolific.
Introduced by Malcolm Dalebö, Claines Canna Collection, Worcester, England, EU in 2006. The flower has an orchid-like shape, with a curled lip and is like a very large species-type flower. A hand-pollination of Canna 'Oiseau de Feu' x C. 'Falstaff'.

Introducing Canna 'Red Ribbons'

A small Crozy Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, spreading habit; spikes of flowers are erect, self-coloured burnt-red, staminodes are narrow, petals purple with farina, fully self-cleaning, average bloomer; fertile both ways, not self-pollinating or true to type, capsules globose; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured purple.

Introduced by Mrs Marcelle Sheppard, Texas, USA in 1995.

Revisiting Canna 'Breuil'

A medium sized Crozy Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, branching habit; oval stems, coloured green; spikes of flowers are open, cardinal-red with a rose-red blush, staminodes are large, edges serrated, petals green, 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 purple; tillering is average.

Introduced by Vilmorin-Andrieux, France in 1939.

Revisiting Canna 'Bavaria'

A medium sized aquatic Italian Group cultivar, equally at home as a water marginal or in the border; green foliage, oval shaped, spreading habit; flowers are open, yellow with red blotches, throat red, staminodes are large, average bloomer; seed is sterile, pollen is low fertile; rhizomes are long and thin.

Introduced by C. Sprenger, Dammann & Co., Naples, Italy, EU in 1897.

In "Notes on the Orchid-flowering Cannas". Garden & Forest of 29th September 1897, Prof. F. A. Waugh declared that "Italia is a beautiful Canna, to be sure, perhaps the best one of this class yet introduced, but Burgundia and Bavaria are so much like it that a careless observer would pass them by as all of the same kind. Both new varieties are, however, of smaller stature than Italia and have smaller foliage. The flowers in all three are of a brilliant canary-yellow upon which two shades of rich apricot red are successively overlaid. In Italia the red colors are run together in the throat to make somewhat regular solid blotches bordered with very deep bands of the clear yellow, like an exaggerated Queen Charlotte. In Bavaria there is very little of the darker red shade, while the lighter red is scattered in small dots well out upon the petal-like staminodia."

Synonym: C. 'Sunburst'

Tax for compost heaps?

Schools and charities could soon be charged for having a compost heap under proposals slipped out by UK ministers recently.

Any UK establishment other than a private home would have to pay £50 to register with the Environment Agency every three years.

It is not clear whether allotments will be charged.

The levy, which is set to raise thousands of pounds in extra revenue for the Government, has been condemned by opposition MPs as 'bizarre'.

At the moment, it is free to register a compost heap.

But the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has put out new rules which would require businesses, schools and charities to register them every three years.

The new rules will also increase the number of places that are required to hold a waste permit, which costs £600.

The proposals have infuriated environmental campaigners who warn it would discourage people from disposing of household waste on compost heaps.

Tory environment spokesman Peter Ainsworth said: 'Penalising people for doing their bit for the environment is typical of the Government's confused and counter-productive approach.'

There are around 2553 sites in the UK which are currently registered as composting biodegradable waste.

Under the rule changes, 1685 - or 66 per cent of these - will in future require a permit at a cost of £600 each. The remainder will have to pay the £50 charge to register every three years. A Defra spokesman insisted the new rules were not yet finalised.

She added that under EU laws, organisations must have permits to carry out waste disposal. But smaller bodies can 'exempt' themselves from this by registering a compost heap.

My take: Registering my allotment compost heaps, you have to be joking! It also means that every public garden, plant nursery, and small grower will have to register. We are having to register for permission to do what we have been able to do freely for thousands of years. Now the town hall "jobsworths" will be able to order you to stop composting, if it takes their fancy.

Don't think that when, a few years later, they extend it to private homes you can just ignore the issue. Our masters have arial photographs of every building and piece of land in the UK, there will be no hiding from them. Probably, the ownership of a compost heap will be a feature of building taxes.

Revisiting Canna 'Burgundia'

A medium sized Italian Group cultivar; green foliage, small, oval shaped, branching habit; triangular stems, coloured green; panicles of flowers are open, red with a wide gold margin, staminodes are large, edges ruffled, labellum is red with a gold margin, petals yellow, fully self-cleaning, average bloomer; seed is sterile, pollen is low fertile; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured white; tillering is prolific.

Introduced by C. Sprenger, Dammann & Co., Naples, Italy, EU.

Revisiting Canna 'Almenrausch'

A medium sized Premier Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, spreading habit; panicles of flowers are open, self-coloured carmine, staminodes are large, edges irregular, low bloomer; fertile both ways, not self-pollinating or true to type, capsules globose.

Introduced by P. Schmid. The name means 'Intoxicating to Everyone'.

Species Canna glauca var. glauca L.

A medium sized aquatic species, equally at home as a water marginal or in the border; glaucous green foliage, lanceolate shaped, upright habit; oval stems, coloured green; flowers are open, self-coloured pale yellow, staminodes are long and narrow, edges regular, petals green, fully self-cleaning; fertile both ways, self-pollinating and also true to type; rhizomes are long and thin, coloured white; tillering is prolific.

Introduced by Carl Linnaeus, abbreviated to L.

Synonyms: C. angustifolia L., C. elegans Raf., C. glauca, C. hassleriana Kraenzl., C. liturata Link ex A.Dietr., C. 'Louisiana canna', C. Mexican canna, C. mexicanna A.Dietr., C. nepalensis D.Dietr., C. pedicellata C.Presl., C. pruinosa Hoffmanns., Verz. Pfl.-Kult., C. schlectendaliana Bouché, C. siamensis Kraenzl., C. stolonifera D.Dietr., C. stricta Bouché

Revisiting Canna indica var. indica L.

A medium sized species; green foliage, oblong shaped, spreading habit; triangular stems, coloured green; spikes of flowers are erect, self-coloured red, staminodes are long and narrow, edges regular, petals red, partial self-cleaning; fertile both ways, self-pollinating and also true to type, capsules globose; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured purple; tillering is prolific. Introduced by Carl Linnaeus, abbreviated to L.

Synonyms: C. annaei, C. aurantiaca Roscoe, C. barbadica Bouché, C. bidentata Bertol, C. bifida Roem. & Schult., C. 'Brazillian', C. 'Caribbean', C. carnea Roscoe, C. cearensis Huber., C. chinensis Willd., C. Chinese, C. cinnabarina Bouché, C. coccinea var. bicolor Kraenzl., C. commutata Bouché, C. compacta Bouché, C. concinna Bouché, C. crocea Lag. ex Rchb., C. crocea Roem. & Schult., C. densifolia Bouché, C. edulis Ker Gawl., C. ehrenbergii Bouché, C. ellipticifolia Stokes, C. esculenta Loudon, C. exigua Bouché, C. flavescens Link, C. floribunda Bouché, C. formosa Bouché, C. fulgida Bouché, C. grandiflora, C. heliconiifolia Bouché, C. heliconiifolia var. xalapensis (Horan.) Kraenzl., C. 'Indian reed flower', C. 'Indian shot plant', C. indica, C. indica limbata, C. indica lutea, C. indica orientalis, C. indica var. edwardsii Regel., C. indica var. flava (Roscoe) Baker, C. indica var. lutea (Mill.) Aiton, C. indica var. napalensis Wall. ex Bouché, C. indica var. orientalis (Roscoe ex Baker), C. indica var. rubra (Aiton), C. juncea Retz., C. laeta Bouché, C. lagunensis Lindl., C. lambertii Lindl., C. leptochila Bouché, C. lutea Larrañaga, C. lutea Mill., C. lutea var. aurantiaca Regel, C. lutea var. genuina Kraenzl., C. lutea var. pallida Kraenzl., C. maculata (Hook) Link., C. maxima Lodd. ex Roscoe, C. moritziana Bouché, C. napalensis Wall. ex Bouché, C. occidentalis Roscoe, C. orientalis Bouché, C. orientalis f. 'flavaRoscoe', C. pallida Roscoe, C. poeppigii Bouché, C. polymorpha Lodd. ex Loudon, C. portoricensis Bouché, C. pulchra Bouché ex Horan., C. pulchra Hassk., C. rubra (Aiton) Willd., C. rubricaulis Link, C. sanguinea Bouché, C. sanguinea Warsz. ex Otto & A.Dietr., C. saturate-rubra Bouché ex K.Koch, C. seleriana (Kraenzl.), C. sellowii Bouché, C. spectabilis Bouché, C. sulphurea Bouché, C. surinamensis Bouché, C. tenuiflora Bouché, C. textoria Noronha, C. thyrsiflora Hegetschw., C. tinei Tod., C. Tous-les-mois, C. variegata Besser, C. variegata Bouché, C. ventricosa Bouché, C. warszewiczii var. flameus Ram. Goyena, C. xalapensis Horan., C. variegatifolia Ciciar

Missed the solstice!

The winter solstice occurs at the instant when the Sun's position in the sky is at its greatest angular distance on the other side of the equatorial plane from the observer. Depending on the shift of the calendar, the event of the winter solstice occurs some time between December 20 and December 23 each year in the northern hemisphere, and between June 20 and June 23 in the southern hemisphere, during either the shortest day or the longest night of the year.

Anyway, I took my eye away for a moment and I missed the solstice. Those who read this blog regularly will know that I am always keen to know when the shortest day has arrived, so that I can start looking forward to Spring and Summer once again. It's all mental mind-play to save the winter blues taking over.

Although I missed it, it has definitely arrived and our days will now start getting longer! Yippee!

I have today finished moving all the cleaned and cut for-sale rhizomes into "flat" trays filled with peat compost, and moved them all into a shed with frost protection. This also makes me feel contented that the worst of the winter work is over and now we can relax a little until the time arrives in about two weeks time to start planting seeds!

Unfortunately, last winter we had two electricity cuts, which destroyed that year's crop! This year we have installed paraffin heaters to provide the main heating, supplemented by the fan heaters with frost controls. There are 105 trays for sale this year, but some only have a handful of rhizomes available, whilst the more vigorous, like Canna 'Musifolia Grande', have hundreds of rhizomes for resale.

Earliest evidence of Yellow King Humbert

Kent Kelly, a leading US Canna authority, has located documents published on Google Book Search that show the earliest evidence revealed to date about Canna 'Yellow King Humbert'. It is from "The Garden Magazine ", May 1918, and is an advert by the Vaughan Seed Co., Chicago, IL. USA.

We know that it was a sport of Canna 'Roi Humbert' aka 'King Humbert', confirmed by this advert and the laboratory tests conducted by Dr Khoshoo in India in the 1960's.

Canna 'Roi Humbert' growing at the Nates Parks Department in France, where it has been grown for about 100 years continuously.

Although the Vaughan Seed Co. advert described it as a sport it is much more than that. This is a chimeral mutation, which is the plant-life equivilant of Siamese twins. The DNA of both cultivars is present and at any time can mutate again into the other twin.

Sometimes the mutations are not complete, as can be seen by the photograph above where just one staminode turned red with tone combinations, and sometimes it is just variegation in the foliage, as in the photograph below.

At other times it mutates totally back and produces a chimera similar to the original C. 'Roi Humbert'. The number of such mutations is legion and they are recorded as sports. They possibly include:

• Black Knight
• General Eisenhower
• Out of Africa
• Paddy's Red
• Red Cleopatra
• Red King Humbert
• The Ambassadour
• Ty Ty Red
• Zulu Masquerade

Many of these sports have subtle differences and are worthy of being treated as separate cultivars.

Canna 'Zulu Masquerade', introduced by Mrs Marcelle Shepard.

Introducing Canna 'Rosebud Cream Supreme'

Another New Year and another new Canna cultivar. Bernard Yorke has released details of another of his new varieties, lauding in the long name of Canna 'Rosebud Cream Supreme', but one which Bernard feels sums up its outstanding features correctly.

A tall Australian Group cultivar; dark green foliage, oval and cupped shaped, maroon margin, upright habit; spikes of flowers are cupped, pale-rose and cream, staminodes are large, edges serrated, fully self-cleaning, outstanding bloomer; fertile both ways, not self-pollinating or true to type, capsules globose. Introduced by Bernard Yorke, Queensland, Australia in 2008.

A hand-cross between Canna 'Red Stripe' x C. 'Bengal Tiger'. Bernard confided that, "From this cross, I have obtained several Look alike Wyomings... in fact, their blooms are somewhat larger than Wyoming. With this cross, there were, to my mind, a lot of trash types, but I still have quite a few of them growing as they may be good for hybridizing on account of their vigorous stock."

Cannas by Bernard Yorke