It's all flawed

Wildly inaccurate forecasts by the UK Met Office for this summer have caused a total rethink on our part at Claines Canna.

The Met Office is one of the most devout peddlers of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) man-made climate change theory (exaggerated by the UK Stern Report) which predicted 2-5 degrees Celsius rises in temperatures for 40 to 90 years ahead. However, Nicholas Stern in the government bible drops reference to the 90 years and sticks with the 40 years, presumably so that it all seems more urgent and desperate.

The truth is that it is not happening and despite the largest rises in man-made carbon dioxide emissions over the past twenty years; here we are now in 2009 with no warming for ten years.

Even the Met Office has had to confess that average global temperature has not risen for a decade, despite its subscribing to the IPCC predictions that runaway global warming would be upon us at the start of the new millennium.

The IPCC, an expensive international bureaucracy, established to promote the man-made (anthropogenic) climate change (global warming) theory runs multi-million dollar models to try to predict the temperatures in the future. These have been fatally flawed by independent climatologists and atmospheric physicists, yet still a large gullible section of the public swallows all the hype and the government propaganda ably aided by local councils and goes on to peddle the myth.

These are sad times when the Met Office, the citadel of flawed reasoning and the ‘King Canute’ theory, cannot even predict with any accuracy the temperatures for this summer in this country.

Canna 'Sémaphore'

A medium sized Crozy Group cultivar; bronze foliage, lanceolate shaped, upright habit; round stems, coloured purple; panicles of flowers are open, self-coloured saffron-yellow (RHS 21A), staminodes are narrow; fertile both ways, not known if true to type, not self-pollinating. Introduced by Vilmorin-Andrieux in 1895.

Bred by Vilmorin-Andrieux, 1895. First mentioned in the R.H.S. Journal of 1898-9. Featured in the 1908 and 1909 R.H.S. trials at Wisley, without award. Synonym: C. 'Pacific Beauty'

What barbecue?

They told us to get the barbecues ready and prepare for a scorching summer. So far, no barby!

Experts predicted temperatures would top 86F (30C) while rainfall was likely to be “near or below average”.

But the latest Met Office figures released yesterday show that July has been a washout – with almost a month’s rain in the first two weeks alone.

The only glimmer of comfort was the fact that temperatures across the country have still been higher than an average summer. The average UK rainfall for the first fortnight was 56.6mm (2.2in) – about 81 per cent of the normal July level.

But while most of us probably feel like we have experienced the worst summer for years, the rainfall figures were much lower than in the past two years.

However, this is still not Canna growing weather, and the Claines collection currently stands forlornly with every single plant having some good and some bad foliage. Leaves that unfolded when there was sunshine are mostly alright, but those on the same plant that unfurled during days with cloud and poor light reflect that fact. This is light stress, which looks like CYMV virus. The mosaic virus types is always the cause of this pattern in the leaf, in my opinion, as lack of light does not create a mosaic pattern in any any plants that I have experienced.

The worst sufferers are the wild species, grown from seed this year and all a vibrant green when planted outdoors in late May. They are now, almost without exception, looking yellow coloured with holes and tattered edges where the weather has meant little photosynthesis has taken place and the extreme rain has washed away the powder that protects the leaf against normal volumes of rain.

Canna 'Roi Soleil'

A medium sized Crozy Group cultivar; green foliage, branching habit; spikes of flowers are open, self-coloured cardinal-red, throat cardinal-red with gold spots, 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 purple; tillering is average.

Introduced by Vilmorin-Andrieux, France in 1930, and granted Award of Garden Merit (AGM) by the Royal Horticultural Society, England in their Canna Trial held in 2002,.

Canna 'Regal Red'

A medium sized Foliage Group cultivar; dark green foliage, large, oblong shaped, maroon margin, branching habit; triangular stems, coloured green; spikes of flowers are erect, self-coloured red, staminodes are long and narrow, edges regular, 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 prolific.

Canna 'Rose Futurity'

A small Crozy Group cultivar; purple foliage, oval shaped, maroon margin, branching habit; triangular stems, coloured green; panicles of flowers are open, self-coloured rose, staminodes are medium size; 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 Kent Kelly, Quality Gladiolus, Arkansas, USA.

Canna 'Rosalind'

A small Premier Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, branching habit; panicles of flowers are open, saffron-yellow and old-rose, staminodes are large, edges irregular, fully self-cleaning, average bloomer; fertile both ways, not self-pollinating or true to type; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured white and pink; tillering is slow.

Canna 'Roitelet'

A small Crozy Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, maroon margin, branching habit; spikes of flowers are open, self-coloured red, staminodes are 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 purple; tillering is average.

Introduced by Georges Truffaut, France, EU in 1966.

Nothing changes!

Writing in The magazine of Horticulture, Botany and all useful discoveries in Rural Affairs in the USA in 1861, the editor, C.M. Hovey, writing about Cannas stated that "We have in our last volume alluded to the importance of ornamental-leaved plants for the decoration of the garden, which are now attracting so much attention abroad, particularly with the French and Belgian cultivators, whose climate is so much more like our own than that of Great Britain, where the sky is too cloudy and the temperature too cool to admit of that rampant growth which alone brings out the real beauty of these plants."

Nothing changes! We have just experienced at least two weeks of weather torment, with very little direct sunlight and instead of the gentle drizzle that we used to experience in England we now have vicious, hateful rain storms, spitting down vast volumes of water at harmful speeds. Being outside in such storms is almost like being physically attacked. But more important, we now never see the sun, it is almost always hidden behind vast rain-carrying clouds.

We had expected to have a good summer, after the promises made by the Met Office, instead it is almost worse than the last two years of misery. At Claines we have not had a barbecue for the last three years, as we haven't had the weather to allow us to light up and cook!

Something bad is happening to our climate, and our Cannas cannot cope with it. Even this years seedlings, which have not been in any contact with virus, are 80% showing leaves that the doomsayers will state is virus. Yet we know that no more than 4% of Canna seeds carry virus, unless we rubbish the work of Dr Koshoo, the only extensive scientific examination performed on the Canna genus, and we now assert that all seed carries its parents virus.

Every other genus accepts their specimens to have environment stress damage, but many advocates of virus in the Canna world insist that anything that is not perfect is virus! This is illogical and does not reflect biology and horticultural experience, where the many causes of stress are recognized and dealt with accordingly. The denial that there is such a thing as plant stress in Canna caused by climate is not going to allow us to move forward at all. Here ends my case my friends!

Canna 'Rigoletto'

A medium sized Italian Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, spreading habit; oval stems, coloured green; panicles of flowers are cupped, self-coloured yellow, throat some soft-pink mottling, staminodes are large, edges ruffled, stamen is yellow, petals yellow, fully self-cleaning; fertile both ways, not self-pollinating or true to type; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured white; tillering is prolific.

Said by some authorities to be the finest yellow canna ever grown. One of the Opera series of Canna bred by Howard and Smith Nursery of Los Angeles, USA in the 1930's.

Summer come and gone

Gale-force winds and torrential rain battered Britain over the weekend – as summer seems to have been and gone.

But there is worse to come as ­forecasters predict it will carry on raining until August – with no warm weather for weeks.

In the meantime, the Cannas look no better than last year, some good leaves and some imperfect leaves. We had some higher than average temperatures in late June and early July, but they were accompanied by cloud and rain. Now what we really want is some direct sunlight to kick-start the Canna starch making machine.

A hundred years ago Cannas were grown in England as stove plants, which means that they grown in heated green houses. In the last three years of the twenty years that we have grown Cannas we have not had good results, but before that we had many good years.

The severity of the weather we are now experiencing, compared with the gentle drizzle of the traditional English summer is the obvious cause, perhaps we have to revert to growing them protected by glass or poly tunnels throughout the year?

Canna 'Pixie'

A medium sized Foliage Group cultivar; light green foliage, ovoid shaped, white margin, upright habit; round stems, coloured green; flowers are erect, self-coloured orange-red, staminodes are long and narrow, edges regular, petals purple with farina, fully self-cleaning; fertile both ways, self-pollinating and also true to type; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured white.

Canna 'Red Wine'

A medium sized Crozy Group cultivar; dark, burgundy coloured foliage, oval shaped, maroon margin, spreading habit; oval stems, coloured purple; flowers are open, self-coloured wine-red, throat slightly lighter, staminodes are medium size, edges regular, petals purple with farina, fully self-cleaning; blooms open in the evening; 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 Kent Kelly, Quality Gladiolus, Arkansas, USA.

Canna 'Red King Humbert'

A medium sized Italian Group cultivar; bronze foliage, oval shaped, maroon margin, branching habit; triangular stems, coloured purple; spikes of flowers are cupped, self-coloured red, staminodes are large, edges lightly frilled, petals purple with farina, fully self-cleaning; seed is sterile, pollen is sterile; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured purple; tillering is average.

This is Canna 'Yellow King Humbert' that has reverted back to its original state, Canna 'Roi Humbert 1'. After the shake-up of two mutations it is not safe to refer to it as C. 'Roi Humbert 1', as the genetic make-up has been affected through two major mutations, hence the new name.

Probable synonyms: C. 'Out of Africa', C. 'Ty Ty Red'

Canna 'Ra'

A medium sized aquatic cultivar, equally at home as a water marginal or in the border; glaucous green foliage, lanceolate shaped, upright habit; panicles of flowers are open, self-coloured yellow, staminodes are narrow, edges irregular, fully self-cleaning; fertile both ways, not true to type or self-pollinating, capsules globose; rhizomes are long and thin, coloured white; tillering is slow.

Introduced by R.J. Armstrong, of Longwood Gardens, USA.

40 days of rain anticipated!

Doubt has been cast on the prospects for a hot and sunny British summer after it rained heavily across the country yesterday - St Swithin's Day.

Tradition holds that if it rains on July 15 it will do so for the next 40 days.

People were forced to swap sandals and shorts for wellies and raincoats as rain hit areas across Britain and the Met Office warned of heavy showers and flash floods for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

In any event, this summer is not the one we were promised by the Met Office. We had high temperatures while the rains poured down. That is not what constitutes a heat-wave, as we were promised by the Met Office! I don't believe that they have the faintest idea what they are doing, everyday the forecast for the next day alters, in fact they are forecasting by the hour!

Canna 'Pink Silk'

A medium sized Crozy Group cultivar; dark green foliage, oval shaped, branching habit; panicles of flowers are reflexed, self-coloured pink, staminodes are medium size, edges regular, stamen is pink streaked with gold, good bloomer, blooms open in the evening; 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.


It origins are in India, probably from the Agri Horticultural Society of India during the period that Sydney Percy-Lancaster was its secretary.

Canna 'Pink Sensation'

A medium sized Crozy Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, white margin, arching habit; panicles of flowers are open, self-coloured pink, 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 white and pink; tillering is average.

Canna 'Peach Surprise'

A miniature Crozy Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, branching habit; oval stems, coloured green; panicles of flowers are cupped, cream with a wide pale pink margin, throat cream, staminodes are medium size, edges ruffled, fully self-cleaning; fertile both ways, not self-pollinating or true to type; 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 2002.

Canna patens (Roscoe) Tb. Tanaka

A medium sized wild species; green foliage, very small, ovoid shaped, arching habit; triangular stems, coloured green; spikes of flowers are erect, yellow with a wide red margin, staminodes are long and narrow, edges regular, petals yellow, 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 white; tillering is prolific.

Introduced by Aiton, and confirmed by Roscoe. Native of Mexico, thought by Professor Maas to be a synonym of C. indica L. but Dr Tanaka has categorised this as a separate species, confirmed by DNA sample.

Synonyms: C. aura-vittata Lodd., C. humilis Bouché, C. indica L. var. limbata, C. indica patens, C. indica var. limbata Peters., C. indica var. patens Aiton, C. limbata Roscoe, C. 'Little Dragon', C. longifolia Bouché, C. montana Blume, C. recurvata Bouché

Canna 'Passionata'

A medium sized Foliage Group cultivar; green and purple variegated foliage, lanceolate shaped, maroon margin, upright habit; oval stems, coloured purple; spikes of flowers are open, apricot and salmon, staminodes are narrow, edges irregular, petals purple, partial self-cleaning, good bloomer, blooms open in the evening; 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 Ian Cooke, UK

Canna 'Panache Rouge'

A tall Italian Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, branching habit; oval stems, coloured green; panicles of flowers are cupped, self-coloured orient-red, throat a few yellow markings, staminodes are large, edges irregular, petals red; seed is sterile, pollen is low fertile; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured purple; tillering is prolific.

Introduced by Vilmorin-Andrieux in 1922.

Hart Cannas win prize and acclaim

The Hart Canna stand at Hampton Court

Congratulations are due to Keith and Christine Hayward, having just won a silver-gilt medal at the Royal Horticultural Society Hampton Court Flower Show. The theme of the stand was a recent trip that they made to Argentina searching for Canna species and cultivars.

Christine with the President of the RHS

El Christine with Toby Buckland of Gardeners World fame

Christine, Matthew Biggs, Keith

On the first day they had many VIP visitors, including the President of the RHS, along with TV presenters Richard Jackson and Toby Buckland, not forgetting Radio presenter Matthew Biggs (dressed as William Lobb, Victorian plant collector), and editors of 3 gardening magazines, and finally Gerald Howarth, the Government Shadow Defence Secretary (who happens to live in Farnborough, and looked them up). Christine enjoyed herself meeting with them all, and also got them to sign their visitor's book.
King Henry VIII and his 6 wives are also at the show, Keith thinks that they are there all week . Monday was hot, but Tuesday was heavy rain so they were glad to be in a marquee.

Visit the web site at Hart Canna

Canna 'Muldoon'

A small Premier Group cultivar; green foliage, ovoid shaped, spreading habit; spikes of flowers are open, gold speckled with burnt-red, staminodes are large, edges irregular, labellum is gold heavily spotted with burnt-red, stamen is canary-yellow with burnt-red spots, style is canary-yellow, petals yellow, fully self-cleaning, outstanding bloomer, blooms open in the evening; 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.

Canna 'Partenope'

A medium sized Italian Group cultivar; green foliage, large, ovoid shaped, maroon margin, upright habit; triangular stems, coloured green + purple; panicles of flowers are open, red-orange and burnt-red, throat orange-yellow with red-orange spots, staminodes are large, edges frilled, petals purple, fully self-cleaning; seed is sterile, pollen is low fertile; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured white and purple; tillering is prolific.

Introduced by C. Sprenger, Dammann & Co., Naples, Italy, EU in 1897. Synonyms: C. 'Orange Beauty', C. 'Parthenope'

Canna 'Souvenir de Robert Owen'

A medium sized Crozy Group cultivar; dark foliage, oval shaped, maroon margin, branching habit; oval stems, coloured purple; panicles of flowers are open, orange-red with rose-red spots, staminodes are medium size, edges regular, 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 white and purple; tillering is average.

Synonyms: C. 'Souvenir D.R. Owen', C. 'Souvenir of Dr. Owen'

Canna 'Orange Delight'

A small Crozy Group cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, branching habit; spikes of flowers are open, light orange streaked with orange-yellow fading after a few days to an attractive pink, staminodes are large, edges irregular, petals red, 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 pink and purple.

Introduced by Marcelle Sheppard, Texas, USA.

Marcelles Crinums

Canna 'Party Piece'

A small Premier Group cultivar; green foliage, ovoid shaped, spreading habit; spikes of flowers are open, self-coloured yellow-orange with a thin yellow border, staminodes are large, 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 prolific.

Introduced by Malcolm Dalebö, Claines Canna Collection, Worcester, England, EU in 2008. The breeding is Canna 'Louis Cottin' x open.

Plauge of the aphids

The sizzling temperatures and scorching sunshine has triggered the worst plague of greenfly for more than 25 years in the UK.

Experts say the blazing June weather has provided perfect breeding conditions for aphids - the tiny pests hated by gardeners that destroy everything from cannas to cabbages.

Billions of the green, black and white pests have been spotted swarming in the skies and munching through flower beds in recent weeks.

'It is the perfect conditions for greenfly,' said John Hughes, an expert from Shropshire Wildlife Trust.

'We've had a warm, wet spring going into early summer and things have been growing very well, so everything that lives on plants, like greenfly, is doing very well.'

The sap-eating bugs are a threat to a quarter of all common garden plant species.

The insects are usually between 1mm and 6mm and are usually known as greenfly or blackfly. However, they come in a range of colours including pink, white and mottled.

Aphids infest the softest parts of the plant, usually the tips of shoots and the undersides of young leaves and suck out the sweet sap.

They spread diseases from plant to plant, restrict growth and can cause deformities in leaves and stems.

Greenfly also secrete a sugar solution which creates sticky patches on plants and is often colonised by a fungus called sooty mould that turns foliage black. Although this does not directly damage plants it can block out light to the leaves and reduce the plant's ability to photosynthesize.

Worst of all, they are distributors of Canna virus, moving from an affected plant onto an unaffected plant and contaminating that. Although we always try to be as organic as possible, however the size of the problem has meant that we have sprayed all the Cannas in the colection with a systemic bug killer, and we will top that up again weekly.

Canna 'Panache'

A medium sized aquatic cultivar, equally at home as a water marginal or in the border; glaucous green foliage, lanceolate shaped, upright habit; spikes of flowers are open, apricot and pink, staminodes are narrow, edges regular, petals red, fully self-cleaning; fertile both ways, not true to type, self-pollinating, capsules globose; rhizomes are long and thin, coloured white and pink; tillering is slow.

Introduced by Herb Kelly, USA. Synonym: C. 'Highwie'

Canna 'Ouse'

A medium sized aquatic cultivar, equally at home as a water marginal or in the border; green foliage, lanceolate shaped, transparent margin, upright habit; flowers are open, self-coloured canary-yellow, throat old-rose, staminodes are long and narrow, edges irregular, petals yellow, fully self-cleaning, average bloomer; fertile both ways, not self-pollinating or true to type, capsules globose; rhizomes are long and thin, coloured white and pink; tillering is slow. The curled lip is a quaint feature of this cultivar, and it stands out well against the pink in the throat of all of the staminodes.

Introduced by Malcolm Dalebö, Claines Canna Collection, Worcester, England, EU in 2007. The Claines Canna Aquatics have been bred to populate garden ponds that are just a few metres square, compared with the much larger Longwood Aquatics destined for huge ponds and lakes.

The breeding is C. 'Endeavour' x C. 'Wye'