Canna 'Auguste Ferrier'

A giant Foliage Group cultivar; green and purple variegated foliage, large, oval shaped, maroon margin, upright habit; oval stems, coloured green; flowers are erect, self-coloured orange-red, staminodes are long and narrow, edges regular, petals red, fully self-cleaning, low bloomer; fertile both ways, not true to type, self-pollinating, capsules round.

Synonym: C. 'Red Stripe'

New this year: Canna 'Admiration'

A medium sized Premier Group cultivar; green and purple variegated foliage, ovoid shaped, maroon margin, branching habit; spikes of flowers are open, apricot and deep-pink, staminodes are large, edges irregular, 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 pink; tillering is prolific.

This is a hand-pollinated cross of C. 'Theresa Blakey' x C. 'Auguste Ferrier'

Revisiting Canna 'Auguste Ferrier'

A giant Foliage Group cultivar; green and purple variegated foliage, large, oval shaped, maroon margin, upright habit; oval stems, coloured green; flowers are erect, self-coloured orange-red, staminodes are long and narrow, edges regular, petals red, fully self-cleaning, low bloomer; fertile both ways, not true to type, self-pollinating, capsules round.

We have grown this for several years alongside Canna 'Red Stripe', and we have no doubt that the latter, a recent introduction from TyTy Nurseries in the USA, is simply a synonym of this old cultivar.

It's earliest reference is the George Nicholson book, The Illustrated Dictionary of Gardening, of 1888. Nicholson described it as "Flowers orange-red, medium-sized. Leaves very large, oval, erect, pointed, deep-green, with narrow stripes and margins of dark purplish-red. Stems green, very thick, downy. Height 10’.

About Canna 'Auguste Ferrier'

A giant Foliage Group cultivar; green and purple variegated foliage, large, oval shaped, maroon margin, upright habit; oval stems, coloured green; flowers are erect, self-coloured orange-red, staminodes are long and narrow, edges regular, petals red, fully self-cleaning, low bloomer; fertile both ways, not true to type, self-pollinating, capsules round.

The earliest reference we can find to this one is George Nicholson, The Illustrated Dictionary of Gardening, 1888. We acquired it in 2005, and grew it alongside many of our other Foliage Group cultivars. We quickly moved the pot alongside C. 'Red Stripe' when we realized how alike they were.

Research has shown that there is no satisfactory source of origin for Red Stripe, and in his book The Gardeners Guide to Growing Cannas Ian Cooke wrote, "Red Stripe’ is very similar to C. indica var. purpurea and as it sets seeds readily, it is quite likely to be a variation on it." That speculative statement now seems to be treated as definitive, and it is now being called C. indica purpurea var. Red Stripe.

However, having grown both varieties alongside each other for two years, we are convinced that they are the self-same plant, and we now treat C. 'Red Stripe' as being just a synonym of the much older C. 'Auguste Ferrier'.

Research has discovered more about Canna indica var. purpurea, and that will be discussed in a future blog.