Canna 'Triumph'

A small Crozy Group cultivar; green foliage, oblong shaped, spreading habit; round stems, coloured green; panicles of flowers are open, self-coloured scarlet, staminodes are medium size, edges regular; fertile both ways, not true to type or self-pollinating, capsules globose; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured white and pink; tillering is average.

Introduced by Antoine Wintzer of The Conard & Jones Co., West Grove, PA, USA. Not to be confused with C. 'Triomphe', which was a later introduction. This fine cultivar featured in the 1907 and 1908 RHS Canna Trials, but without award.

Marcelle's Canna creations

Although best known for her Crimum cultivars, over the years Mrs Marcelle Sheppard has also hybridized a number of winning Cannas. One of the most exciting to look at is C. 'Zulu Rouge' with its dark (almost brown-black) foliage and bright red flowers. Many of her cultivars were distributed over the years by Herb Kelly Jr.

The list below itemises her Canna introductions and their genetic provenance.

1. C. 'Blushing Beauty' - Confetti X Chinese Coral
2. C. 'Brocade' - Parks Grande Opera seeds. Parks is a US garden mail order retailer.
3. C. 'Chinese Lantern' - Color Clown seedling.
4. C. 'Colortime' - Color Clown seedling.
5. C. 'Cremora' - Eureka X Confetti
6. C. 'Fantastic Red' - Parks Grande Opera seeds
7. C. 'Gold Mine' - a rogue that just appeared in a Canna bed
8. C. 'Heart Throb' - Parks Seven Dwarf seeds
9. C. 'Honeycomb' - Unknown
10. C. 'Lemonade' - Confetti seedling.
11. C. 'Lunar Light' - Color Clown seedling.
12. C. 'New Dawn' - Parks Grande Opera seeds
13. C. 'New Day' - Parks Grande Opera seeds
14. C. 'New Era' - Parks Grande Opera seeds
15. C. 'New Horizon' - Unknown
16. C. 'New Sensation' - Unknown
17. C. 'Orange Chiffon' - Unknown
18. C. 'Orange County Texas' - Clown Color seedling.
19. C. 'Orange Delight' - Unknown
20. C,. 'Pale Beauty' - Unknown
21. C. 'Peaches'n Cream' - Parks Seven Dwarf seeds
22. C. 'Pink Lace' - Unknown
23. C. 'Phalia' - Eureka X Confetti
24. C. 'Porcelana' - Chinese Coral seedling.
25. C. 'Pretty Butterfly' - Green-leafed from my Red Leafed seedlings
26. C. 'Pygmy Flame' - Unknown landscape small flowered red.
27. C. 'Red Ribbons' - Unknown
28. C. 'Rose Beauty' - Green leafed Rosever seedling.
29. C. 'Rose Ribbons' - Seedling from one of the Grande Opera cannas.
30. C. 'Scarlet Fever' - Confetti seedling.
31. C. 'Spotted Fever' - Only seedling from the other Confetti which was so pretty.
32. C. 'Tangerine' - Parks Seven Dwarf Seeds
33. C. 'Topaz' - Unknown.
34. C. 'Tropical Sunrise' - Unknown.
35. C. 'Weinsap Red' - Parks Seven Dwarf seeds.
36. C. 'Zulu Apricot Nector' - Rosever
37. C. 'Zulu Best Friends'
38. C. 'Zulu Maiden' - Unknown.
39. C. 'Zulu Masquerade' - Sport from Cleopatra.
40. C. 'Zulu King' - Unknown.
41. C. 'Zulu Princess' - Rosever.
42. C. 'Zulu Queen' - Confetti
43. C. 'Zulu Rouge' - Rosever.
44. C. 'Zulu Warrior' - Color Clown.

It is immediately obvious how many fine cultivars have been obtained from the now neglected Grande Opera Series. Thankfully, they are all still available for anybody who troubles to collect them, however, the same cannot be said for the Severn Dwarf Series, which seems to have become extinct. All of Mrs Sheppard's cultivars are in the Crozy Group, except for C. 'Zulu Masquerade', which is an Italian Group sport from C. 'Yellow King Humbert' (syn. Cleopatra).

Finally, C. 'Color Clown' (syn. C. 'Gaeity') has proven to be an outstanding seed parent for Mrs Sheppard, and those contemplating hand propagation should consider this as an outstanding seed and pollen parent.

No Grubby Undies on These.

So often we ooh and aah over the big, blowsy, beauties of the Canna world. Granted, they are spectacular, but most of these can look pretty grubby when they are nearing the end of a flowering cycle. Unsightly dead flowers nestle in the heads, detracting from freshly opened blooms.

Amongst my favourite cannas are some that are better behaved. Their flowers are not enormous saucers. They are more airy looking and discard their spent flowers which enables them to always look pristine. We have no group classification for these cannas of more modest proportions. Some of them are early Crozy hybrids and many are newer Australian hybrids. They often exhibit their ancestral traits from C. iridiflora and C. glauca. A friend calls some that have non-overlapping staminodes (those things that look like petals), "Windmill Cannas". I suppose it's as good a description as any other.

Left is pictured an old heritage Canna of unknown name. It's temporary nickname is "Topsy's Spotty Foundling" and I thank Topsy for giving me a piece. It reaches approximately 1 metre (3') in height and exhibits thick, waxy blue, somewhat lanceolate foliage indicating C. glauca genes back in its pedigree. Clumping nicely and not galloping around like C. glauca, it increases moderately well. Flowers are about 10 cms in diameter (4"). It is the most spectacular spotty Canna I have. Instantly shedding aged blooms, it is always clean and neat. No dirty undies for this girl. For a while I was convinced this was old 'Kronos' as it seemed to match perfectly the old Australian nursery catalogue descriptions but they rarely stipulated the type of Canna over which they enthused. I have since learnt that the original 'Kronos' was not a Crozy type Canna as is my foundling, but an Italian type, so that shot my naming theory down in flames. Aah well, time may uncover her true identity.

Another of my neat and tidy ladies is also missing a correct name. She was found in the heart of C.F. Cole country and had been passed from mother to daughter in the one family for three generations. I can find nothing in the literature matching a possible ID for this Canna, which reinforces my vague theory that it may be another Cole hybrid. We only have a handful of descriptions for the twenty-eight named hybrids Charles Cole distributed. No description = a likely Cole hybrid. He did breed a pale lemon Canna, but that is all we know of it.

The foundling temporarily known as "Lemon Cole Foundling" is such a well behaved plant. It clumps tightly, and increases rapidly. - sorry for the lack of imagination in the nickname but accession numbers give me the pip! Leaves resemble those of C. glauca but with less blue waxy bloom. The flowers resembling those on the species C. glauca, are arranged in evenly distributed umbrels like a multi-tiered candelabra and very quickly shed their blemished flowers. This Canna relieves any possible heaviness in a bed mass planted with bigger cannas. Height under 1 metre (3'). Flowers are approximately 7 cms (around 3") across.

Both the above cannas set copious amounts of seed.

This ends my mystery neat freaks still needing their original identities. If anyone can shed some light on the identity of these two cannas, I will be delighted. Later, I will show you some named Australian hybrids who like-wise have very tidy habits and tasteful sized blooms in keeping with their stature.

Canna 'Mersey'

New introductions

Canna 'Mersey'

A medium sized aquatic cultivar, equally at home as a water marginal or in the border; light green foliage, lanceolate shaped, upright habit; spikes of flowers are open, self-coloured cerise-pink, staminodes are long and narrow, edges irregular, petals yellow, fully self-cleaning, good bloomer; fertile both ways, not self-pollinating or true to type, capsules globose; rhizomes are long and thin, coloured white and pink; tillering is average. Introduced by Malcolm Dalebö, Claines Canna Collection, Worcester, England, EU in 2007.

The breeding is Canna 'Avon' x C. 'Wye'

Canna 'Croome'

New cultivar

A medium sized Premier Group cultivar; dark green foliage, ovoid shaped, branching habit; flowers are open, rose-red and ivory, staminodes are large, edges irregular, 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 purple; tillering is average. Introduced by Malcolm Dalebö, Claines Canna Collection, Worcester, England, EU in 2008. The breeding is C. 'Doreen Morris' x open.

Introducing Canna 'Charming'

New Introduction

A medium sized Crozy Group cultivar; green and purple variegated foliage, large, oblong shaped, maroon margin, branching habit; flowers are open, gold with a deep-pink blush, 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 white and purple; tillering is average. Introduced by Malcolm Dalebö, Claines Canna Collection, Worcester, England, EU in 2008. The breeding is C. 'J.D. Cabos' x open.

This one has to be seen to be believed, the photograph was taken on 5th November 2007, it had been flowering continuously since June. It took us all our time to keep it fed, watered and groomed. Only grow this one if you are prepared to enter servitude for five months of continuous flowering!

Canna 'Amazement'

New introduction

A medium sized Crozy Group cultivar; green foliage, ovoid shaped, branching habit; spikes of flowers are cupped, self-coloured cadmium-orange, staminodes are medium size, edges serrated, 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; tillering is prolific. Introduced by Malcolm Dalebö, Claines Canna Collection, Worcester, England, EU in 2008. The breeding is C. 'Admiral Aurellan' x C. 'Oberon'.
The picture above was taken on the 6th November 2007, this one never stops flowering!

Canna 'Dessert'

New introduction

A small Crozy Group cultivar; dark green foliage, ovoid shaped, branching habit; flowers are open, apricot and pale yellow, staminodes are large, edges frilled, stamen is yellow, style is yellow, petals yellow, 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 white; tillering is average. Introduced by Malcolm Dalebö, Claines Canna Collection, Worcester, England, EU in 2007. Breeding is Canna 'Topaz' x C. 'Ella Dalebö'

Introducing Canna 'Leprechaun'

New introduction

A miniature Foliage Group cultivar; green foliage, lanceolate shaped, white margin, upright habit; spikes of flowers are scarlet and orange-red, staminodes are medium size, edges regular, stamen is scarlet and rose-red, style is scarlet, petals red with farina, fully self-cleaning, good bloomer; fertile both ways, not true to type, self-pollinating, capsules globose; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured purple; tillering is slow. Introduced by Malcolm Dalebö, Claines Canna Collection, Worcester, England, EU in 2008. The breeding is C. 'Elfin' x C. 'Wye'

Canna 'Droitwich'

New introduction

A small Crozy Group cultivar; dark green foliage, oblong shaped, branching habit; spikes of flowers are open, cardinal-red with a gold margin, throat gold with orange-red spots, staminodes are large, edges lightly frilled, 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 pink and purple; tillering is average. Introduced by Malcolm Dalebö, Claines Canna Collection, Worcester, England, EU in 2007. Breeding Canna 'Mandy Robinson' x C. 'Tangerine'

Canna 'Showman'

New introduction

A small Crozy Group cultivar; dark green foliage, oval shaped, branching habit; flowers are open, cardinal-red and canary-yellow, throat canary-yellow, staminodes are large, edges irregular, stamen is sulphur-yellow with cardinal-red spots, style is canary-yellow, petals red, 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; tillering is average. Introduced by Malcolm Dalebö, Claines Canna Collection, Worcester, England, EU in 2007. Breeding Canna 'Karla Dalebö' x open.

Assessment of Canna progress, 1897

Garden and forest. / Volume 10, Issue 501. [September 29, 1897, 379-388]

The Cultivation of Cannas.

IT is interesting to look back a decade and note the progress made in the cultivation of Cannas. The development of the Crozy type, from which almost every high-class variety has come, is most interesting. In no class of plants can less credit be claimed by the hybridist, for the best Cannas have resulted from careful selection. The arrangements for close fertilization are so complete that it is almost impossible, if fecundation is secured, to thwart Nature.

It was predicted when the large-flowered giants of the Flaccida type, Italia and Austria, were introduced that they would supersede the Crozy type. Both these types are continuous bloomers, but what is lacking in the blooms of all Cannas, durability of texture, is still more lacking in the Italian varieties. The flowers are extremely fugacious, and what I have seen of the half a dozen or more new colors in this section they all have the same defect. The American variety of this type, the Burbank, is no better in this respect; in appearance it resembles the variety named Austria (see left). As pot-plants for foliage effects Cannas are highly effective, and under glass, with shade, the flowers are more durable. This is true of all Cannas; under glass the flowers have better individual development and last long enough to fill out a good round truss.

Canna specialists hesitate to judge a variety by its behavior under glass; the supreme test is out in the open air. Paul Bruant is superb under glass, but of little use under direct sunlight. For a bedding Canna a compact truss is a strong recommendation. Among medium growers, Queen Charlotte and its " improved " variety are the finest. The flowers are widely banded with yellow and durable. An effective combination in a circular bed may be made with plants of Queen Charlotte in the middle and Mrs. Fairman Rogers, a fine form of the Crozy type, as an edging.

Mr. Denys Zirngiebel, of Needham, Massachusetts, who makes a speciality of Cannas, considers President Cleveland, a salmon-scarlet, the finest bedding Canna of its color yet introduced. It is very compact, and in vividness of coloring it outshone all others in a large patch containing sixty varieties. It was raised by Mr. Pfister, gardener at the White House. This list comprises scarcely half a dozen first-class varieties, if the dark-leaved sorts are excluded. Bismarck, a recent variety, showed up well; it has a dwarf habit and compact and full-flowered truss of crimson flowers. Robert Christie is a beautiful salmon-red and a splendid pot-plant; Ami Pichon is a good maroon with deeper spots; Leonard Vaughan is a fine dark-leaved kind with scarlet flowers; J. D. Cabos has orange-scarlet blooms; President Carnot has luxuriant foliage.

Wellesley, Mass. - Professor T. D. Hatfield.

Canna 'Fulfillment'

New introduction

A small Crozy Group cultivar; dark green foliage, oval shaped, spreading habit; flowers are open, pale pink with a narrow ivory margin, staminodes are large, edges irregular, stamen is gold speckled with old-rose, style is gold, 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 pink; tillering is average. Breeding Canna 'May Vince' x C. 'Maudie Malcolm'. Introduced by Malcolm Dalebö, Claines Canna Collection, Worcester, England, EU in 2007.

Introducing Canna 'Party Time'

A small Crozy Group cultivar; green foliage, ovoid shaped, branching habit; flowers are open, gold heavily spotted with orient-red, staminodes are large, edges irregular, style is orient-red, petals yellow, 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 Malcolm Dalebö, Claines Canna Collection, Worcester, England, EU in 2007. Breeding is Canna 'Eureka' x C. 'R. Wallace'.

The craze of 1889

Garden and forest. / Volume 2, Issue 93. [December 4, 1889, 577-588]

Notes
One of the most interesting and valuable results of recent French horticultural effort is found in the new race of dwarf Cannas, with large and brilliantly colored flowers, produced by M. Crozy, of Lyons. A large bed of these plants in the the Trocadero, in Paris, was surrounded all summer by crowds of people. Too much has not been said of the beauty of these plants and of their value for decorative purposes, whether planted in the open ground or grown in pots or tubs. The colors of the flowers of some of the varieties are surprisingly brilliant.




There seems no good reason, however, calling the plants "dwarf," except that they begin to flower when they are not more than twenty inches high, for they grow, especially in this country, when generously treated, to a height of six or eight feet. Seventeen of the new varieties exhibited at Paris for the first time, which, on the whole, are no better than those sent out by M. Crozy during the past two years, are described in a recent issue of the Revue Horticole. No one who has not seen a collection of M. Crozy's Cannas in good condition, can form the faintest idea even of the beauty and the brilliancy of the flowers of the plants.

Weather pixies take pity on us!

The first frosts in western England arrive from mid-October onwards. After the worst summer on record, it looks like the weather pixies have decided to give us a small treat, and haven't sent Jack Frost to visit us yet. Even more pleasing, the 10 day weather forecast tells us that there will not be any frost during that time, temperatures will go as low as 4 degrees, but that is all. That would be the middle of November before we shiver to a frost!

Canna 'Dessert', a new introduction for 2008, still flowering outdoors

It is remarkable to look out onto the breeding plants and the collection and to see them still flowering away. The lack of sunshine, due to the shorter daylight at this time of the year, means that the flowers are all a bit smaller than in the summer, and some of them struggle to open properly, but what the heck! The fact that we will have a shorter winter this year is quite an enjoyable thought.

Have I just tempted the weather pixies to play games with us next spring?

Extreme Canna Growing, 1896

Garden and forest. / Volume 9, Issue 429. [May 13, 1896, 191-200]

Canna Notes.

To thoroughly prove the capabilities of a Canna the necessary conditions must be provided. These are good soil, with cow-manure added, an abundance of water and plenty of space. Two wheelbarrow-loads of cow-manure are often allowed for a single bulb. One load should be spread on the top of the bed and the soil forked out, and another dumped in the excavation. The well-mixed soil should then be thrown back and the bed neatly finished for low-growing marginal plants. A pail of water in the morning and liberal spraying with the hose at night is advisable.

The season of 1895 added two more Cannas to our tested list. Antoine Chantin (Farquhar) proved highly satisfactory. Its habit is graceful, with abundant foliage of a light but vivid shade of green, which contrasts charmingly with the flowers. I know of no other Canna which produces so many blossoms to a flower-stalk. I have counted from six to ten lateral clusters on a single stalk, seven or eight of them in bloom at one time. The color is pleasing and true to the description given – cherry-salmon.

Geoffrey St. Hilaire was less satisfactory. It is a good strong grower, but stiff in outline, and the leaves are not so purple or chocolate-colored as we are led to suppose. The flowers are said to be deep orange or capucine-red. The shade of red is far from agreeable and out of all harmony with the foliage. Dark-leaved Cannas should never be planted near a highway if the hose is to be used, as dust from every passing vehicle settles and sticks remorselessly upon the wet leaves.

Pittsford Mills Vt. - G. A. Woolson.

Pandora's box of tricks, 1897

Garden and forest. / Volume 10, Issue 512. [December 15, 1897, 489-498]

More Orchid-flowering Cannas.

PANDORA is another of the Orchid-flowering Cannas from the list of Dammann & Co. We have the variety from the originators, and have been enjoying its blossoms in the greenhouse since September. The plant is dwarf, growing about three feet high. But these are young plants closely potted in the house, so that we may expect a larger growth of strong plants out-of-doors. The foliage is very dark red, splashed with lighter greenish red. The flowers most closely resemble those of America, described in GARDEN AND FOREST, vol. x., p. I78, with the attractive, full-rounded form of those of Italia, with reflexed petals (not staminodia). The petal-like staminodia are bright, fiery cherry-red, heavily splashed and overlaid with a darker velvety red, giving a peculiarly rich appearance. Pandora and America please us the best of all the Italian or Orchid-flowering sorts.



The varieties Bavaria and Burgundia (Dammann) have also been in blossom with us since September 13th. These are both of comparatively dwarf habit, the foliage being smaller and narrower than in the better-known Italia, Austria and Burbank. They both give blossoms of the Italia type, it being frequently difficult or entirely impossible to separate the three, Bavaria, Burgundia and Italia, by the blossoms alone. Bavaria tends to have more solid red at the centre, so that it becomes rather a yellow-bordered flower, of somewhat the same marking as Queen Charlotte; Burgundia is more spotted and looks a trifle more like Florence Vaughan; Bavaria usually has upright petals, while Burgundia commonly shows its Canna flaccida parentage in reflexed petals. We had Italia and Austria in large beds on the open lawn throughout the summer, where they gave moderate satisfaction. Their large growth and heavy luxuriant leaves give a fresh, semitropical foliage effect worth consideration; but the blossoms are not, upon outdoor plants, an item of much importance.

University of Vermont. Professor F. A. Waugh.

Cannas on show, 1892

Garden and forest. / Volume 5, Issue 248. [November 23, 1892, 553-564]

The Cincinnati Chrysanthemum Show.

A MOST delightful exhibition opened in this city on November 8th, and continued throughout the week. Music Hall, one of the grandest auditoriums in the west, was tastefully decorated for the display of cut flowers, which were arranged on large tables nicely draped in yellow, the predominant color, and which made a pleasant setting for the tall crystal vases, which were large and heavy enough to display to their very best advantage the truly regal specimen blooms sent in by the numerous exhibitors, who had been attracted by an unusually liberal premium list.

...

Four magnificent groups of Cannas, composed of fifty plants or clumps each, made a blaze of color against the dark gray wall. The McFadden group was almost exclusively Madame Crozy; E. G. Hill's group contained some ten of the latest Crozy novelties; very conspicuous were J. D. Cabos, A. Bouvier, H. A. Dreer, Miss Sarah Hill, F. Thorayer, Capitaine Suzzoni, Duchess Mortemarte and Nardy Pere. These won the very liberal premium of $I50, the McFadden group taking second. The other two groups had been injured in transit; but a point to note on Canna exhibits is that the blooms improve each day of the show, as the buds unfold and replace the fragile beauties, which are always injured more or less, despite the most careful packing.

Comment:

Interesting that Cannas were being shown at a flower show. The blooms are so fragile that it has never dawned on me to show them. Observations of anybody who has done so would be appreciated...

Bad Canna weather in England again!

Garden and forest. / Volume 8, Issue 395. [September 18, 1895, 371-380]

Foreign Correspondence.

London Letter.

NOT only was the display at this week's meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society large and brilliant, but many novelties were shown, notwithstanding that this is the dull season when every one who can get away is out of town. A great gathering like that on Tuesday indicates how active is the interest in horticulture here since it can induce so many amateurs and professional growers to devote a day each fortnight for the admiration of the new and rare plants that have come into season since the preceding meeting.
The brilliancy of the exhibition was chiefly due to the magnificent array of Gladioli, new hybrid Cannas, Dahlias and the finest types of hardy perennials.

...

Canna 'Star of Ninety-one'

The Cannas were from Messrs. Cannell, who are among the principal growers and introducers of these increasingly popular plants from the French and German cultivators. There were numerous new varieties shown, but none of this year's novelties, in my opinion, eclipse some of the older kinds, though a few show original markings and combinations of colors. Those worthy of special note were Colibri, pale canary-yellow, with a blotch of deep crimson in the centre-this is quite distinct in color; Quasmoda, vivid scarlet, broad petals sharply edged with yellow; Beaute Poitevine, brilliant scarlet and large; Aurore, very large flower, glowing scarlet; Madame de l'Aigle, scarlet, with yellow edge, in the way of the German Königin Charlotte; Sunset Glow, orange-scarlet, yellow edge. These are all first-rate Cannas, but I do not see that such fine sorts as Madame Crozy and Star of Ninety-one are eclipsed in their particular colors by the new kinds.

This has been, one would think, a favorable season for open-air culture of Cannas, but the best I have seen are not to be compared in growth and flowers with those I have seen in the United States, or in India during the winter season, when they bloom continuously for four months if the seeds are constantly picked of. In England I fear we shall always have to grow these beautiful plants under glass.

Kew. W. Goldring.