Canna 'Tangelo'

A small Premier Group cultivar; green foliage, oblong shaped, spreading habit; panicles of flowers are open, self-coloured saffron-yellow, staminodes are medium size, edges lightly frilled, petals red 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 pink; tillering is average.

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

Canna 'Tangelo'

A small Premier Group cultivar; green foliage, oblong shaped, spreading habit; panicles of flowers are open, self-coloured saffron-yellow, staminodes are medium size, edges lightly frilled, petals red 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 pink; tillering is average.

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

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.

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.

Canna 'Richard Wallace' is Crozy Group

Canna 'Richard Wallace' in 1964 Montgomery Ward catalogue

The 1964 Montgomery Ward Catalogue included 10 Canna cultivars. Amongst the offerings is Canna 'Richard Wallace' with a photograph clearly showing it as a Crozy Group cultivar. The description simply states "Canary-yellow blooms. Low growing."

What is generally being sold as C. 'Richard Wallace' is not low-growing, being at least 1 metre (3'3") tall. Moreover, examine the top photograph and it is immediately obvious that the labellum (lip) is narrower than the staminodes, and the stamen is small, compared with the Italian Group where the stamen is always very wide, and the labellum is much narrower than the staminodes. The definition of a Crozy Group cultivar.

What is on general sale as Canna 'Richard Wallace' is obviously an Italian Group cultivar, but which funnily enough matches exactly the description of Canna 'Austria', and is, like all that group, seed sterile. It has a labellum wider than the staminodes, and a very wide stamen. It is also seed sterile.

Catalogues from the venerable house of Wilhelm Pfitzer, the breeders of this cultivar, clearly state that Canna 'R. Wallace' was a Crozy Group cultivar.

Canna 'R. Wallace' was entered in the 1907 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) outdoor trials as a gladiolus-type (Crozy Group) and not an orchoides-type (Italian Group). That evidence is overwhelming, because the RHS do not make elementary mistakes, especially in the pedantic Victorian age. The entry in the year book simply states "Canna 'R. Wallace' — Gladiolus-flowered, pale yellow, faintly spotted with rose." That description matches exactly the specimen that we, at Claines Canna, purchased from the old and revered house of Suttons, who hold the Royal Warrant. That is a Crozy Group specimen, and is seed fertile. We still have it growing, although suffering with Canna virus and grown away from the main collection.

But it is not only at Suttons in the UK where the correct cultivar was being sold up until recently. Referring to the International Canna Group I noted a posting by Kent Kelly of Quality Gladiolus in the USA, dated Tue Aug 19, 2003 1:21 am, who stated that, "Our original Richard Wallace contained two types of look-alike cultivars. The flower was identical but one was an `assumed' triploid and produced no seed, and the other produced seed that may have been sterile (not sure – did not try to grow). Our planting stock originated from Sarver Nursery of California."

Probably, at one time Quality Gladiolus also had the real-thing growing there, as well as the incorrectly named Italian Group cultivar now in wide circulation.

Wikipedia Canna cultivar groups