PERENNIALS > CANNA
IN THIS GUIDE
CANNA GUIDES
Container GrowingDivisionGrowing From SeedOverwinteringPruning
Canna lilies are vibrant perennial that can really brighten up a garden moulding or container garden .
Though bid , they can make beautiful summer have it away flora – the rhizomes can winter in milder , more southerly parts of the UK as long as they have a ripe covering of mulch .
Canna lilies in various colours
They can also be rise in a cool conservatory indoors during the summer months .
Even though they are commonly called Canna lily , Canna are not actually lilies at all – they are in reality a family of a numeral of species in the order Zingiberales.1Cannas . ( 2021 , December 21 ) . The Gardens Trust . Retrieved March 13 , 2023 , fromhttps://thegardenstrust.blog/2025-05-27/cannas/
They are more closelyrelated to ginger , bananas and achira .
Canna lilies in various colours
Typically , in the UK , we be given to think of cannas as decorative garden plant – and many cultivar have certainly been developed for their optic appeal , but canna are also used around the existence as an eatable source of amylum in food production.2Imai , S. ( 2016 , April 15).Edible Canna : A Prospective Plant Resource from South America . academe . Retrieved March 13 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.academia.edu/24407832/Edible_Canna_A_Prospective_Plant_Resource_from_South_America
Overview
PreferredFull Sun / Light Shade
ExposureSheltered
Height1 – 2 chiliad
Spread0.1 – 0.5 M
Bloom TimeJuly – October
PreferredMost Soil Types
Red Canna Lilies
MoistureMoist but well drain
pHAny
Canna lily , both decorative and eatable species , are aboriginal to tropical and subtropical regions of the unexampled world , from the Southern US to Northern Argentina.3Canna indica . ( n.d . ) . Kew Royal Botanic Gardens . Retrieved March 13 , 2023 , fromhttps://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:319130-2
However , cultivar were mostly developed in temperate clime zone and can be produce throughout temperate zone as long as they get 6 - 8 hours of sunshine daily in the main grow time of year , and are protected from winter coldness .
Canna lilies have beautiful blossom , normally in blood-red , orange or yellow or some mix of these colours – which is why they have become such popular plants in horticulture around the world .
Why Grow Canna Lilies?
Most gardeners will uprise canna lilies for their ornamental appeal .
Their impressive display of blooms that can flower in your garden from June to October ( and their large leaves ) make these industrial plant unbendable favourite for many garden outline .
There are also miscellany which can be grown for their starchy rhizome .
Water cannas in a pond
This could be something to delve into more deeply if you are concerned in woods gardening , or edible landscape gardening .
Cannas can also be utile in organic , permaculture garden for the generation of biomass , which can be used in mulching , composting , and returning nutrients to the soil.4Vankar , P. S. , & Srivastava , J. ( 2018 ) . A review - canna the wonder plant . Journal of Textile Engineering & Fashion Technology,4(2).https://doi.org/10.15406 / jteft.2018.04.00134
Interestingly , Cannas are also sometimes used in describe pollutants for the regaining of wetland environment.5Canna can : Ornamental rule out pollutant from stormwater runoff . ( 2009 , December 9 ) . Science Daily . Retrieved March 13 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091210153659.htm
“ Canna lilies have been used widely as a smear and dot works in bedding schema for decades , ” apportion Dan Ori , who has been awarded the Master Horticulturist position by the RHS .
“ The spot or Zen plant is a feature flora used in conjunction with cornerstone ( bed replete plants ) and edging plant ( used around the edge of a seam ) .
“ I recommend aggregate Cannas withBegonia semperflorensas the groundwork and an upright pink - flower Lobelia as an edging plant .
“ If you ’re growing in a large container or raise bottom , I recommend switching the Lobelia to a grooming pink cultivar . ”
Canna Varieties
If growing canna for decorative grounds , there are many modernistic cultivar and crossbreed to opt from .
These include the RHS AGM awarded :
C. edulisis the species commonly grown in agricultural polish .
How To Grow Canna
Canna lilies can be grown in beds or margin , orin container .
maturate in containers in cooler realm mean the plant life can be taken indoors during the coldest part of the year – they will require a sunny and sheltered smirch .
I have base that shelter is specially crucial because the large leaves of the plants are often shredded by warm winds .
Most of the canna on the list above are best grown in moist but well - drain soil .
They need a chalk , loam or sandy soil that is fairly mellow in fecundity but will not become waterlogged .
Remember , when choosing and positioning a Canna , that these uprise into large plants – some multifariousness can reach well over 2 m in height .
Smaller miscellanea may be just for growing in containers , but even these will typically grow over a cadence improbable .
Water cannas are a small different – these can spring up in a moist and well - water border , or in a container set in a basinful of water system .
They can also be place in pots into the shallow edge of a garden pool , as long as there is no more than around 15 cm of piss over their root .
Planting Canna Lilies
Cultivarswill not fall true from seed – if you do decide to take the hard route and grow from seed , note that cannas grow from seed will not flower , typically , until their second year .
For this reason , Canna are more generally produce from rhizomes ( root sections ) , which are typically available for sale in later winter .
In rules of order to grow canna from rhizomes , gardener simply point the root section into a sight of multi - purpose compost , with the rhizome just cover .
This is normally done in March or April – as presently as conditions of 10 - 16 ° C can be maintain .
If you have a conservatory , propagator or heated nursery , you’re able to obviously start a minute earlier than those without heated growing spaces .
If you have miss out on planting rhizomes for canna lilies this year – do n’t worry .
Canna lilies can also be purchased as flowerpot - maturate plants at any point over the late spring or summer .
Canna lilies that have been grown from rhizomes should pop out to make grow strong shoots in a matter of weeks .
As the shoots grow , it is crucial to make certain that you keep up with the watering of your plants .
Keep Cannas protected and undercover until all hazard of hoarfrost has passed in your domain .
season off and imbed out around the end of May in most portion of the UK .
If you are grow your Canna in a bottom or border of the summer , plant out at a spacing of around 75 curium aside , and around 10 cm mysterious .
Mulch well around the plant with good lineament homemade compost or well - rotted manure .
If you are rate your Canna in containers , verify that the containers you prefer are at least 30 centimetre encompassing .
A John Innes no . 3 loam - based compost will be idealistic as a growing metier ; again , place the rhizome around 10 centimeter deep .
Summer Care
Caring for Canna lily over the summer months is generally fairly easy and hassle - detached .
You need to make certain that you ply plenty of body of water during dry spells , while it is also a good thought to provide a atomic number 19 - rich constituent liquid feed in mid - summertime .
Canna in sheltered bit should not usually need staking , but some reenforcement may be beneficial for particularly magniloquent specimens , or for those grown in a slightly expose spot .
One while of good newsworthiness is that Canna in the UK are rarely seriously unhinge by pesterer or diseases .
Just calculate out for the common garden perpetrator – slugs , snail , aphids etc .
Though they can be nettlesome , these pests are generally pretty easy to see in a well - balanced ecosystem of an organic garden .
Rarely , the plants may break a computer virus – lamentably , there is no curative for this and the septic specimens must be destroy .
But most canna growers generally experience few problem and obtain Canna comparatively easy and trouble - free to produce .
Problems of non - flowering which can arise are commonly the result of seek to acquire Canna in an inapplicable speckle , starting to produce rhizomes too late , a deficiency of water supply or short grime rankness .
But take care of the dirt , flora at the right meter , and water supply well and you should not chance payoff .
Most Canna care over the summer calendar month will affect taking a mates of simple gradation to ensure that the efflorescence bloom for as long as possible .
First of all , it is a good idea to deadhead the spend flush , which will promote more to appear .
Once a particular flower spike stops budding , it is also a good musical theme to reduce it down to the next side shoot .
This should promote a secondary flower spike to develop .
