Cannas show off a tropical effect, work on pond margins
For a touch of the tropics in your garden, cannas can't be beat. These showy, exotic plants carry their brilliant flowers above large, bold and often colorful foliage.
Flowers are found in a wide range of dazzling hues and plants vary in size from dwarf, container varieties like Pink Sunburst to large, back of the border varieties such as Black Knight. Pink Sunburst features salmon pink flowers and maroon, green and cream-striped foliage. It grows to just 2 to 3 feet tall.
Black Knight carries bright red flowers above blue-black leaves and will grow up to 5 feet tall.
Regardless of height, all Cannas need full sun and fertile soil. Water them during dry spells and remove faded blossoms to ensure continuous bloom. Cannas are heavy feeders and require a good supply of compost and organic or slow-release fertilizer to keep the plants looking their best.
Cannas grow well in containers and are perfect for creating a tropical hideaway on a balcony, deck or patio. They are sturdy, large plants and will need containers that are also sturdy and large. Choose at least an 18-inch pot and use a good potting soil. Container-grown cannas may need watering once or even twice a day in the heat of summer. A drip saucer can help capture and hold runoff, but don't let the pot sit waterlogged unless you are growing one of the more aquatic types (see below). Feed regularly with a slow-release granular or water soluble fertilizer according to package directions.
Cannas for tropical effectCanna Durban is an outstanding showoff in both foliage and flowers. Its large, reddish purple leaves are dramatically striped with prominent yellow veins. Big stalks of brilliant scarlet-red flowers are produced from late spring through late summer. Despite its robust looks, Durban clumps are slow to expand, making it suitable for smaller growing spaces.For a truly tropical look in the garden, be sure to grow the gigantic banana canna, C. Musafolia. Towering up to 12 feet in height, the banana canna is a dramatic structural element in any setting. The huge showy leaves are green with a purple-red border and very reminiscent of the banana tree. Grown mainly for their dramatic foliage, banana canna may occasionally produce small red flowers.Pretoria is an award-winning variety with large melon-orange blooms and striking, zebra-striped foliage in cream, yellow and green.Yellow Futurity is a very free-flowering, dwarf canna with bright yellow, self cleaning flowers and green foliage. Red Futurity, has crimson red flowers and burgundy foliage. Both remain under three feet in height and are great choices for containers. Their self-cleaning habit eliminates the need for hand pruning or deadheading. Canna tubers can be lifted and stored over the winter in slightly damp peat moss or vermiculite in a cool basement or other frost-free location. If you want to keep them for the next season, remove the blackened stems and leaves in fall after the first frost. Dig the rhizomes carefully so that excess soil is left behind but the rhizomes are not damaged. Don't water until just before replanting in late spring or early summer, when temperatures are consistently warm.Water-loving cannasThere is a nice group of canna cultivars that thrive in pond margins. Aquatic cannas typically have long, thin rhizomes and lance shaped foliage, often colored a grayish blue-green. The thin rhizomes anchor the plant into the soil at the margins of the pond and in warmer climate zones can spread for long distances. They should be grown in water 6 to 8 inches deep or less.Many cultivars that have the water species C. glauca and C. flaccida behind them. One group, known as the Longwood cultivars, consists of hybrid water cannas typically growing two to six feet tall with a spread of 2 to 3 feet. Endeavor is a red flowering variety, Erubus sports salmon pink flowers, Ra has yellow flowers and 'Tanny' glowing burnt orange flowers.Other water-tolerant cannas include Canna Australis a plant with dark burgundy leaves and red flowers in abundance. It grows 32 to 40 inches tall.Canna Yellow King Humbert was selected because of its beautiful, crinkle-petaled yellow flowers. Leaf blades are large and oval shaped and plants can grow to be over 60 inches tall.Canna x generalis Bengal Tiger is another very showy plant that grows well as a pond margin plant. It has large, oval shaped leaves that are green with yellow variegation around the veins. Flower petals are red orange in color with crinkled petals. Plants can grow to be over 60 inches tall.bull;Beth Gollan is horticulturist affiliated with The Planter's Palette, 28W571 Roosevelt Road, Winfield. Call (630) 293-1040 or visit planterspalette.com.