I'd like to correct something is an earlier post. There are a number of canna that can be grown from seed. They don't have to be red flowered. Very few are TRUE from seed. Species canna and in-line canna are the ones that are. Most of the lovely canna you see are not species or in-line but are hybrids . An example is tropicanna which is a hybrid and does not even set seed in my garden. the pods are empty like the ones you saw. you can get a vague idea which is which by looking at karcheskycanna.com website. Keep in mind those that are being sold as rhizome and NOT seed are probably not going to be able ot be produced from seed ( and may not even set seed) ALSO keep in mind that some of the varieties of seed being sold there are not TRUE either. Such as banana canna. Yes you can grow it from seed and it may resemble it's parent but it will not be technically TRUE. And Alice of this website says it should not be labelled banana canna but canna generalis. If the vareity is identified as species or line bred or inline you can bet you will get just what you see in the picture. Some people think it's fun to grow them and see what they get. I'm told you should wait until the 2nd or third growth season to really decide as some changes can occur. I personally have grown tall and short yellow canna from seed, short and tall red canna from seed. and a short nearly white canna from seed. I have also purchased seeds of 'mystique' (In-line) and 'banana canna' and 'turkheimii' (sp) species from Alices website. I've refined my collection from 18 to 3 types now and no longer grow any of these. Hope this helps:) karen

The best method I've found so far is to go to the bench grinder and just hold them between your fingers and buzz against the stone for a second. It gets through the shell in a flash and you don't have to file your finger tips off with a file. I get through about 100-150 in ten minutes that way. Then I soak them in water for a day or three and stick them in starting soil. I'm getting about 90-95% starts. If you use the peat pellet starters the roots will stick out the bottom within days of germination and you'll be potting them up within the second week. I'm currently starting about 3,000 seeds and expect flowers just before frost, or more likely next season.

Personally the boiling water method is unnecessary to me...I achieve max results by doing your first step hold them with pliers and sanding with a file or other means then I drop them in a jar of collected rain water. Next I observe a few days when the white nub appears I take it out and examine it further and if the skin flexes I peal the outer layer off then...and if not I put it back in the water until it is peal able. .but that step is also unnecessary cause all you really need is to see is growth (the embryo starting to emerge) and plant it as is and it will grow...All other steps are just us being impatient lol

Test a few of the beans, at least ten. Dampen a paper towel and fold it. Place the beans on the towel and roll it up. Put the towel inside a baggie. Put the baggie in a fairly warm place. Check after two or three days to see if the beans have germinated. If most of the beans have sprouted after three or four days, then they are o.k. to plant.