Gardening Guides
Great Design Plant: Cannas
Easy to grow and maintain, these showy, colorful plants are perfect for beginning gardeners
Although not true lilies, canna lilies make a wonderful addition to a wide variety of garden types and styles. They are easy to grow, easy to propagate and reasonably priced, and they create a large impact even in small numbers. Large leaves in a variety of color variations are topped with relatively small flowers in various colors as well. No matter what color scheme you are going for, there is a canna to match.
While typically used in tropical-style gardens, cannas also can be used in more traditional gardens in colder zones down to at least 5a. We northern gardeners can plant them as summer bulbs, while zone 8-10 gardeners can use them year round! Let's take a peek at some well-placed cannas and their effect in the garden.
While typically used in tropical-style gardens, cannas also can be used in more traditional gardens in colder zones down to at least 5a. We northern gardeners can plant them as summer bulbs, while zone 8-10 gardeners can use them year round! Let's take a peek at some well-placed cannas and their effect in the garden.
Cannas were the first plant I ever mastered. These beginner-proof beauties will give you confidence to move on to other, less forgiving, plants.
How to Use Cannas in Your Garden
Cannas work perfectly as a background foil for smaller plants. You typically have to wait three to four years for an evergreen plant to grow large enough to work as a foil for other plants, but a canna can grow to four or five feet in a few months.
Cannas work perfectly as a background foil for smaller plants. You typically have to wait three to four years for an evergreen plant to grow large enough to work as a foil for other plants, but a canna can grow to four or five feet in a few months.
Cannas have lush foliage, but can be top heavy. Try underplanting cannas with low-growing pots to cover up those bare ankles.
Cannas can be worked into a formal garden by keeping them clustered and neat. Notice how the overall form of the canna planting is circular instead of "drifting" in a free-form pattern.
Cannas can look very formal when planted in pots and interspersed with other mannerly plants. Using deep maroon foliage gives this entryway depth and distinction.
Try using cannas as "exploding" plants behind a low-clipped hedge of boxwood or yew. The plant is quite well behaved, but gives a tailored look a bit more excitement.
Are you lucky enough to have a space to bask in the sun, splash in a pool or breathe in the ocean breezes? Cannas are truly at home in this environment, waving in the wind and bringing the feel of the tropics to your backyard for just a few bucks.
Beware, though: If you are growing cannas in tropical regions, they will just keep growing and might take over. In U.S.D.A. zones 7 and lower, cannas are grow just enough each summer to show off and propagate several more rhizomes underground, then die.
Beware, though: If you are growing cannas in tropical regions, they will just keep growing and might take over. In U.S.D.A. zones 7 and lower, cannas are grow just enough each summer to show off and propagate several more rhizomes underground, then die.
Choosing a Canna Color
You'll find a wide variety of leaf and flower colors and variegation when picking out a canna plant. The traditional canna has basic green leaves with bright red flowers, but there are many others to choose from. Try out various flower hues, from flaming red and orange to softer yellows and apricots.
You'll find a wide variety of leaf and flower colors and variegation when picking out a canna plant. The traditional canna has basic green leaves with bright red flowers, but there are many others to choose from. Try out various flower hues, from flaming red and orange to softer yellows and apricots.
Red cannas look especially beautiful when tamed by whites and pinks. Notice how the veins of the canna leaves are intensified by the lighter colors that surround them.
Another way to enhance the patterns in the canna leaves is to place the plant so it is backlit either in the morning or evening. A sunset filtering through the leaves of a canna is a gorgeous sight.
Another way to enhance the patterns in the canna leaves is to place the plant so it is backlit either in the morning or evening. A sunset filtering through the leaves of a canna is a gorgeous sight.
Try bronze cannas with orange blooms to accent blues in a modern garden.
The oranges also complement purple blooms or hardscaping.
How to Care for Cannas
Cannas are easy. They require a bit more effort than evergreen bushes, but not much. The only real work is pulling them up in the fall and planting them in the spring. It takes a total of perhaps two hours a year for 20 to 25 cannas.
When the first frost hits, simply lift the cannas out of the ground by the stems and let them dry out in the sun for a day. Cut off the dried stems, store the rhizomes in a dry, cool space and they will be ready to go next spring.
Cannas are easy. They require a bit more effort than evergreen bushes, but not much. The only real work is pulling them up in the fall and planting them in the spring. It takes a total of perhaps two hours a year for 20 to 25 cannas.
When the first frost hits, simply lift the cannas out of the ground by the stems and let them dry out in the sun for a day. Cut off the dried stems, store the rhizomes in a dry, cool space and they will be ready to go next spring.
Cannas are not especially susceptible to diseases or bugs, but they aren't immune either. Symptoms to watch out for include:
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- Holes in leaves. Pinch off the affected leaves and blast with a hose to keep critters at bay.
- Yellowing foliage. Try adding fertilizer to the soil around the cannas. They might be underfed.
- Shriveled or moldy rhizomes. When in storage, a few bulbs will inevitably go bad. Simply toss them in the trash or woodpile.
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Botanical name: Cannaceae
Common name: Canna lily
USDA zones: 7-10 (find your zone)
Water requirement: Well-drained, well-watered soil
Light requirement: Full sun, slight shade
Mature size: 2 to 9 feet tall, depending on variety
Benefits: Easy to grow, tall and statuesque, pest resistant, interesting foliage, wide range of colors
Best time to plant: 2 weeks after the last frost in your area for colder zones and anytime in zones 8-10
Seasonal interest: Foliage looks the best in late spring-mid summer, while the flowers put on a show in late summer.