by Matt Gibson
Canna lily flowers ( also known as Native American shot ) are declamatory , colourful and bluff . Despite the name , they are not interrelate to true lilies . The rhizomatousperennialis often grown as an annual in cooler mood areas , but in the proper zones , or if stored during the wintertime , cannas can play shining luminous colour to your garden for old age and twelvemonth . well-fixed to arise and comparatively low-toned maintenance , canna provides a deep presence of color to your garden from both its blooms and leaves throughout the growing time of year .
The iris - like ( sometimes orchidaceous plant - similar ) flower that order in color from oculus - catching specter of red , pinkish , salmon , and orange to a more insidious yellow or pick seem to emerge from tall stalks that tower above the luxuriant foliage below . Despite the beauty of their massive flowerheads , canna lilies are ofttimes grown for their foliage alone . The prominent , paddle - like leaf come in many tint of green , blue - green , maroon , and bronze . The foliage is often striped , motley , and iridescent , sometimes evocative of varnished glass when the sunshine shines through them .
Cannas would be a splendid addition to any garden even if they never blossom , but luckily they produce lovely blooms ( prolifically if deadheaded regularly ) from later spring or former summer , all the way to the first Robert Lee Frost . When most other flowers fall or just block raise blossom in the warmth of late July and August , canna lily thrive . For the most eye - get effect , found your canna lily in tight clump or groups , or in interracial borders .
When fully grow , canna lilies can attain three to six metrical foot in height , and span one to three foot all-embracing at their nucleotide . They are resistant to deer and pull many beneficialinsectsandpollinators , such as butterflies , bee , hummingbird , and bigger birds ( due to their marvelous stalks and monolithic flowerheads ) .
Varieties of Cannas
There are hundreds of different variety of cannas , with a wide range of heights , leaf type , blossom colors and contour available to nurseryman around the creation . The many varieties are the result of hybridize about nine unlike specie of cannas together and then crossing the hybrids with each other .
There are four sizes of canna lilies to choose from . Pixie canna lilies grow to one and a half to two human foot high . Dwarf cannas reach two to three foundation . Medium canna lilies mature three to five feet gamy and tall canna grow five to six and a half feet gamy .
Here are a few miscellanea that are especially pretty and unique :
Zulu Pink – scarlet - opprobrious leaf with pinkish blossom , around Three feet tall .
Bangkok – Bright yellow flower , dark greenish leaves with minute white-hot stripes .
King Humbert – Red flowers with glum majestic - bronze foliation .
Tropicanna – A newer set of hybrid varieties with rainbow - same foliage with stripes of gold , pink , yellow , green , and Bourgogne topped with bright about - atomic number 10 colored blooms .
Black Knight – shiny red flowers above dour maroon leaves .
Growing Conditions for Canna
Lilies
Hardy in USDA zones eight through 12 , canna lilies enjoy the heat , sooner full sun , though fond shade is also satisfactory . Choose a location that receives at least four time of day of direct sunlight , ideally morning or afternoon sun . Canna lilies favor moist conditions and a neutral to slightly acidic well - draining ground that is rich in constitutional matter . Cannas also expand in bog - comparable condition . If growing indoors , plant canna lilies in big containers near brilliantly lit window .
How to Plant Canna Lilies
During the spring , after the threat of frost has go across , plant canna lily groups about one to two base apart . works rhizomes horizontally with the eyes facing upward , cover with about three to six inches of soil . piss thoroughly after implant and add a bed of mulch to serve keep wet .
Care of Canna Lilies
Once set up , keep the grime around your canna lily moist , irrigate freely during ironical spells and anytime rain is less than one in per workweek . Keep a lean level of mulch around cannas lily as well to facilitate assist in wet keeping .
Though canna lily are not picky about the form of fertilizer that you use , some will work better than others . Fertilize your lily with a gamy - phosphate fertilizer once per calendar month for continual blooms . For an extra boost , put on a 5 - 10 - 5 or 10 - 10 - 10 in the saltation , and two more clip during the growing time of year . For an organic fertilizer choice , test fish emulsion fertilizer . Pisces the Fishes emulsion fertilizer is gamy in atomic number 7 , which will increase the height of your lilies , but it is one of the best organic options available . If you have rose food or love apple food fertilizers on helping hand , both are great option for canna lilies as well .
In zone seven and warm , canna lily can be bequeath in the background all twelvemonth long . However , in zones six and colder , you will need to fetch them indoors or dig up the rhizomes after the first killing frost if you want to revel them again the following season . or else , you could move your lily to large pots and allow them to continue grow throughout the wintertime indoors . you could prefer to replant them in the earth when saltation rolls back around after the last threat of frost has passed or replant them in larger pots at this time . leaping is also the staring prison term to dissever the industrial plant if necessary .
Staking may be necessary for taller cannas varieties . Keep a close eye on salad days throughout the growing time of year . As flowers begin to wither , deadhead to encourage more anthesis . After each flower bow has been deadheaded multiple times , they will stop producing new heyday . At this point , you have two pick . If you design to keep the plant life around for next years of ontogeny , you will want to cut the radical and foliation beneath down to the dry land so that new foliage and stems will arise up in its stead . If you are growing as yearly , cut the fore down to the foliage , which will retain to land some beauty to your garden bed until the first frost .
In the surrender , turn off your lilies back to four inches in height to get them ready for next summertime ’s explosive increment . In fond clime areas , keep the lilies in the soil until the clumps begin to become very matted . Every three to four years , dig up the roots , separate the thump and replant in newly enriched grunge .
Garden Pests and Diseases of
Canna Lilies
Rust , fungal leaf spot , and bacterial blight may occur if canna lilies are stay fresh in waterlogged soils with wretched drainage , or if the lilies are too crowded . Bean yellow mosaic and fleck wilt virus can also occur . Though canna lilies rarely have payoff with pests , cat , slugs , snails , and spider mites can cause damage to your canna lilies occasionally .
Videos About Canna Lilies
YouTube gardening gurus , The Middle - Sized Garden , make for you a comprehensive tutorial video for pick out and growing canna , no matter where you live . The Middle - Sized Garden is an institute UK blog and YouTube line . For this myopic film , they bring in broadcaster and expert gardener Stephen Ryan to portion out his tip and advice on choosing and care for these exotic beauty :
This helpful film teaches you how to prune canna flowers . Pruning , or deadheading canna will lead to fitter , grandiloquent plants . Since prune your flowers is a delicate artform , getting a ocular aid will help you palpate more confident about performing the task yourself . In less than two minutes time , YouTuber Farmer Paula , from South Carolina , teach you everything you need to know in this telecasting .
Kim Toscano , from YouTube channel OklahomaGardening , explains how to divide and skunk canna bulbs that have been stored and preserved during the winter . Many nurseryman choose to discard and reinvest in their cannas each year , but saving and replant your cannas can make unnecessary you a good bit of money . This curt video also instruct you how to divide your canna by veer the rhizome of the dry , stored plant and institute the bulbs four to six column inch late into the stain .
To follow the picture straightaway above this one , tally out this helpful tutorial from YouTube horticulture enthusiast DigitalTV4u , about how to dig up and store canna bulb for wintertime . In warmer climate zone , there is no need to store your canna during the winter , but in colder clime , winter storage is all important . This short motion picture , and the one above it , will give you all the information you need to keep your canna lily around year after year .
Want to learn more and growing canna lilies?
The Old Farmer ’s Almanac covers Cannas
Gardenia covers How to implant Canna Lilies
Gardening Know How incubate Canna Lily Care
garden with Charlie covers How to Grow Canna lily
SFGate Homeguides covers Canna Lily Identification Guide
The Spruce cover Growing Cannas
