Canna Lily or Indian Shot Flowers
Canna Lily or Indian Shot is a less fragile tropical plant than it looks, Canna is appreciated both for its bright foliage and for its shimmering flowers. Planted in a garden or in a pot, it can bring a beautiful exotic touch.
Canna Lily loves the sun in good garden soil, rich in humus and slightly dry, even sandy.
Where can I grow my Canna Lily?
There are more than 50 species of Canna, as well as many hybrids. Yellow, orange, pink or red flowers, plain or speckled leaves, green or purple, dwarf or flat varieties with 2 meters (6.6 ft)…, there’s something for everyone! Set in bed, associated with red sage, spinach, or surrounded by the cosmos. They also benefit in isolated subjects, such as banana trees. If you are a fan of potted plants, to decorate your terrace or balcony, choose dwarf varieties that barely exceed 60 cm or 23 inches in height (Canna Nain ‘Lucifer’: red flowers; Canna ‘Taroudant’: orange flowers; Canna ‘Puck ‘: cream yellow flowers).
What are the Canna requirements?
Canna is an exotic plant; it appreciates hot and sunny exposure, good in temperate and subtropical regions. Installed in the shade, the flowering remains poor. The substrate should be rich, humus and light. After the rhizomes are planted 10 cm deep, after the last frost (during May), apply nitrogen fertilizer; she likes it. Although it tolerates dry periods, occasional watering will benefit it.
Is canna strong?
Canna is a plant that is resistant to low temperatures (-10°C or 14°F in areas with a temperate climate). Foliage, meanwhile, is affected from 0°C or 32°F As soon as the first frosts are announced, cover the feet with thick mulch. In cold areas, remove the rhizomes and store in a dry place.
Red Canna Lily. Pinterpandai.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
How can I speed up the growth?
Spring is more appropriate for planting this plant; in March or April, placing them in a light, moist earthen crate, and near a heat source.
How to plant Canna?
After meticulously weeding the space to be planted, dig a hole two to three times larger than the pot.
Add an organic fertilizer, prefer a natural fertilizer to a chemical fertilizer: Compost, bovine horn, etc. sold in powder or repackaged in granules. You can choose to mix with a boost fertilizer and a slow release fertilizer.
Mix some of the fertilizer with the soil, remove the plant from its pot (remember to bring it back to a producer to ensure its recycling) and place it in the hole before filling it with the remaining soil.
Tamp lightly and water in order to pack the elements of the soil well and avoid air pockets. Mulching your plants with shredded white wood ensures the balance of soil life.
Read also: Typical Beautiful Flowers in Bali
Maintenance Canna Lily
Water copiously all summer long: heliconia requires water every day in dry weather.
When the vegetation has started well, incorporate a handful of organic fertilizer into the soil.
Regularly stake the tall stems of the balisier to prevent the wind from laying them down.
Can we leave the Cannas in the ground all winter? Yes and no…
In cold regions, in autumn, before the first frosts, cut back the whole plant to 10 cm from the ground then remove the rhizomes from the ground. Like Dahlias, put them to dry to keep them sheltered all winter, in a cold greenhouse or in a dry place where the temperature does not drop below 5°C.
Before replanting them the following year, you can divide them. Each burst should bear at least two buds.
In mild regions, the Cannas can remain in their place. Clean the clump in the fall, then protect the stumps under a mattress of dead leaves.
Canna species and varieties
The genus includes 50 species
- Canna ‘Lucifer’, dark red with yellow edging
- Canna ‘Firebird’, bright red
- Canna ‘Confetti’ yellow with orange flecks
- Felix Ragot: with yellow flowers
- Isaac Casati: with orange flowers punctuated by many very decorative red dots.
- Pink Sunburst: compact (60 to 70 cm high or 23.5 inches to 27.5 inches), with pink flowers and beautiful purple leaves.
- Queen Charlotte: high balisier (1.30 m or 4.2 ft) with two-tone bright red flowers largely edged in yellow. Its leaves are green, classic.
- Glory: with orange or vermilion-red flowers
- Striata: semi-tall variety (1m to 1.20m or 3 ft to 4 ft) remarkable for its green leaves with marked lines, and edged with a yellow border. More classic bright orange flowers.
Sources: PinterPandai, GardenersHQ, The Royal Horticultural Society, Dear Plants
Photo credit: PinterPandai (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Wikimedia Commons
