Questions from new homeowners are commonplace. Even if you are moving across town, you inherit a new landscape with some new plants. One new homeowner asked me how difficult would it be to care for the Canna lilies already planted at his new home would be. “Not difficult at all,” was my response.
This herbaceous perennial goes by a few common names: Cannas, Canna Lily, or maybe Garden Canna is most likely the hybrid of Canna indica and Canna glauca or Canna iridiflora. The genus name, Canna, is from the Greek word “Kanna,” which means reed-like. Currently, all Canna hybrids are included under the scientific name of Canna x generalis.
These tropical looking plants are very large, growing up to 6 feet tall. You’ll find them in lots of landscapes and whether planted as an accent or in a mass planting. Depending on the cultivar, they have large colorful flowers and tropical appearing foliage.
Cannas are hybrid plants found in tropical and subtropical regions of North and South America as well as India. The plant has been widely cultivated old home sites and some have escaped to roadsides, ponds, or streams.
Cannas prefers sunlight to light shade, soils with high organic matter, and slightly acidic pH- perfect for East Texas. Even without these preferred conditions, they grow best in moist, well-drained soils, but they can tolerate some standing water or drought once they are established. They have a high heat tolerance, but they are prone to wind damage.
Whenever we get our first frost, they will die back and turn to mush. I simply mulch over them to hide the decaying vegetation in the winter and wait for them to resprout in the spring.
If you already have a stand and want to multiply them, the rhizomes should be dug and replanted after the last spring frost. It is best to plant the rhizomes at least 5 inches deep and 12 inches apart. If you want to propagate some from a friend, Cannas may be propagated by seeds, rhizomes, and division.
To keep them blooming throughout the summer, remove spent flowers to encourage continued flowering. In warmer climates such as ours, the rhizomes may be left in the ground over the winter.
Many local homeowners take Cannas for granted, given our climate, and may not realize the work others in colder climates go to keep them. In areas where the plant is not winter hardy, the rhizomes are lifted and stored over the winter. They are then stored in peat or vermiculite in a cool, dry place away from freezing cold temperatures.
Cannas have fleshy, underground stems called rhizomes. Above ground the stems are 3-6 feet tall, glabrous, unbranched, and enveloped by leaf sheaths. Landscaper scan choose from a variety of leaf colors from green, bronze, or variegated, depending on the cultivar.
Its flowers range from 4 to 8 inches long and appear on the ends of the stem as racemes or panicles. Cannas bloom during the summer months, from July to August. Depending on the cultivar,
Cannas show off flowers ranging from white, cream, yellow, orange, pink, coral, salmon, red, or bicolored.
The online literature does list a few diseases and insects. I’ve only seen a few slugs and snails. My biggest problem is leaf-rolling caterpillars.
Often bypassed as “everyone already has that”, I think the Canna lily is a great ‘tropical’ addition to any home landscape. Put it by the pool or any other water feature. As always, look for it at a local nursery, but don’t forget to ask your friends and neighbors if you can dig up some roots to move to your landscape next spring.
