Big, bold, bodacious & beautiful, cannas are a superb plant for providing color all summer. Not only will cannas produce flowers but some of their spectacular foliage can make them a colorful plant in the garden even when not in bloom. Cannas are well adapted to growing in a garden bed or in a container. Planted in the ground, cannas can make a very striking mass of color with their large leaves and flowers. They also make excellent container plants and are ideal for a small space garden or on a deck or patio.
Cannas have a starch rich rhizome and have been cultivated for hundreds of years. Most of the species available today are from the American tropics and subtropics and in their initial introduction to gardens, they were considered tropical plants. While it is true that they are tropical, they are what I would call a ‘hardy’ tropical that can be successfully grown as a summer plant in most temperate zones in the United States and can be an easy and low maintenance plant.
In my own garden, in western Oregon, I like to grow them in containers on our deck. Our deck is in full sun and they thrive and bloom all summer. My soil choice has been either Black Gold Moisture Supreme Container Mix or Black Gold Natural & Organic Potting Mix. For growing cannas in a container, a large pot is best, it is amazing how much a plant can spread in just one season.
There are lots of choices with the diversity of cannas regarding flower color, foliage pattern, and the height of the plant. The tall growing types are idea for the back of a mixed flower bed which when selecting a plant, it is important to consider the space and the desired height.
For a fun and novelty canna that probably grows much too tall for most container planting is Canna musifolia, often called the Banana Canna. This is a tall grower and has the common name of Banana Canna for a reason, it grows fast and tall, often 8 feet or more!
As I mentioned, the canna choices are vast and below are couple of my favorites that are growing in my garden this summer. When visiting a garden center, there will be many more than what I mention here.
Canna pretoria ‘Bengal Tiger’ is known for the very attractive striped foliage. While this canna has vivid orange flowers, even when not in bloom, the foliage makes this a very colorful and attractive plant. It is a great choice for a pot on a deck or patio.
If I was picking a favorite, it would have to be canna ‘Cleopatra’. This canna has both multicolored leaves and flowers. Some leaves will be all green, some will be a dark bronze, and often a leaf will be a mix of the two colors while some will be green with a single stripe of bronze. The flowers are equally diverse in color. They can be all red, all yellow, (sometimes with spots), and a flower can be half red and half yellow. It makes a great conversation plant!
Red Gold Flame was new to me last year and is a lower growing type which makes it idea for a small space. It was never without a flower.
As mentioned earlier, cannas are a tropical plant and may need some winter protection depending on the region they are growing in. In western Oregon, when planted in the ground and with good drainage and a mulch covering, they will often survive a winter. Being in a container, they are more vulnerable to the elements, and it is a good idea to give them winter protection. Once cold weather arrives, I cut the stems back to the soil level and lift plant out of the container and shake off excess soil. Not having a greenhouse or basement, I put the rhizomes in a large plastic container and cover them with peat moss and then store the container in our unheated garage. This has worked for me for many years and in the spring, they are ready to plant.
Most garden centers will have a good selection at this time and the plants will probably be in bloom. If you have never grown cannas, give them a try and I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the color they will provide for the balance of the summer.
