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The Canna flower parts

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When describing the various parts that constitute a Canna flower, the first thing to do is to explain that the petals aren’t really petals, they are actually infertile stamens (male reproductive organs) that have been adapted to the role. There are two types of these ‘petals’, namely the staminodes and the labellum, which is sometimes … Read more

List of my references

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Bachheti RK, Rawat GS, Joshi A, Pandey DP (2013) Phytochemical investigation of aerial parts of Canna indica collected from Uttarakhand India. Int J Pharm Tech Res 5(2):294–300 Batianoff GN, Butler DW (2002) Assessment of invasive naturalized plants in south-East Queensland. Plant Protection Quarterly 17(1):27–34 Becker HF (1969) Fossil plants of the tertiary Beaverhead basins in … Read more

Growing Seeds

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There are a number of ways of getting seeds to germinate, but you’re best off doing that indoors because that’s where the environment is better protected. A seed needs to absorb water before it can germinate. After this imbibing of water, biological processes get to work inside the seed and it comes, as it were, … Read more

And the Heavens Cried

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I was going to post a photo of the demolished, rotting foliage, but it looked so ugly I decided to manage without a photo of the destruction the weather has fraught on our canna collection. With no sun and the roots drowning with no air, in some pots the foliage gave up its life and … Read more

Weather forecasting

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After nearly thirty years of growing canna I am still surprised by them… unexpected colours, oddly shaped flowers, but today I had another surprise. My Canna iridiflora growing in our hallway is a weather diviner! I looked closely at something shining on a large leaf, and saw that it was a small pool of water. … Read more

Thoughts on Virus from Hart Canna

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(Reprint from Tuesday, 1 January 2008) CANNA VIRUS DISEASE A guest article authored by Keith Hayward, Hart Canna Most gardeners with a particular interest in cannas will by now be well aware of the advancement of canna virus which was unknown not many years ago, and which is now a worldwide epidemic. It has infected … Read more

Canna Auguste Ferrier

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Back in the day, in 1997 on one of my canna-hunting expeditions I discovered Canna ‘Auguste Ferrier’ growing in the garden of an old farmhouse near La Rochelle, in western France. I negotiated an exchange with the old lady living there, where I was allowed to dig up a bit of the very large clump … Read more