Shooting stars!
Cannas add a blast of colour and come with a very dramatic story attached
DURING the 1857 Indian Up rising, beleaguered British troops took extreme measures when they found themselves under siege. Heavily outnumbered and short of ammunition, quickthinking soldiers decided to substitute scarce supplies of lead shot for the seeds of a wildflower.
The plant at the centre of this feat of derring-do was Canna indica, a perennial with bright red flowers held on 7ft stems. In autumn, its spiky pods crack openp to reveal round, very hard seeds. eeds.
Whether the talele is historically accurate, ate, or plucked from a Boy’s Own adventure, is up for debate. What’s not in doubt is that the distinctive seeds have provided the entire family of canna a lilies with their most st widely used common mon name – Indian shot.t
Ideal in borders or large pots, cannas are the most flamboyant of late-flowering perennials. Their exotic blooms, in shades of red, yellow, pink, orange, yellow and white, are produced from July until the first frosts. Most have large, paddle-shaped green leaves. These are attractive enough but some have foliage that’s even showier. Canna ‘Phasion’ bears 6ft spikes of orange flowers above clumps of green, pink and crimson-striped leaves, while Canna tropicanna black has near-black foliage and scarlet flowers. My favourite is ‘ Stuttgart’ – it produces 7ft stems of small, apricot-coloureda flowers among a cluster of bluishgreen leaves. Some gardeners like to start cannas from bulblike rhizomes earlier in the year, but I prefer to buy pot-grown specimens in summer. They’re more expensive, but don’t require special attention to get going and can be planted immediately in gaps to give instant impact. Another reason is that plants can be inspected to ensure they are in good health. Over the past 15 years or so, cannas have been hit by a virus that stunts growth or distorts flowers – and it’s impossible to tell whether a rhizome is infected until it has started to grow.
Native to tropical and subtropical North, Central and South America, cannas were transported to other parts of the world by sailors. All parts of the plant have been put to good use by various cultures. In Ecuador, leaves are used for wrapping food prior to steaming, while in Thailand, the flowers are a traditional Father’s Day gift.
Cannas were first grown as ornamentals in Europe in the 16th Century. The Victorians liked to grow them in gardens and public parks.
The plants range in height from a fairly modest 18in to giants of 10ft or more. Among the best shorter ones are ‘Puck’, with its calf-high pale yellow flowers, and ‘Tropical White’, an 18in variety bred in Japan. ‘Picasso’, which has been given the RHS Award of Garden Merit, has yellow and red spotted blooms on 2ft stems.
At the top end of the scale, C. x ehemanii produces pink flowers that hang gracefully from 8ft stalks, and Canna ‘Wyoming’ is an old variety with brownish purple leaves and ruffled orange flowers.
Most cannas like a sunny spot, although those with variegated foliage tend to do better in slight shade. Those with smaller gardens can grow compact ones in large pots of John Innes No 3 compost.
Water regularly and feed every . fortnight with a balanced liquid feed. Don’t bother dead-heading flowers but wait for entire shoots to stop blooming. Then cut the spike back to a fresh side-shoot.
Cannas are only half- hardy so will perish in a cold snap. Prise rhizomes from the ground when foliage starts to wither, cut off top growth and leave to dry. Place them into pots of dry compost and store in a frost-free place until spring.