Well LUSH!
Give beds the impossibly exotic look …with a dazzling crop of canna lilies
AS I write this, I’m looking at a blackand-white postcard from the early 20th Century that shows the trailblazing subtropical garden at Battersea Park in London. In the photo, a family in Edwardian- era outfits stand behind low railings, gazing across a neat lawn towards a bed packed to the gunnels with canna lilies.
The mass planting must have been an awe-inspiring sight. Few had seen these striking plants until a corner of the park was given a tropical makeover in the late 19th Century. It was an immediate hit with gardening tastemakers, leading to a craze for growing cannas and other exotics.
Today, we are much more familiar with these tender perennials but that doesn’t mean they’ve lost any of their wow factor.
Not many plants can compete with canna lilies for sheer drama, thanks to their huge leaves, architectural form and showy flowers in shades of red, yellow, pink, orange, yellow and white.
Given their dazzling looks, it’s no surprise that cannas come from sultry places. Native to tropical and subtropical parts of the Americas and the West Indies, they were transported around the globe by seafarers. As a result, they have long been naturalised in Asia, East Africa and Australasia.
DURING the 16th Century, these plants hit Europe in the shape of C. indica, a species with green l eaves and 6ft- t all stems carrying red flowers. Nobody knows when they landed in Britain, but they were first mentioned in a book from 1629 written by John Parkinson, a leading botanist and apothecary to King James I.
Following their turn in the displays at Battersea, where the first ever public subtropical garden opened in 1863, canna lilies were recommended by influential gardeners such as Shirley Hibberd and William Robinson. He devoted 20 pages to them in his 1871 book, The Subtropical Garden.
From their peak of popularity at the tail end of the 1800s and into the early years of the next century, they fell out of fashion until the 1990s renaissance in growing exotica.
These days they are popular in beds, borders and tropical displays, while compact ones are ideal for patio containers.
More than 200 different cannas are available in the UK, ranging from knee-high varieties to whoppers that need plenty of space to accommodate their large clusters of leaves and 10ft- tall flower stalks. The blooms appear in succession from late spring to midautumn, depending on variety.
Apart from their showy flowers, canna lilies are blessed with eyecatching foliage. Most have huge, green, paddle-shaped leaves that are impossibly lush, while others boast bronze, deep red or purple foliage. A few exhibitionists have leaves that are striped or splashed with contrasting shades. Cannas are available as bare-root rhizomes in late winter or sold ready-grown in spring and summer. If you want a specific variety you’ll need to order from a mail-order specialist, but if you’re not too fussy then you’ll find a range at garden centres, nurseries and DIY stores.
Variegated types are happiest in a slightly shaded spot, while the rest prefer a sunny position with soil that is fertile, moist and fairly well-drained. Another option is to grow them in large containers filled with soil-based John Innes No 3. Start them off in 12in pots, moving up a size when necessary.
These plants are gross feeders and experts say i t’s virtually impossible to overfeed them.
When planting, dig in well-rotted manure or garden compost, or add controlled release fertiliser granules to compost. I keep mine satisfied over summer with a weekly splash of liquid fertiliser.
In autumn, frost will blacken foliage. In cold parts of the country cut back top growth, lift rhizomes and store until spring. If you live in a mild region and have free-draining soil, leave them in situ and keep them snug with a 3in-deep mulch of bark or leafmould.