Plant of the month Cannas
These plants boast striking foliage and pretty flowers.
For an eye-catching display in your garden, plant a large group of cannas (hybrids of Canna indica) together – either in a bed, on your pavement or along the driveway. These dependable plants bloom from November to March in red, orange, yellow, salmon, rose-pink, apricot and even cream. They look good in a mixed bed; plant at least three to five of them with flowering shrubs and perennials.
The plant’s leaves are just as striking as its flowers. Some are bronze-brown in colour, some are bright green or a more subtle dark green, while others have variegated foliage with attractive stripes.
The height of the respective hybrids varies. Check with your local nursery to find out how tall the canna you have chosen will grow.
Cannas grow easily but like well-prepared, compost-rich soil and thrive if fertilised regularly. Any balanced fertiliser such as 2:3:2, 3:1:5 or Atlantic Fertilisers’ Bio Ganic All Purpose is suitable; apply as indicated on the packaging. Give the plant sufficient water, especially in summer in the winter rainfall regions or during dry spells. It prefers a warm, sunny spot and should be protected from strong winds.
Cannas can quickly become overgrown. Lift and divide every two to three years in spring: cut the stems down to soil level, lift the rhizomes out of the soil with a fork and divide them into 10–15cm pieces. Make sure each piece of the rhizome has a growth bud and plant it elsewhere in your garden. Trim off spent blooms regularly to encourage flower formation and keep the plant neat. Also cut off the old flower stalks down to soil level to encourage new growth.
In warmer regions, cannas are evergreen but in colder parts they go dormant in winter. They will grow almost anywhere in the country, except in areas that experience heavy frosts or in arid regions.
[ INVASIVE CANNA]
Be careful of planting Indian shot (Canna indica), which is classified as a Category 1b invasive alien plant. This means it must be taken out and destroyed. This canna’s flowers are much smaller than those of the showy, colourful and sterile Canna indica hybrids and cultivars, which are not invasive.
Sources
Gardening with Keith Kirsten by Keith Kirsten; The South African What Flower is That? by Kristo Pienaar; Reader’s Digest A South African Garden for All Seasons with chief contributor Jennifer Godbold-Simpson