If you are looking to add big color, interest and blooms to your flowerbeds and summer landscape – growing Cannas just might be the answer!
Cannas, or canna lilies as they are also often called, are a perennial bulbous plant that can grow to a considerable height. With twisting, curly foliage and large, colorful blooms, they can certainly turn heads.
Here is the best part of all – growing canna lilies in your garden requires very little effort! In fact, it doesn’t take much effort at all to coax this flowering plant to fill up your garden bed or flower box. Cannas are considered excellent for beginners, and great for those who want soaring foliage and absolutely beautiful blooms.
Although cannas are technically a perennial, they can only be left in the ground year round in climates with warm winters. As a plant that hails from Africa, it certainly needs the warmer summer weather to flourish.
How to Grow Canna Lilies
When it comes to production the canna lily is a hard worker. When the conditions are right, these plants can color your space for months, usually from June all the way through October.
Cannas are best started after the danger of frost has passed. Since they don’t like the cold, you must time your planting for spring and after the soil has warmed a bit.
If you have overwintered your bulbs indoors, you can wait until the soil warms up to plant, or give them a head start by planting them in pots to get them growing.
To do this, plant into a pot or container about one month before you will be planting outdoors. The more eyes or growth points a bulb has, the more leaves and flowers it will produce in season. This is one advantage of starting them early indoors.
Location – Growing Cannas
It’s worthy to note that cannas are tropical plants, and this will serve as your guideline to its soil, watering and light requirements.
When you grow cannas, it’s best to put them in a space where they get plenty of light. It also depends on where you live. Direct sunlight is best for cooler zones, while in hotter regions, putting them in partial shade may be for the best.
In addition to performing well in large flowerbeds or open spaces, the tall and majestic characteristics of cannas make them perfect for planters or pots. The key here is selecting a pot large enough to handle the big growth of the plant.
Wherever you plant, be sure to anticipate the broad leaves and the plant’s naturally rapid growth. Avoid crowding it with smaller, less vigorous plants, or the cannas will quickly overtake them.
Soil & Planting – Growing Cannas
As for soil requirements, cannas like soil that can hold water for a longer time. It also has to be rich and full of nutrients so they can thrive.
Amend the soil in flowerbeds with a heavy dose of compost before planting. As a general rule of thumb, mix the compost in at a 50/50 rate to the existing soil. The compost not only provides a rich soil medium for the cannas, but it also helps to retain much needed moisture around the roots. (See : Our Top Tips For Making Compost)
Fertilizing canna lilies is another must-have. You should provide organic fertilizer at least once a month for maximum growth and flowering. It’s recommended that you amend with mulch and similar matter, and have the necessary drainage holes when putting them in the ground and pots, respectively.
Watering & Summer Maintenance – Growing Cannas
Cannas love the heat, but that doesn’t mean they like sitting on dry soil. Interestingly enough, the greater the moisture and the more damp the soil, the more they like it.
Water immediately once the top layer of the soil is dry. Water often to encourage immense growth. They can live on wet spots and along ponds, and certainly like moist soil rather than dry.
To keep flowers coming on, practice regular deadheading. By manually removing spent blooms, you will be making room for new ones to take their place at a much faster pace. Alternatively, you can remove the flower stalks if you want your cannas to be like a tropical tree.
Canna lilies have very few pests and enemies other than rhizome virus and the occasional bacterial blight. They are sometimes visited by snails or slugs who love to eat the leaves, but your plants should be fine as long as they’re healthy.
Can You Grow Cannas In Your Garden?
The only weakness these lilies have is to cold temperatures. Unless you live in growing zones 8 through 10, you will need to protect your bulbs with additional help through the winter. Otherwise, the bulbs will freeze out, and the plant will not return the following spring.
As for getting canna bulbs to survive through winter, there are two methods you can try. The best option for cold climates is to dig the bulbs up in the fall and bring them indoors in a cool, dark space to overwinter.
If you happen to live in climate with a more mild winter, you can apply a heavy mulch to the ground. This will usually protect the bulbs, however, just keep in mind, a hard cold snap can certainly take its toll on the bulbs and freeze them out.
Now let’s take a look at some of the more popular varieties of Cannas to fill your landscape with big color. We have included bulb links for each variety listed below.
Canna Varieties – Growing Cannas
Canna President
If you’re looking to grow cannas then Canna President is a worthy consideration. Lush, blue-green foliage gives way to a veritable bouquet of scarlet flowers with golden ribbons along the petal edges. The more sun they get, the bigger the blooms and the longer the beautiful profusion lasts.
Canna Cleopatra
The Cleopatra (pictured earlier in the article) is a shorter-growing, garden perennial favorite. Pots can be brought back in to keep for multiple years, or the bulbs can be dug up and replanted.
Cleopatra blooms in late summer with purple-streaked foliage and gorgeous red & yellow blooms. It handles full sunlight well and is perfect for hot, sunny decks and patios. It also performs equally well in flowerbeds
Canna Australia
One of the impressive and eye-catching extra tall Canna Lily varieties, Australia is a tropical beauty with dark foliage and bold Vermilion blooms.
While tolerant of partial shade, they thrive in the sun! Winter hardy in warmer zones, be sure to plant once soil and nighttime temperatures are consistently warm.
Here is to adding and growing Cannas in your landscape this summer – and to bringing soaring blooms and beauty to your yard!
Follow Our Facebook Page For Great Gardening Tips And Advice! This Is My Garden Facebook Page
This Is My Garden is a garden website created by gardeners, for gardeners. Jim and Mary Competti have been writing gardening, DIY and recipe articles and books and speaking for over 15 years from their 46 acre Ohio farm. They publish three articles every week, 52 weeks a year. Sign up today to follow via email, or follow along!
