Canna Lily Green (Canna Indica)

Canna Lily Green (Canna Indica)

Botanical Name: Canna Indica

Also known as: 

• Indian Shot
• Achira
• African Arrowroot
• Purple Arrowroot
• Sierra Leone Plant
• Canna Plant

Canna Lily Green (Canna Indica) are bold, tropical-looking, herbaceous perennial plants that are summer bloomers.

Canna Lily Green (Canna Indica) is a plant species in the family Cannaceae. It is native to much of South America, Central America, the West Indies, and Mexico. It is also naturalized in the southeastern United States and much of Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and Oceania. Canna indica has been a food crop cultivated by indigenous peoples of the Americas for thousands of years.

Growing cannas in your garden is an easy way to create instant tropical flair. Cannas are tropical and subtropical flowering plants with large, banana-like leaves. Cannas’ popularity and active hybridizing have resulted in a dazzling array of cannas to choose from, many with large, showy flowers and variegated leaves that look like stained glass when the sun shines through them.

Striking flowers notwithstanding, cannas are often grown for their foliage alone. The large, paddle-like leaves come in a range of greens and blue-greens and can have variegation and stripes. Somewhat tubular and lily-like, Canna flowers come in shades and combinations of yellow, orange, red, and pink and are borne on tall stalks poking out of the foliage. Rhizomes planted in spring after the last frost will take a few weeks to sprout but will then grow at a rapid pace and may even flower in the first year.

Because most Cannas sold today are the result of many crosses, Cannas are rarely classified and are simply considered hybrids.

Cannas will repeat-bloom throughout summer. For everyone else, there are three options: You can let them die off each fall and start with fresh rhizomes in the spring you can pot the plants and bring them indoors to live as houseplants or you can dig up and store the rhizomes for the winter and replant them in spring.

Cannas are not often bothered by insects or disease. Their leaves are covered with a waxy substance that repels water and protects against fungus. Pest problems are minimal, but grasshoppers and caterpillars may

munch on the leaves.

Care and Growth: 

Light: Cannas do best in full sun. This means they may need more water in really hot climates, but they need heat to spur their growth. In the hottest area, some afternoon shade helps flowers last longer.

Soil: Plant cannas in rich, moist soil, ideally with a slightly acid to neutral soil pH.

Water: Cannas need consistent water and evenly moist soil. Water often, especially in extreme heat. Insufficient water will cause the leaves to tear or crack.

Temperature and Humidity: Blooming depends on the climate and weather. In areas with cool springs, the plants may be slow to get started. Potting them up indoors, before your last frost date, and moving them out while they are already growing, will help them bloom earlier. As tropical plants, cannas prefer humid air but can tolerate relative dryness, especially if they are properly watered.

Fertilizer: In addition to needing lots of water, cannas are hungry plants, although they store some food in their rhizomes. Feed them in early spring and midsummer, using a balanced fertilizer.

 

 

Flowering plants only blossom naturally in their respective seasons. Fruit-bearing plants only produce fruits naturally during their growing seasons. All plants are sold in generic nursery pots, and may naturally vary in colors/sizes from the exact images illustrated above.)

 

Plant Type:	Outdoor Plant
Plant Height:	30 cm to 50 cm
Pot Type:	Nursery Pot