CANNA 2019

Ive decided to give canna growing from seed a try. Ive got 5 different cannas soaking as of an hour ago.

The site says that the seed are virus free. I guess I'll find out either way by late summer

 

seeds dont carrry a virus its passed on by greenfly and the like when they feed from the leaves and then pass into on to other canna

Spruce

 

Not really sure about seed sown cannas not carrying the virus so I stick to buying guaranteed virus free stocks. Its not just about aphids I think!
A local nurserywoman lost all her cannas to virus X a couple of years back....all of hers were seed sown!???

Mazambo, I use john innes mixed with dried manure and often add chicken pellets too when growing in containers. I also give them a mulch. They are greedy, thirsty plants, need weight in compost if grown in containers. I also add fish blood and bone.
Here they flower from early summer to late autumn and I grow several varieties mainly in the garden making huge plants ......Some are 7' to 9' across and 8 to 10' tall

 

Thanks @Verdun, last year was the first time I've ever had cannas, apart from the red velvet which was in flower when I bought it only one flowered, hoping for better this year.

 

Aim for as early a start as possible mazambo......pot up and repot regularly in early spring; cannas grow fast at this time. Growing on in the gh of course is important.
Well worth it though....they are superb exotic looking foliage and flowering plants. Contrast with a tall grass like miscanthus for greater impact from mid summer

 

Just to add my bit, I tend to agree with Spruce, canna seed do not pass on virus.
If seed grown plants get virused its brought in from insects feeding on virused cannas elsewhere.

I grew them for years and never came across virus, never heard of it back then.
Then one year all my plants got it, had to dump them all, but it was quite a while before I realised it.
Had anyone else in the vicinity been growing them I'm pretty sure they would have had the same problem, but back then not many people grew them.
I'm pretty convinced it's those wisened up tuber from Holland, in garden centres that are the main carriers of the virus, and sold to the unsuspecting and spreading it everywhere.

 

Yep, I think you may be right about the source of virus afffected plants Pete. The virus is rife, all over the world now with most plants, I suspect, affected.
I can only say ...with total certainty....that seed sown cannas were badly affected in a local nursery as I stated earlier. Possibly, these plants were affected by other cannas in the area, I dont know
Because I grow several cannas I only source guaranteed virus free plants. I also try to be watchful for first signs of virus
However, whatever works for folk continue with it
Its a similar situation with variegated hostas with a virus sweeping across them ...Gold Standard for example being highly susceptible. Fortunately, when I acquired a plant of GS I kept it "quarrantined" for most of its first summer until, yes, it succumbed. Duly destroyed.

 

Repotted my cannas today in the sense I've took them all out of their pots and cleaned off most of the old soil mix and repotted with 1-1-1 JI no3, manure and mpc with a handful of chicken manure. A couple had good strong roots, a couple ok and the Tropicana pretty poor.
I don't need the old soil, will it still be usable? Thinking of putting it on Freecycle if it is.

 

Sounds good to me mazambo
Shame to discard old soil......nowhere else to use it? Add some nutrients to it to make a mulch somewhere?

 

I would add as top dressing on the borders ...

 

Soil was taken today, so it wasn't wasted.

@Spruce wish I did have borders unfortunately not really being into gardening about 15 years ago I decided to look to my retirement and make things easy, concrete, decking, slabbing, crazy paving etc, I would probably think 85 percent of the gardenI've definitely been bitten by the gardening bug but I turn 61 in March so I don't have the strength to turn it back to soil, that's why I talk a lot about pots and containers that's what I'm basically reduced to, my main aim is still growing for wildlife, but i get excited when i see people excited about showier plants like cannas and brugmansia at least i can grow them in pots too

 

Moved my seedlings from the prop on a west facing window to the heated bed in the tunnel as I think they needed more light. Sown late Jan - 20 our of 31 currently germinated.

The plants behind the cannas are Bomeria Hirtella which will be getting a cane for support today - first time growing this climber but it looks a stunning plant.

 

I'm a bit late to this post but have been avidly growing Cannas for a good few years now, this years seeds are under way, brasiliensis in large numbers as I use them as a good bedding canna and one to plug gaps, also got Thai canna and some altensteinii under way along with a pot of mystery ones that had fell out in the bottom of my seed draw