Canna's on the move

They are acting a bit differently this year Peter, some stems are flowering or producing buds at around 4-5ft and yet other stems, some on the same plants are racing away and nearly 7ft now!!! :thumb:

 

Just like to show this one.
Its grown from seed sent to me by Victoria, presumably collected locally.

I think it looks very promising, maybe I should have kept it in a container as its fairly short, but good flower colour and nice dark purple foliage, everybit as good as "Wyoming"in that respect.
I think next year it will be taller

 

Lovely foliage Pete. I have just seen some flower buds on your Cleopatra - so I am getting excited. :happydance:

 

Everything comes to he who waits.:D

 

Another update on my Altensteinii; they've come on so much in the last week or two, I think down to feeding, watering and warm day and nightime temperatures.

Picture 1 is of the ones in the ground, they are about 6ft now; interesting these are the ones I planted with a pipe in the middle to direct water straight to the roots where I put some absorbant material when I planted them. Picture 2 shows them when I planted them, bit of a difference :thumb:

Picture 2 shows the ones in pots in my 'jungle' corner :D, they are about 7-8ft tall. Picture 4 shows them when they were first planted :thumb:

 

Bilbo - there is a serious defect in this forum. I have been searching for the 'Hates' button and can't find it.

I love your plants, but I hates the fact that they have done so much better than mine.

 

Is this the button you are lookng for Peter! :D
You have Cannas to be proud of Bilbo I have been following this thread for the last few weeks. My C. Tropicana's have done very well for a first year . I will post a pic of them later this week , with my usual couple of dozen questions for the GC Canna society ,on what to do next

 

They look very impressive Bilbo.

Maybe next summer we could have an, 'Altensteinii from seed', competition.

 

Thanks for your kind comments guys, really hoping I can get some through the winter this time, although it is looking good for some seed for back-up, the first seed pods are swelling quite fast :thumb:

 

Here is a pic of my 4 C.Tropicanas grown from seed this year . They have been flowering since early July, and we have been really pleased with them , the foliage seems to improve as they get older , and when the sun is getting low in the sky the light and shadow on them is lovely.
Now according to Hart Canna Tropicana grows to 40cm - 20" , mine are from 3ft in a container up to 6 ft in the border ! I want to grow some 6 foot ones next year . The C.Altensteinii in Bilbos pics seems to be this , also I am looking at C. Generalis Marabout , has anyone grown this one ?
TIA

 

Hi Harry, some of my altensteinnii are now passing the 8ft mark and more are flowering; the leaves are also looking bigger and better :thumb:

In prime conditions with plenty of feed and water this plant is capable of 12ft-15ft It is also a very sturdy plant and withstands quite strong winds; mine know all about it this year :D

Hopefully if the seed pods continue to swell; as they are doing quickly, I may have a good amount of seed come the autumn, if I have some spare then I'll gladly let you have some :thumb:

 

Thanks Bilbo , if you do have any spare seeds please put my name on a few, appreciated. The seeds on my C. Tropicana are developing , but when I looked at one it was an empty shell Do they fill out in time ? Because we are running out of growing season , and the canna seeds shoud be as hard as the hobs of hell ! Has anybody regrown the Cannas from the Rhizomes ,what would the virus risk be from this ?
TIA

 

Harry pods form but do not always contain seeds, species plants form seed much easier than the hybrids, or should I say, more freely.

I've found hybrids tend to seed better in hot summers, not sure why but the plant does come from warmer climes.:WINK1:

I grow from rhizomes, its the only way to get true varieties, hybrids dont come true from seed.
As long as the plant shows no sign of virus in the autumn it should be OK to propagate from.
But keep an eye open for aphids through the winter and spray any immediately.