Cannas

I would like to buy some cannas with coloured foliage for next year. Has anyone any experience of this place, or can you recommend anywhere selling by mail order?
http://www.hartcanna.com/catalog.htm

 

Hi Liz,

Keith and Christine Hayward at Hart canna have supplied me with almost all my previous cannas. I believe they hold the reserve National collection and this may be the only national collection since Ian Cooke at Nottingham University had to destroy his after a serious disease outbreak. :(

If I were to re-stock I would be using Hart canna

 

Have just been looking at the site - arent they all gorgeous? Although I read the info about them, still not sure if they can be left outside during winter? I just havent got room to overwinter anything that nedds a high min temp :(

 

Great! Thanks BM I thought you would know. I was very impressed by the pictures, will now have to wait for prices! The variegated and darker coloured leaves are the attraction for me.
Marge, I think BM keeps his outside with some protection. They die right back like lilies.
http://www.rhs.org.uk/WhatsOn/gardens/hydehall/archive/hydehallpom03aug.asp
I would keep mine in containers to aid the battle against slugs! I love Wiltshire but I've never seen so many slugs....

[ 31. August 2006, 08:48 PM: Message edited by: Liz ]

 

Liz, beware of Stuttgart, the canna with white in the variegation, it will burn and go brown in strong sunlight. Some of the variegated ones such as Sunny delight which I bought this year have feint yellow in the green but gives it the appearance of chlorosis. Some are self cleaning some are not and the dead flowers remain stuck to the stem, this is usually indicated.
I have already collected seed from the two canna tubers (pink Futurity and Sunny Delight)I bought in march and there are many more to come, some will not set seed eg Lucifer, Pretoria, Red Stripe.

 

Hi, Strongy. I've collected the seed from my three Brilliant that bloomed this year. As I've only seen Cannas sold as tubers, do you just plant the seed like any other seed or is there something special you must do?

 

Hi LoL,

My proven method is scar the hard shell just back to the white inner with a razor blade. This is to let the moisture in fast, soak in a glass of water on a hot light window sill until they germinate. Could be days or a couple of weeks. They germinate by bursting the shell with a White shoot.

BM :D

If you need any further advice I will write it out for you a bit more descriptively and maybe take some shots of the process for you.

 

Thanks, BM. Think I can manage that ... have the seeds, a glass, water and certainly a hot light window sill (kitchen has a 7cm sill ... you may have read a recent chat between MF and I where old houses here have windowsills on the outside) ... not sure about the razor ... guess I could try it with a throw-away Gillette? Think it might be "days" here! :D :D

I have a few more seeds than I need if anyone is interested ... Brilliant is clear red and has bright green leaves and is a shorter variety.



[ 01. September 2006, 12:15 AM: Message edited by: Lady of Leisure ]

 

I usually file the seed coat down untill it shows white then soak for 48 hrs then sow in peat/peatfree compost at around 23c and wait, may take up to 3 weeks, sometimes much faster.

 

I wholeheartedly second this - Keith offers exceptionally high quality stock at a very reasonable price. He's also one of the most helpful people in the trade and is always ready to advise. Yes you can buy cheaper, but you can't always be sure of getting what you order and there are far too many inferior plants sloshing about nowadays. I stopped growing Cannas a few years ago due to space restrictions caused by my increased interest in Musas and Hedychums. If I were to start again, I'd certainly restock from the Haywards.

 

this place has some Cannas at the moment: http://www.junglegardens.co.uk/PlantOrders/enter.html?lang=en-uk&target=front.html

 

Hi, I leave half my cannas in the ground over winter the other half I dig up just incase! But the ones in the ground do come up every year, but they don't show till June cos they are late summer/autumn flowers, not brought on like the ones you buy in the garden centre.