Canna 2012

I've never grown cannas before, but I was at a seed swop ealier today and there was nothing I wanted/hadn't got. Then I saw some packets of 'Canna Indica' (approx 50 seeds) and thought I'd have a go as there's so much stuff on cannas here.

Are they suitable for novices?

 

Absolutely fine, just follow the tips given on here for successful germination and they are for the most part fast growing and fairly easy. Just remember they can't go out until the frosts have gone and unless you grow from seed each year you'll need to give them winter protection.

There's certainly more difficult plants to grow that's for sure..

Good Luck and have fun with them Scrungee

 

Welcome to the Canna Coven Scrungee All started by PeterS , see the post at the top of this section. I had never heard of them until Peters post.

 

Last night I sowed 5 varieties of Canna seed after they'd been soaked for 48hrs; this year is going to be interesting...:D

Didn't need to sow any C.altensteinnii in the end as I have about 15 healthy looking rhizomes from last year!!

I must be mad...

 

Thanks Sixpence that explains starting rhizomes very well

 

Noticed yesterday that 4 out of 5 of my canna varieties I sowed 5 days earlier have now germinated....:yess:, come on the 5th one get a move on :D

 

I have just potted on my C. Marabout after 4 weeks. They are alarmingly 8" tall already ! Info on this variety on the web is a tad sparce. How tall could I expect them to grow in a UK climate I don't really want a 3 metre Canna monster....
Bilbo~ I only managed to germinate one of the Altensteinii , and its doing fine Just potted it on from a 6 cell seed tray.

 

Yes you do! they'll look stunning!!

 

I agree with Kristen - a 3 metre monster is exactly what I want - but not yet whilst they are still in the house. :D

 

Last year my C. Tropical red germinated 5 out of 6 . I presume if you nick the seeds and soak them, after that its the luck of the draw .

 

I've sowed some C speciosa seed today.
Not grown that one before, I was attracted to the bicoloured flowers.
But I might not see them this year, they say its going to be dry.

 

What depth for sowing Canna seeds?

 

1/2" deep Scrungee , after nicking the coating and a 2 day soak in tepid water . I put mine on the prop so it would be getting on for 25°c , and with my limited experiance found they germinate in 5 to 12 days
They grow at one hell of a pace so I need to know when is safe to get them outside into the potting shed

 

Thanks, I was intending to sow 6 per month for the next few months, one per 70 x 70mm pot (following scraping/soaking) and see how successful that is.