What canna cultivars are recommended to grow in the landscape?

Question:

What canna cultivars are recommended to grow in the landscape?

Answer:

Gardeners can choose from numerous canna varieties. Some of the more popular varieties are listed below.

Green Foliage

• ‘Aida’ - soft pink flowers, 3 to 31⁄2 feet, dark green leaves
• ‘City of Portland’ - coral-pink blossoms, 3½ to 4 feet, green leaves
• ‘Crimson Beauty’ - rose-red flowers, 3 to 4 feet, green leaves
• ‘Lucifer’ - red flowers with yellow borders, 2 feet, green leaves
• ‘Miss Oklahoma’ - watermelon pink blossoms, 3 feet, green foliage
• 'Princess Di' - creamy soft pink blossoms, green leaves, 3 to 4 feet tall.
• ‘Richard Wallace’ - golden yellow flowers, 4 feet, green leaves
• ‘Rosemond Cole’ - orange-red flowers with yellow edges, 3 feet, dark green foliage
• ‘The President’ - scarlet blossoms, 3 to 3½ feet, green leaves

Burgundy/Bronze Foliage

• 'Australia' - orange-red flowers, burgundy black foliage, 4 to 5 feet tall.
• ‘Black Knight’ - crimson red flowers, 3 to 3½ feet, burgundy leaves
• ‘Red Futurity’ - dark red flowers, 3 to 3½ feet, burgundy foliage
• 'Red King Humbert' - orange-red flowers, reddish bronze foliage, 5 to 6 feet tall.
• ‘Wyoming’ - orange flowers, 3 to 4 feet, bronze-red foliage

Variegated/Bicolor Foliage

• ‘Cleopatra’ - yellow flowers with red spots, 3 to 4 feet, dark green foliage with bronze-red markings
• ‘Inferno’ - orange-red flowers, 3 to 4 feet, foliage striped with green, yellow, orange, and pink
• ‘Intrigue’ - light salmon flowers, 8 to 10 feet, burgundy and green leaves
• ‘Musifolia’ - small red flowers, 10 to 12 feet, large green leaves edged with red
• 'Pretoria' ('Bengal Tiger') - orange flowers, yellow and green striped foliage, 4 to 6 feet tall.
• 'Striped Beauty' - yellow flowers with white markings, green foliage with creamy yellow stripes, 3 feet tall.
• 'Stuttgart' - orange flowers, green and white variegated foliage, 3 to 4 feet tall.

Seed

Most cannas are grown from rhizomes but a few cultivars can be readily grown from seed.  These cultivars tend to perform well in containers as well as in the landscape.

• Tropical Series – grow 2 to 3 feet tall
  • Include ‘Tropical Rose’, ‘Tropical Red’, ‘Tropical Salmon’, ‘Tropical Bronze Scarlet’, ‘Tropical White’, and ‘Tropical Yellow’
• Cannova Series – grow 2.5 to 4 feet tall
  • Include Mango, Yellow, Scarlet, Rose, Red Golden Flame, Orange Shades, Gold Leopard, Bronze Scarlet, Bronze Peach, and Bronze Orange
• South Pacific Series – grow 2 to 3 feet tall
  • Include Scarlet, White, Yellow, Ivory, Orange, and Rose

Learn more about cannas in this publication: Cannas for Home Landscapes.