Canna
Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- KAN-nah
- Description
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Arrowroot is a group of erect perennial bulbs in the Cannaceae (canna) family, native to tropical East and West Africa and Central and South America. They can grow up to 8 feet tall and 6 feet wide. The genus name comes from the Latin word for reed.
Arrowroot can be challenging to grow. They grow in a variety of soil textures but prefer organically-rich, well-drained soil and a site that receives full sun to partial shade. Good drainage is essential to prevent rhizomes from rotting, however the plant will tolerate moist, occasionally wet soil. These plants will sustain injury if left in the ground at temperatures below 25 degrees F. Gardeners in hardiness zones 6a and 6b should cut the plants to the ground immediately after the first frost and lift the rhizome clumps for winter storage in a dry medium such as peat or vermiculite. Store the rhizomes in a cool dry location that does not fall below 40 degrees F. In the spring, after the last frost, return the rhizomes to the ground placing them 4 to 6 inches deep and spaced 12 inches to 3 feet apart. Propagation is by division.
Showy flowers bloom from July to October above leaves that are large and broad and may be green to reddish purple. Some leaves can be 2 feet long. Arrowroot is a wildlife food source as well as a larval host for the Lesser canna leafroller (Geshna cannalis) moth. Cultivars with red blooms attract hummingbirds.
Plant arrowroot in drought tolerant, rain, and water gardens. Place them near pools, walkways, containers, and ponds. They make great mass plantings to grow as hedges, backgrounds, or borders.
Quick ID Hints:
- Tall erect herb with giant, sheathing leaves
- Terminal racemes with large carotenoid flowers
- Fruits a prickly 3-valved capsule.
Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: Japanese beetles, slugs, and snails; aster yellows disease, bud rot, rust, and mosaic virus.
VIDEO Created by Elisabeth Meyer for "Edibles, Bulbs, and Houseplants" a plant identification course offered in partnership with Longwood Gardens.
- Profile Video:
- See this plant in the following landscapes:
- Dry Stream Bed Garden in Cabarrus County Corner Roadside Planting
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- 'Black Knight'
4'-6' tall, red flowers and smoky purple foliage, strong stalks - 'Brandywine' - Longwood Hybrid Canna
3' tall, heavily blooming red flowers, green foliage with red leaf margins
C. americanallis var. variegata
- 'Chesapeake' - Longwood Hybrid Canna
4' tall, yellow flowers that fade to white over time, green foliage
C. indica
- 'Lily Thai'
- 'Mrs. Pierre S. du Pont'
4' tall, pink flowers with green foliage - 'Phasion' Tropicanna® - Variegated Canna
4'-6' tall, orange flowers, leaves are green with red and yellow streaks - 'Red Futurity'
- 'Striata' - Variegated Canna
5' tall, orange flowers, green leaves with cream colored streaks - 'Striped Beauty' - Variegated Canna
3'-5' tall, yellow buds open to cream colored flowers with pink bracts, green leaves with yellow streaks, requires overwintering
C. glauca
C. x generalis
- 'Black Knight'
- 'Black Knight', 'Brandywine' - Longwood Hybrid Canna, C. americanallis var. variegata, C. glauca, 'Chesapeake' - Longwood Hybrid Canna, C. indica, C. x generalis, 'Lily Thai', 'Mrs. Pierre S. du Pont', 'Phasion' Tropicanna® - Variegated Canna, 'Red Futurity', 'Striata' - Variegated Canna, 'Striped Beauty' - Variegated Canna
- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- 'Black Knight'
4'-6' tall, red flowers and smoky purple foliage, strong stalks - 'Brandywine' - Longwood Hybrid Canna
3' tall, heavily blooming red flowers, green foliage with red leaf margins
C. americanallis var. variegata
- 'Chesapeake' - Longwood Hybrid Canna
4' tall, yellow flowers that fade to white over time, green foliage
C. indica
- 'Lily Thai'
- 'Mrs. Pierre S. du Pont'
4' tall, pink flowers with green foliage - 'Phasion' Tropicanna® - Variegated Canna
4'-6' tall, orange flowers, leaves are green with red and yellow streaks - 'Red Futurity'
- 'Striata' - Variegated Canna
5' tall, orange flowers, green leaves with cream colored streaks - 'Striped Beauty' - Variegated Canna
3'-5' tall, yellow buds open to cream colored flowers with pink bracts, green leaves with yellow streaks, requires overwintering
C. glauca
C. x generalis
- 'Black Knight'
- 'Black Knight', 'Brandywine' - Longwood Hybrid Canna, C. americanallis var. variegata, C. glauca, 'Chesapeake' - Longwood Hybrid Canna, C. indica, C. x generalis, 'Lily Thai', 'Mrs. Pierre S. du Pont', 'Phasion' Tropicanna® - Variegated Canna, 'Red Futurity', 'Striata' - Variegated Canna, 'Striped Beauty' - Variegated Canna
- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Canna
- Family:
- Cannaceae
- Uses (Ethnobotany):
- Cannas are used in agriculture as a rich source of starch for human and animal consumption.
- Life Cycle:
- Bulb
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Division
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Tropical east and west Africa, Central and South America
- Wildlife Value:
- Cultivars with red blooms attract hummingbirds. Host plant for Brazilian Skipper caterpillar and moth.
- Play Value:
- Attractive Flowers
- Colorful
- Screening
- Wildlife Food Source
- Wildlife Larval Host
- Particularly Resistant To (Insects/Diseases/Other Problems):
- Tolerates drought, poor soil, wet soil, heat, and humidity.
- Bulb Storage:
- For Zones 6 & 7, harvest rhizomes in fall, dry, and store in dry peat or vermiculite at 41-50 degrees F (5-10 degrees C). Mulch in Zone 8.
- Edibility:
- Canna root is a source of edible starch.
- Dimensions:
- Height: 1 ft. 6 in. - 8 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 1 ft. 6 in. - 6 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Bulb
- Perennial
- Habit/Form:
- Clumping
- Erect
- Maintenance:
- Medium
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- High Organic Matter
- Loam (Silt)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Occasionally Wet
- Available Space To Plant:
- 12 inches-3 feet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Green
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Fall
- Fruit Type:
- Capsule
- Fruit Length:
- 1-3 inches
- Fruit Width:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Description:
- A 3-valved, prickly capsule, often warted. Many rounded seeds with very hard endosperm.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Cream/Tan
- Gold/Yellow
- Orange
- Pink
- Red/Burgundy
- Variegated
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Panicle
- Raceme
- Spike
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Fall
- Summer
- Flower Shape:
- Lipped
- Flower Petals:
- 2-3 rays/petals
- Colored Sepals
- Flower Size:
- 3-6 inches
- Flower Description:
- Gladiolus-like flowers that bloom atop erect stems sheathed in large paddle-shaped leaves. What appears to be the petals are actually modified stamens. Available in many colors: rose, pink, red, yellow, orange, salmon, and bicolored. Terminal, bracteated raceme. Asymmetrical, bold carotenoid pigments of red to orange to yellow; sepals 3, short, glaucous. petals 3, narrow, united into a basal tube; staminodes (petal-like stamens) 4, three broadly obovate overtopping petals, showy, one with remenant of anther sac or minute lobe; stamens 1, petaloid with solitary marginal anther. Typically blooms from July to October.
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Leaves:
- Leaf Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Gray/Silver
- Green
- Purple/Lavender
- Red/Burgundy
- Variegated
- Leaf Feel:
- Fleshy
- Leaf Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- Leaf Type:
- Sheath
- Simple
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Rosulate
- Leaf Shape:
- Elliptical
- Lanceolate
- Ovate
- Leaf Margin:
- Entire
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Length:
- > 6 inches
- Leaf Width:
- > 6 inches
- Leaf Description:
- Leaves are large, broad, pinnately nerved, with a distinct midrib. Alternate, simple, sheathing, 2-ranked, gigantic, to 2' long x 4-12" wide, green to reddish-purple, or yellowish variegated; blade broad elliptic to lanceolate, acute, broadly cuneate to round, entire. May have a glaucous coating. Foliage colors vary from shades of green or bronze to striped/variegated and provide ornamental value when plants are not in flower.
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Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Purple/Lavender
- Red/Burgundy
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Description:
- Erect, 1-5' tall, often reddish-purple.
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Container
- Pond
- Pool/Hardscape
- Riparian
- Vertical Spaces
- Walkways
- Landscape Theme:
- Drought Tolerant Garden
- Rain Garden
- Water Garden
- Design Feature:
- Accent
- Border
- Hedge
- Mass Planting
- Screen/Privacy
- Small groups
- Attracts:
- Hummingbirds
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Drought
- Heat
- Humidity
- Poor Soil
- Salt
- Wet Soil
