Tropicanna canna

Sun

Full sun gives the strongest leaf colour and best flowering; tolerates light partial shade.

Water

Keep evenly moist during active growth. Containers may need daily watering in hot weather; reduce watering as growth stops.

Soil

Rich, moisture-retentive soil with good drainage; avoid cold, waterlogged ground in winter.

Height

4-6 ft (1.2-1.8 m)

Spread

2-3 ft (0.6-0.9 m)

Flowers

Orange flowers in summer and autumn, continuing until frost where conditions allow.

Foliage

Large, paddle-shaped leaves striped in green, yellow, orange and pink over a burgundy background; colours change as leaves mature.

Growth

Fast in warm weather with adequate water and nutrients.

Care needed

Medium

• Pollinators
• Heat tolerant
• Low allergen

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Moderate

Toughness

Fairly tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   1 ft (0.3 m)

2. After 1 year

   3 ft (0.92 m)

3. After 2 years

   5 ft (1.5 m)

   full size

About 2 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Safe

In the garden

Spreads vigorously: plan to contain it.

Growth rate

Fast

• Plant outdoors after frost danger has passed and the soil has warmed.
• Water deeply whenever the surface soil starts to dry; check pots frequently in hot weather.
• Mix compost into the planting area and feed container plants regularly with a balanced fertiliser according to its label.
• Mulch to conserve moisture; in mild-winter gardens, add a deeper winter mulch over the rhizomes.
• In colder climates, lift after frost blackens the leaves and store rhizomes somewhere cool, frost-free and barely moist.
• Divide crowded clumps in spring, keeping at least one healthy growing bud on each piece.

Pruning. Remove spent flower clusters without cutting off unopened buds lower on the same stalk. Once a stalk has finished flowering, or frost has killed the foliage, cut it down close to the base.

Late winter

Check stored rhizomes and discard any that are soft or rotten; prevent the remaining pieces from drying out completely.

Early spring

Divide rhizomes and pot them up under warm, frost-free conditions for an earlier start.

Late spring

Harden off indoor-grown plants and plant outside once frost danger has passed.

Summer

Water consistently, feed container plants and check young leaves for slugs and leaf-rolling caterpillars.

Late summer

Remove spent flowers and fully finished stalks to keep the clump tidy.

Late autumn

After frost, cut back dead growth; lift rhizomes in cold regions or mulch those left outdoors in mild areas.

• Use as a tall centrepiece in a large container, surrounded by lower foliage plants.
• Plant in groups behind dahlias and salvias for a summer border of strong colours and contrasting leaf shapes.
• Repeat clumps beside a sunny patio or pool to create a tropical effect.
• Use beside a pond in moist but drained soil, rather than submerged in water.

Garden styles it suits: Modern tropical, Tropical, Hot border, Architectural minimal, Luxury resort and Victorian.

Plant it with: Dahlias, Coleus, Elephant ears, Salvias, Bananas and Purple fountain grass.

Wildlife: Flowers can attract hummingbirds where they occur, along with some insect visitors. It is not a substitute for locally native plants that support specialist wildlife.

• Slugs and snails chew emerging shoots and leaves: inspect at dusk, remove them and use wildlife-conscious slug controls where needed.
• Canna leaf-rolling caterpillars fold or tie leaves together: open affected leaves and remove the caterpillars before damage spreads.
• Canna viruses cause distorted growth, broken streaks or unusual mottling beyond the normal stripes: remove and discard affected plants, disinfect cutting tools and buy healthy replacement stock.
• Winter rhizome rot develops in cold, wet soil or damp storage: improve drainage, lift plants where winters are unsuitable and discard soft, rotting rhizomes.

Not known to be toxic to cats, dogs, horses or people; no part is recognised as poisonous. It is grown as an ornamental, not as a food crop, and eating plant material may still cause stomach upset.

• Bengal Tiger canna (Canna 'Pretoria')

  Its leaves have mainly yellow and green stripes, rather than Tropicanna's pink, orange and burgundy tones; both bear orange flowers.

• Stuttgart canna (Canna 'Stuttgart')

  Its leaves have broad, irregular cream-white and green areas rather than fine multicoloured stripes, and its flowers are pale apricot.

Canna comes from a Greek word meaning reed, referring to the plant's upright, reed-like stems.

Propagation. Divide rhizomes in spring, leaving at least one healthy bud and a sound section of rhizome on each division. Seed does not reliably reproduce this cultivar's striped foliage.

Accepted botanical name

Canna

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.