Canna
– Indian Shot.
Half Hardy Perennial
Three to five feet.
Flowers of various colours, June to September.
The Canna is a tender plant with broad glossy
leaves, green, bronze or variegated, and spikes
of flowers shaped something like gladioli, scarlet,
crimson, salmon-pink and striped or mottled with
yellow or purple. Those who have no convenience
for raising their own plants may buy the growing
roots ready for planting out early in June. If
a greenhouse or hotbed is available, the roots
may be obtained about March, potted and brought
on in a moderate growing temperature as other
bedding stuff. With the convenience of heat, Cannas
can be raised from sowings made about January.
The seed is very hard, and the seedlings have
some difficulty in breaking through their envelope;
to make this easier, the seeds should be soaked
in tepid water, (not hot) for twenty-four hours
before they are sown; the most convenient way
is to put them in a jar of water on a kitchen
stove or greenhouse pipes. Sow in pots, and put
in a brisk hotbed temperature; as soon as the
seedlings are large enough, prick them out singly
in small pots. Re-pot when the pots are full of
roots, harden judiciously, and plant out in June
in rich, well-dug soil. Cannas require plenty
of moisture, and must not be allowed to get dry
at the root during hot summer weather. In light
solid and a kindly climate, they may be left in
the ground during winter, but where there is any
question of wet clays or severe frost, they must
be taken up at the general autumn clearance, and
packed with some light leafy soil in a frame till
the spring.
By sowing seed in May instead of January or February,
the gardener can obtain plants which will not
flower the first season, but if grown on steadily
through the summer, lifted and sheltered during
the winter, will make fine specimens in the following
year.
If Cannas are taken up before the first autumn
frosts and potted, they will continue to flower
for a long time in a greenhouse or conservatory.
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