Canna lilies

[livingplanet3]

This spring, I started working with Canna lilies again for the first time in over 30 years. They began blooming about two weeks ago. Below are some photos I took this morning of several varieties. The only variety that hasn't yet bloomed is Tropicanna, but I expect them to start doing so in the coming week. I've read that among the main pollinators of Cannas are bees and hummingbirds. Thus far, I've only seen one insect attracted to the flowers - a bumblebee. Based on the shape of the flowers, I suspect that sphinx moths may also visit them at night.

We've had a heat wave here for the past week, but my plants seem to have gotten through it, not too much worse for wear (but probably only because of my diligent watering). As of today, we've returned to more average summer temperatures (actually, below average at the moment).

Cleopatra Red -


Yellow King Humbert -


Yellow King Humbert -


Pretoria -


Kaleidoscope -


Tropicanna -

[daveuk]

Beautiful. Have always loved them. Coincidently they are apparently an alternative to Banana for rearing species of Caligo on. Anyway you can be proud of yourself for cultivating such amazing plants & flowers.

[livingplanet3]

Another color form I have of the chimeric Canna cultivar Cleopatra, which often has petals with split red/yellow coloration -



The leaves are also bi-colored -

[livingplanet3]

My Tropicanna cultivar has started blooming now. The flowers are similar to those of Yellow King Humbert, but the leaves are variegated instead of solid green -