Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Vibrant Orange and Red Cannas


A neighbor offered my husband and I some cannas that he was digging up and dividing and we said yes please. This is the first time we have grown cannas, and it is their third year here at our house.
The only sunny spot we could find was along our alley, next to the neighbor's ice plant. The cannas he gave us have flowers on four foot spikes, with some plants' flowers brilliant orange and other's bright red. Cannas are not frost hardy but do fine in my zone 8 garden. If you live in zones 1 to 3 you need to lift and store the roots over winter. Cannas prefer moist soil but never waterlogged, and always well drained. They do well in a container and are to be enjoyed in the garden as they are not great cut flowers.
 These plants have a tropic flair to them, and a few months ago for variety I bought two Lucifer rhizomes with flowers that are red edged with yellow, so I look to see them bloom in future. Lucifer is a small canna that grows to 30 inches tall.  Most cannas, and all the rest of ours, grow 3 to 6 feet tall. Our cannas bloom all of June, July and August.

35 comments:

Mari said...

They are beautiful!

Anonymous said...

Your cannas are so pretty. We had some given to us at our last home that were a coral color. I'll bet the Lucifer with the yellow edge will be breathtaking. Enjoy your week.

Rebecca said...

I so enjoy cannas! I'm just too lazy to "winter" and replant them....

I'm not sure I've seen the vibrant oranges before.

xinex said...

Your cannas are beautiful. I h ave them too and they keep coming back and they multiply, even though they are in a shaded area. I love their deep orange flowers....Christine

Chatty Crone said...

i think they are beautiful!

Connie said...

They're lovely! They look very elegant.

farmlady said...

I never think to plant Canna Lilies. They are really lovely... so are your photos. I may have to find some for my garden. I have a good spot for them.

Wandering Writer said...

I got two cannas from church on Mother's Day as the mom with the most variety of flowers in my yard. They haven't bloomed yet though. I keep hoping. Yours are beautiful.

Patty said...

They are beautiful. We tried them once, our neighbor gave us quite a few bulbs to plant. But then Abe had to dig them up before winter, I had to do the rest, washing the dirt off, drying them and storing them. We planted them the next year and they didn't do all that well, I think because we had them against the fence and they didn't get the morning sun, and not much afternoon sun. Our neighbor had his on the other side of our fence where they got sun almost all day long. I didn't dig them up the next year, too much work for no better then ours looked. Our neighbor no longer dug his up either.

Maryjane-The Beehive Cottage said...

So pretty in your garden! You have a wonderful green thumb!

Landbohaven said...

Hvor er dine Kannaer smukke.
Vi har også Kanna i vores have, men de er slet ikke begyndt at blomstre endnu.

Sharon Lovejoy said...

Terra,

I love Cannas in big containers. They're so showy and sassy.

I also love them planted in a maze for children. They get huge and the kids can get lost.

All joys to you,

Sharon Lovejoy Writes from Sunflower House and a Little Green Island

Unknown said...

Terra, the cannas are gorgeous! We used to have some, butnot anymore. I don't know why, either.

Would you be so kind to leave a comment on my BLOG ONLY, for the Miracle Makeover fund drive. Charlie, 8 yr. old, & his story are fabulous. Every comment brings us a $1 for the next person that will be sponsored.

Have a beautiful weekend.
Hugs,
TTFN ~
Marydon

Country Wings in Phoenix said...

Hi Tara Sweetie...
What a beautiful share. I love cannas, but have not tried them here in the Phoenix desert. I would think they might grow seeing as how yours have. What do you think?

Thank you for sharing them. I love it that they multiply. So pretty.

This is the Miracle Weekend makeover. I am one of the hosting sites. For every comment left, Guideposts magazine will pay a dollar, to the next cancer makeover patient. Please stop by and read the story about 9 year old Charlie, and bless me with a comment. Out goal between the 4 or 5 blogs is 5,000. I know we can do it. I would appreciate it, if you pass the word around to as many friends as possible.

Thank you sweetie for a wonderful post. I love it. Have a glorious weekend. Country hugs from Phoenix, Sherry

The Polka Dot Closet said...

Oh Terra, it is so funny I was reading your blog and then got all caught up in missing money from your last post...25 minutes later her I am not a penny richer! LOL Your garden is gorgeous! Thank you for stopping by

Carol

D. Jean Quarles said...

Those are simply lovely! Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

Oh, your cannas are so pretty! I used to have some of those. The color is just so striking!
Thanks for popping in to see me.
be a sweetie,
shelia ;)

Kelly H-Y said...

JUST bought one this past weekend! Can't wait to see it bloom! So beautiful.

Ginny said...

I love those Cannas too! They do like to multiply!

Tatyana@MySecretGarden said...

Hi Terra! Three month of blooming? Incredible!

Anonymous said...

As a young girl, I remember Mom had a big round patch of red cannas in the side yard. I used to hide in them when we played Hide in Seek on summer nights. I don't think she would have liked that. LOL

Amrita said...

They grow wild here. Guess they are tropical flowers

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

I love bright orange and red flowers! They are so showy...and beautiful! ♥

Anonymous said...

Someone at my husband's office brought in canas this spring and he brought a bag home for me to plant. I had no idea what they were until now when they finally bloomed--bright red, too!

Rebecca Nelson said...

Your Cannas are soooo gorgeous. I've tried to grow them and they just die. I don't know WHAT I'm doing! :(

Bah...I do NOT have a green thumb. Pink, maybe. Green, definitely NOT!

:(

xoRebecca

Anonymous said...

Milady! So good of you to visit me at The Writer's Reverie - and to become a follower, too! How delightful - I am totally returning the favor - I see you are something of an expert on plants and flowers and I am trying to grow in my gardening knowledge. I've been trying to cultivate a beautiful wildflower garden in our front - last year we did it for the first time and it was great! This year the seed mix we bought was very bad - full of filler and mostly weeds - very little color. But, I do have some new pink flowers which I'll be featuring tomorrow on Pink Saturday. Be visiting again!
JOY!
Miss Kathy

xinex said...

I have those cannas too, Terra, and their flowers are such a pretty orange and they just multiply. I love them!...Christine

LV said...

Fortunately, these are one of the easiest flowers to grow. Besides being so colorful and pretty, they will come back each year.

Terry said...

Howdy Terra
Oh how gorgeous ! Cannas are so much fun and come in lovely colors. Thank you for sharing and for all your visits to my blog !
Big hugs from Texas
Until Next Time
Happy Trails

Joyfulsister said...

Hi Terra, Thanks for your visit :)
I see you have a green thumb too, I wanted to ask you if it was easy to grow cosmos and it they bloom all year or just a certain time of the year. I wanted to try some potted plants and see how I do at it lol.

Hugz Lorie

Amy said...

They are beautiful! I love the orange ones.
My cannas are doing very well in our drought...go figure. I get a lot of drainage from my neighbor's yard right where they are planted. They are on the top of my favorite list! Might have to look into orange ones...very pretty!

Unknown said...

So beautiful!!!
I will be back to follow you for some reason Firefox doesn't want to give me the follower box. Thanks so much for your lovely visit and follow!
Xo
Isabelle

Haddock said...

Good to see the flowers in the garden and you have one which blooms for 3 months (or is it that it is during this period?)

Hilary said...

They're so vibrant.. like they contain the very best of summer.

Thanks for your visit to my blog. Always nice to have a new face aboard.

Rusty in Miami said...

I love cannas but they don't love me