Achira Dark

CannaAchira Dark’
(Agriculture Group)

HEIGHT Tall, 2-3 metres
FOLIAGE Bronze
FORM Spreading
FLOWER Red

A tall Agriculture Group cultivar; bronze foliage, large, oval shaped, maroon margin, spreading habit; triangular stems, coloured purple; spikes of flowers are erect, self-coloured red-orange, staminodes are long and narrow, edges regular, petals purple with farina, fully self-cleaning, blooms open in the early morning; fertile both ways, self-pollinating and also true to type, capsules globose; rhizomes are thick, up to 7 cm in diameter, coloured purple; tillering is prolific.

This variety has bronze leaves with pronounced ribs, which make an elegant champagne flute shape as the leaves unravel and flatten out. All canna do this, but I believe that none do it as elegantly. My young grandchildren used to call them ‘fairy glasses’. It is late flowering, producing orange/crimson blooms in late summer/early autumn.

Impressive in size, stately plants that grow to about 2 metres tall with their leaves evenly spread out on the stem giving it a very neat, orderly appearance. This bronze leaf form of Achira has orange/crimson flowers.

Introduced to England from Peru in 1820. Originally thought to be a species in its own right, this is not accepted by modern botanists who consider it to be a Canna discolor variety or a sub-species of indica, depending upon which taxonomist you talk to. It is found along the coast of South America, the West Indies and in temperate valleys of the Andes, usually at the edges of moist thickets or in ditches.

 

ACHIRAS_DARK_1

Image 1 of 1

Achira Green

Canna ‘Achira Green’

syn. Inca Arrowroot
(Agriculture Group)

HEIGHT Tall, 2-3 metres
FOLIAGE Green and purple variegated
FORM Branching
FLOWER Red
FLOWERING Good bloomer

CannaAchira Green’ is a tall Agriculture Group cultivar; green foliage, large, oval shaped, sometimes maroon margin, branching habit; spikes of flowers are erect, self-coloured red, staminodes are long and narrow, fully self-cleaning, good bloomer, blooms open in the early morning; seed is sterile, pollen is low fertile; rhizomes are thick, up to 7 cm in diameter, coloured purple; tillering is prolific.

CannaAchira Green’ Thor Dalebø.

Our earliest reference to this specimen is RHS Journal of 1847.

edulis

Canna edulis Ker Gawl.

(Agriculture Group)
Synonym of C. indica var. indica

Origin Ker Gawl. (John Bellenden Ker Gawler)
Height Medium
Foliage Dark
Form Branching
Flower Red
Blooming Good bloomer
Flowering August through until frosts
Tillering Prolific
Available Specialist growers only

 

This content is for members only.

Queensland Arrowroot

Canna ‘Queensland Arrowroot’

syn Australian arrow root
(Agriculture Group)

Height Giant
Foliage Green
Form Spreading
Flower Red
Blooming Outstanding bloomer
Tillering Prolific

Canna ‘Queensland Arrowroot’ is a giant Agriculture Group cultivar; green foliage, very large, oblong shaped, spreading habit; oval main stems, coloured green; spikes of flowers are erect, self-coloured red, staminodes are long and narrow, edges regular, petals red with farina, fully self-cleaning, outstanding bloomer, blooms open in the early morning; fertile both ways, not true to type, self-pollinating, capsules globose; rhizomes are thick, up to 7 cm in diameter, coloured pink and purple; tillering is prolific.

A hybrid, transported to Australia where it has now become an environmental problem in the wild, because it is so prolific. However, the temperate northern climate restrains it, and there it is a remarkable architectural specimen. Has the potential to be grown for conversion to a biofuel, due to its high rhizome starch levels.