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Cultivar

Allemania

Canna ‘Allemania’
syns. Cattleya
(Italian Group)(Aquatic Group)

ORIGIN Karl SPRENGER, 1897
HEIGHT Medium, 1-2 metres
FOLIAGE Green
FORM Branching
FLOWER Multi-coloured
FLOWERING Good bloomer
AWARDS RHS Award of Merit, 1897 

Canna Allemania is a medium sized aquatic Italian Group cultivar, equally at home as a water marginal or in the border; green foliage, oval shaped, branching habit; round stems, coloured green + purple; panicles of flowers are open, salmon-red with a gold margin, throat gold, staminodes are large, edges irregular, labellum is salmon-red, petals purple, fully self-cleaning, good bloomer, blooms open in the early morning; seed is sterile, pollen is low fertile; rhizomes are long and thin, coloured white and purple; tillering is prolific.

Canna 'Allemania'
References
RHS Chiswick Canna Trials, 1898
3. Alemannia, A.M. 1898 (Dammann and Veitch). Very large leaves; flowers large and handsome, with a broad Cattleya-like lip, orange scarlet and deep red, with an irregular golden-yellow margin.
Railton & Co., Australia, 1900-1903
AFRICA. Dark bronze foliage, with rich orange-salmon flowers, darkening to scarlet in the throat. 1/6 each.
RHS Canna Trials 1907 Indoors
2. Africa (Dobbie). — Italian Group Apricot to terra-cotta, irregularly shaded with deeper colour; truss rather small; foliage very rich, bronzy-crimson, striped with green; 5 feet.
RHS Journal of 1908-9
Featured in 1908 Outdoor Trials at Wisley Orange-red orchid flowered with dark foliage.
Das Geschlecht der Canna, by Árpád Mühle
Africa. (Dam.) height of 150 cm. Stature sumptuously, leaves bronze colors with magenta. Flowers very largely, cattleya shape, glowing magenta-brown with orange-charming centre.
Cassells Dictionary of Practical Gardening, Walter P. Wright, 1910
Italian, or orchid, flowered scarlet, gold inside, purple and green foliage.
L. Clause Catalogue, Spring 1929
Feuillage bronzé. Fleur pourpre. Haut. 1 m. 50. Note: Bronze foliage. Crimson flower. Height. 1 m. 50.
Tropical Plants and Gardening, H.F. MacMillan, 1935
Fls orange-red, tinted leaves
Standardized Plant Names, 1942
Listed as correct and current.
Tropical Planting and Gardening, H.F. MacMillan, 5th Edition, 1954
Bronze or purple- leaved, flowers orange red.
Cultivar

Annei

Canna ‘Annei’
syns. glauca var. annaei Petersen, Omega
(Foliage Group)(Aquatic Group)

ORIGIN , ANNÉE Théodore, 1848
PARENTAGE Canna indica var. indica L. x glauca var. glauca L.
HEIGHT Tall, 2-3 metres
FOLIAGE Glaucous green
FORM Upright
FLOWER Pink
FLOWERING Late bloomer
AWARDS AGM 2002

Canna ‘Annei’ is a tall aquatic Foliage Group cultivar, equally at home as a water marginal or in the border; glaucous green foliage, oval-acuminate shaped, upright habit; round stems, coloured green; flowers are erect, self-coloured salmon, staminodes are medium size, edges regular, petals red, late bloomer, blooms open in the early morning; seed is sterile, pollen is fertile; tillering is prolific.

It is a very tall foliage plant, growing up to 300cm (9’9″), and topped by interesting small flowers that start in August and continue through to the first frosts. There are few plants with more architectural significance than a well-grown specimen of C. Annei in a prominent position.

This is the world’s first Canna hybrid, introduced in 1848. Winner of Royal Horticultural Societies ‘Award of Garden Merit’ (AGM) at the 2002 Wisley outdoor trials, 154 years later.

The earliest known book devoted to Canna is “Le Canna” by M. Chaté and Sons, 1866, which provides us with the correct spelling of this cultivars name.

Groups

Aquatic Group

The Aquatic Group contains cultivars that thrive as marginal water plants. Characteristically, they will have lance-shaped foliage and long, thin rhizomes, which help provide anchorage in a moving environment. Having been derived from Canna glauca or Canna flaccida, they will have inherited their lance-shaped foliage and long, thin rhizomes.

A side-effect of the long, thin rhizomes is that they are not able to store large amounts of starch, and cannot tolerate the horticultural ‘trick’ of stopping rhizome growth over the winter months, so that rhizomes can be stored away from the destructive cold and frost. Instead, Aquatic Group cultivars must be kept growing over the cold winter months, although they will tolerate a low-level of watering during that period.

Canna ‘Erebus’

The first cultivars bred specifically for their aquatic abilities were introduced by Dr Richard Armstrong, firstly in his role as geneticist at Longwood Gardens and later in a private capacity when he retired to Hawaii.

 

 

Canna ‘Severn’

The Longwood aquatic cannas were bred for large ponds and lakes, but look out of scale with normal garden small ponds, and so the River Series of aquatic cannas was bred specifically to fill that gap, all being under 1 metre in height.

 

See also: Canna Cultivar Groups

Cultivar

Butterfly Kisses

Canna ‘Butterfly Kisses’
(Aquatic Group)

ORIGIN Alice HARRIS
HEIGHT Medium, 1-2 metres
FOLIAGE Dark green
FLOWER Yellow

Canna ‘Butterfly Kisses’ is a medium sized aquatic cultivar, equally at home as a water marginal or in the border; dark green foliage, lanceolate shaped, white margin; panicles of flowers are reflexed, self-coloured yellow, throat pale-purple, staminodes are small, blooms open in the early morning; fertility unknown.

Canna 'Butterfly Kisses'
References
Karchesky and Harris 2006
Special canna with delicate ethereal 1 3/4″ wide open recurved trumpet flowers. Rich pale cantelope to pale mauve colours at the centers. Blooms held high above deep green leaves with white margins. Hummingbird attractive flowers. Can be grown in ground or aquatically. Medium height.
Uncategorised

Freckle Face

Canna ‘Freckle Face’

(Aquatic Group)

Origin Longwood Gardens
Height Medium
Foliage Green
Form Upright
Flower Pink
Blooming Early bloomer
Tillering Average

Canna ‘Freckle Face’ is a medium sized aquatic cultivar, equally at home as a water marginal or in the border; green foliage, lanceolate shaped, upright habit; clusters of flowers are open, peach with cerise spots, staminodes are narrow, edges regular, petals green, fully self-cleaning, early bloomer, blooms open in the early morning; fertile both ways, not self-pollinating or true to type, capsules globose; rhizomes are long and thin, coloured white and pink; tillering is average.

Canna 'Freckle Face'
Canna 'Freckle Face'
Canna 'Freckle Face'
Photographs courtesy of Longwood Gardens
References
Oregon Aquatics, 2020
Beautiful orange flowers with red flecks adorn this four foot, self cleaning canna. Great for containers, in beds or as a border. Full sun, to part shade. Does best in well draining, loose soil mix.
Longwood Gardens, 2020
No description, just images.