Canna ‘Louis Cottin’ is a small Premier Group cultivar; dark foliage, elliptical shaped, maroon margin, branching habit; oval main stems, coloured green + purple; flowers are open, yellow-orange and apricot, staminodes are medium size, edges irregular, petals purple with farina, fully self-cleaning, outstanding bloomer, blooms open in the early morning; fertile both ways, not self-pollinating or true to type, capsules globose; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured pink; tillering is prolific.
Named for Louis Emile Cottin who was raised at Compiegne in a working class family, becoming a carpenter-cabinet maker. He starting reading Zola and became interested in libertarian ideas.
Cottin was a working class hero and idealist who attempted to assassinate the French president and later fought in the Durruti Column in the Spanish Civil War. Nicknamed Milou, he was born 14 March 1896 in Creil, France, died 8 September 1937 in Farlete, Spain.
The flower colour is not so much yellow as “burnt copper”. The flowers are of perfect shape, quite stiff, and look like they are carved in alabaster. Bronze foliage. Shortish, up to 1·2m
Ian Cooke, The Gardeners Guide to Growing Cannas
(S) Rounded, substantial, trumpet-shaped flowers in burnt copper. Keith Hayward describes them as ‘carved in alabaster’. It has sultry dark foliage. This cultivar seems to remain dwarf under almost any conditions.
Rivendell Botanic Garden, List January 2001
Soft orange flowers fading to pink; reddish blue-green leaves. Short.
Brent & Becky’s Bulbs, Summer 2002, Internet
A variable plant and one of Brent’s favourites; flowers are sometimes yellow, sometimes peach, both with apricot hearts and always lovely; its green leaves appear to be very dark and are often decorated with stripes and veins; 2½ to 3½ ft. tall. 5 for $8, 25 for $30
French Grown Stock
0.8m. Dark foliage. Orange flowers.
KAVB International Canna Checklist, September 2004
Flowers copper-coloured, tinted orange, leaves brown, height up to 80 cm.
Summary: One of our favourite Canna. A small plant with the most perfect of flowers. Large trumpet-shaped, copper-yellow flowers (13B) from early June right through until the frosts. Finally, the attractive dark foliage, often decorated with dark stripes and veins, completes the picture.
Size: Small, with good tillering capability.
Flower: Large trumpet-shaped, copper-yellow (13B) flowers from early June right through until the frosts.
Foliage: Deep dark foliage, often decorated with dark stripes and veins.
A DISCUSSION ON ALL MATTERS RELATING TO THE CANNACEAE FAMILY; OF INTEREST TO GARDENERS, COLLECTORS, AND PROFESSIONALS ALIKE.
