Canna Lily 'Tropical Rose'

Canna Lily Rust Fungus (Puccinia thaliae)
Warning
Cheap or discounted plants from big box stores sometimes come with a pric...Read Moree. All plant lovers when we walk in the plant nursery the first place we look for is the clearance rack. After all who does not like to pay 50% less than the regular price on that plant you've been after.
I've done that for years. But lately I bought a Canna Lily. Planted it next to my other Cannas and I notice that the new Cannas were suffering with stunted growth. Add to that some yellow/orange rust on its leafs.
Three to four weeks later my healthy Canna were all infected with what later I was able to ID as Puccinia thaliae.
Long story short the best way to irradicate the Canna Rust was cutting one by one each infected leaf and picking up the dry leaf from the floor also.
I've learned my lesson. Please be careful.

Started the cannas in February 2013 from seed I purchased. Indoors, under lights and with a heat mat after I scored the seed and soaked f...Read Moreor 48 hours in warm water. They germinated in about a week. I had ten seeds and nine germinated. With the warm conditions, between 80 & 85 degrees, they grew quickly. I think these should be started in at least a four-inch pot each.

I planted the majority of these into pots on my deck and a few into the ground when they reached about five inches tall. The ones in pots grew to about three feet, blooming first when they reached about two feet (seed packet said they bloom three months from sowing). The cannas in the ground grew a little slower and didn't reach quite as tall. I think it may have been because of our clay soil here in NC. They bloomed all summer.

I am very pleased with these cannas and this year I will be growing the seed I collected from them. I purchased the Tropical yellow seed and will be growing this also. I had no problems with pests, may have just been lucky. This was my first time growing any canna.

Now I'm waiting to see if they all come back up this year after our unusually cold winter weather.

'Tropical Rose' is an AAS Winner--one of the first cannas from seed!

My best canna. First canna to bloom, blooms continuously, last canna still in bloom - and it has by far the largest flower head. Contro...Read Morel leaf rollers with granular systemic insecticide.