The dwarf canna is a canna cultivar that grows to about 2-3 feet tall. It comes in a variety of colors. The seeds will produce plants that have a variety of flower colors, including red, orange yellow and pink. Cannas are among the most colorful summer bulbs—as flamboyant as their tropical American ancestry—with ruffled spikes tapering to refined buds. The gorgeous cannas boast immense, often-veined, paddle-shaped leaves and sheathing leafstalks in shades of green or bronze—and flashy blooms that stand tall on their stems. With their great reedy canes and palmy foliage, cannas would be magnificent even if they never bloomed. However, they keep pumping out colorful flowers from late spring or early summer to frost. When most flowers can’t take the heat of late July and early August, cannas thrive. Their flowers come in many bright colors—red, orange, yellow, and pink—and their foliage also offers options—green, bronze, and variegated.
Plant cannas as a tall border; they are even perfect for narrow spaces. The plant looks fantastic when backlit by a setting sun. Or, make cannas the focus and hero of large patio pots filled with super bright annuals. Liven up plantings near water features or boggy areas where these cannas will happily thrive. You can even grow them in large containers indoors near brightly lit windows. Mix cannas with grasses, lantana, zinnias, snapdragons, elephant ears, salvia, periwinkles and more. Cannas are planted both as eye catching focal points and as small, unsuspecting accents. Not only are cannas colorful but their contrasting foliage can create some interest in the garden. Zones 7-11.
Growing Instructions
The seeds have a hard seed coat that has to be treated, or scarified, in order for water to enter the seeds so that they can sprout. The seeds can be planted outdoors at any time of the year or they can be grown in containers and then transplanted when they are large enough to be transplanted.
- Scarify the seeds by filing a notch in the seed coat or use sandpaper to sand part of it down.
- Soak the seeds in water for 48 hours.
- Plant the seeds individually or in group of 4-5 in a small pot with potting soil.
- When the seedlings are over 6 inches tall, they can be transplanted into larger pots or they can be transplanted outdoors.