Canna

Big showy tropical plants with broad leaves and tall flowering spikes, the Canna Lily is a must-have for that exotic look in any summer garden!

Tall yet space-saving, dramatic yet easy-care, these are your go-to spring-planted ornamentals for container and landscape color!

Quick Facts About Canna Lily

• Native to the American tropics
• In the Ginger Family - Not true Lilies
• Can grow 6 feet tall and more - Many dwarf forms available!
• Grow from bulb-like structures called rhizomes

The big petals and full flowers open on tall stems with multiple other buds, giving you a very long bloom season. The saturated color doesn’t fade in the sun and the flowers bring in bees, butterflies, and many hummingbirds galore!

The pointed strappy paddle-like leaves are upright and frame the vertical stems to create a full yet slender clump that is showy and space-saving!

Showing color from late spring or early summer until late summer to fall, Canna are brilliant ornamentals that are nearly plant-them-and-forget-them easy!

How To Use Canna Lily In Your Garden

Canna not only attract hummingbirds and pollinators, but provide long-lasting, gorgeous flowers in reds, pinks, yellows or oranges all summer long with many combinations.

• The broad leaves add privacy and screening plus coarse texture and color to your garden.
• A single clump of Canna looks fantastic in the center of a mixed planter as a thriller
• Raised beds full of Canna as the main feature around your poolside seating and outdoor lounge chairs
• These plants offer a very dramatic and magnificent effect, especially when planted in masses, as backdrops to a summer garden border, along that skinny pathway in the sun, or along your home's sundrenched foundation.
• Some types of Cannas grow from 4 to 6 feet tall! This gives you fantastic seasonal privacy options and annual accents to tuck into existing garden beds since they only spread about 2-3 feet wide at maturity! Adding bold pops of color and height for the summer and fall months.
• If you want to add a bold, tropical look to your garden, mix with other topicals or sun-garden plants, perennials, and shrubs for an exotic display!

Which Canna Lily Is Right For You?

Canna are spring-planted rhizomes that can be used as seasonal accents, and annual ornamentals in all Planting Zone.

1. Warm growing zones of 8 and up can keep Canna in the ground all year round.
2. Narrow down by bloom color.
3. Choose the best height Canna for your needs.

Caring For Canna Lily

Get your new Canna Lily set for a summer of color with these simple tips, planting advice in our #ProPlantTips, and with Nature Hills Root Booster!

• Plant in full sun (some afternoon shade in the hottest growing zones)
• These plants need high fertility and do best in well-drained soil.
• Provide a 3-4 inch deep layer of mulch over the root system
• Fertilize regularly all growing season
• Prune off tattered leaves for a cleaner plant
• Remove spent blooms to encourage a rebloom (deadheading)
• Water new plants regularly using the Finger Test to help them get established

How do you plant Canna Lilies?

Canna rhizomes need warmth, so plant your bareroot plants or container plants after the threat of frost has passed and your ground has fully thawed.

Dig holes 4 to 6 inches deep about 2 feet apart for larger varieties or 1 foot apart for the dwarf forms. Place the rhizomes with the eyes facing up. Water them in very well and tamp down the soil around the roots to remove air pockets.

Cover with a few inches of bark chips or mulch.

How To Lift Canna Lilies In The Fall

Canna grow from tender rhizomes and must be lifted before a hard frost (ground freezes). If you live in a frost-free growing zone between 8 to 11, there is usually no need to lift your Canna roots except to divide larger clumps and transplant them around your property.

• Once Canna begins to show signs of going dormant by turning yellow, reduce watering to further help them completely go dormant.
• Gently dig up by gently lifting from beneath the entire plant.
• Trim off dead stems and leaves back to about 2 inches from the rhizomes.
• Shake off excess soil and rinse off remaining soil then air dry your freshly dug and washed rhizomes in a warm area with good air circulation for up to a week or so.
• Wrap rhizomes/clumps individually in newspapers or small paper bags. Include a small amount of dry, sterile growing medium, such as peat moss or vermiculite.
• Store in a root cellar, cool (but not cold/freezing) shed, garage, basement or attic for the winter. Any cool dark place that doesn’t dip below 40°F. =
• Every few weeks, check on your rhizomes and change out damp wrapping material, trim off or remove rotting rhizomes, and treat any mold, mildew or fungal growth. Prevent this by ensuring all packing material and your rhizomes are dry before going into storage.

Why Order Canna Lily From NatureHills.com?

Family-owned and operated since 2001, Nature Hills Nursery prides itself on meeting the needs of customers with an ever-growing collection of online plants backed by our product guarantee and protected by Plant Sentry™.

All of our bareroot Canna Lily are delivered safely to your home with instructions for planting, care and maintenance, so you can order knowing you'll have exactly what you need! Plus plenty more information in our #ProPlantTips Garden Blog for extra support and inspiration!