Cannes belong to the multi-type canna family. Their genus includes more than fifty species. In nature, they can be found in countries such as India, South and Central America, as well as China. In European countries, these flowers appeared in the sixteenth century. They were brought here by Portuguese sailors. Growing cannas in the garden will provide you not only with beautiful, vibrant flowers, but also with large decorative leaves, which are appreciated by flower growers. In this article, we will consider all the features of this plant and the rules for caring for it.
General characteristics
Before you start growing a canna flower, you need to know its main characteristics. This plant has an original appearance: its leaves resemble a banana, and inflorescences can be easily confused with an orchid or gladiolus. It has practically no drawbacks, however, when bred in our latitudes, the flower has absolutely no aroma, and it also does not tolerate our winter well.open ground. But the advantages will have to be listed for quite some time.
First of all, this is, of course, the beautiful appearance of the plant. Not only bright inflorescences stand out, but also wide green leaves. Canna will be an adornment of any garden, and its flowering will delight you from the beginning to June and until the first frost. Many flower growers are accustomed to the fact that such beautiful plants are very whimsical, but such a stereotype is completely inapplicable in relation to the canna. She is not afraid of drought at all and does not require any special care.
The plant has a fibrous root system that grows very rapidly. The flowering stem can reach three meters in height. Beautiful and large leaves have an elliptical shape, slightly pointed at the end. They can reach eighty centimeters in length and thirty - in width. Especially appreciated in flower shops and are used to create beautiful flower arrangements. The flowers are asymmetrical and initially were only red, but the breeders did not sit still, and now you can admire the inflorescences with a variety of shades and sometimes not even monotonous. And after the end of flowering, you can find a three-celled box on the stem, which is both a fruit and a seed.
Variety of varieties
- Indian canna. This is the first canna that appeared in our gardens. Now it is called the garden. As a result of many years of work of breeders, many different subspecies of this variety have appeared, which we will discuss later.
- Cannes Crozi. This is perhaps the shortest variety, the maximum height of which is no more than one and a half meters. During flowering, some confuse it with gladiolus, and indeed, apart from wide leaves, there is no particular difference between plants. This species was bred back in 1868 by a French breeder, and this variety now bears his name.
- Orchid cannes. This variety is tall. The corrugated edges of large flowers resemble orchids in color and it is not difficult to guess where this name came from.
- Deciduous cannes. These are the tallest plants with very beautiful green or purple leaves, but they have rather small flowers. Flower growers rarely breed this variety.
Seed propagation
In this section, we will try to figure out whether it is possible to grow cannes from seeds, and how effective this method is. In general, gardeners do not really like to breed cannes in the seed way, since it is not always possible to find boxes with seeds on a plant, and they do not always retain varietal characteristics. Inexperienced flower growers choose a method such as dividing the rhizome. However, for those who are fond of breeding, the seed method of reproduction may seem very interesting.
The seeds of this plant are distinguished by a very hard shell, which must be softened before planting in the ground, otherwise you can not count on seedlings. To do this, you need to scald the prepared seeds with boiling water and leave them in this water for several hours, placing them in a thermos. But if you havethere is no thermos or time, you can just put them on a hot battery for twelve hours. But you can soften the shell not only with the help of high temperatures, but also by placing the seeds for a couple of hours in the freezer.
Planting seeds in the ground takes place in February, at an air temperature of at least 23 degrees. Try to keep the room dark. The first shoots can be observed after 3-4 weeks. When four leaves appear on them, you can safely dive and sit in different pots. Now the air temperature in the room should not exceed sixteen degrees. In such conditions, cannes (flowers) remain before growing in open ground. Some seedlings will be able to please you with their flowering this year, but many still will not do it until next summer.
A more reliable way to breed cannes is the division of the rhizome. This process is best done at the very beginning of March. Large tubers should be divided into several parts so that each piece has one large kidney or several small ones. Places of gaps should be sprinkled with crushed coal and left for a while to dry. All pieces of tubers should be put, pressed tightly against each other, in a special greenhouse container, directly on the ground or sand, and then lightly sprinkled with sand and sprayed with warm water from time to time. Be careful to keep the kidney horizontal. Until you notice the first shoots, the air temperature in the room should not fall below twenty-four degrees. Well iffrom below the container will be heated.
When you notice that the seedlings have become crowded in the container, they need to be planted in different pots. Now for cannes, the growing conditions must change, or rather, the air temperature must be lowered to sixteen degrees. In order for the seedlings to get stronger sooner, once a decade they need to be watered with a solution of potassium permanganate. To prepare it, you will need 10 liters of water and two grams of manganese. You can bypass the period of keeping tubers at home and go straight to growing cannes in the garden. But in this case, it is unlikely to bloom this year.
When to plant cannes (flowers)
Growing outdoors starts with soil preparation. You can start this process as soon as the night frosts stop. Responsibly treat the choice of a place for a plant. Further flowering depends on this. Canna should grow in a place where there are no drafts, fertile and warm soil, as well as enough sunlight. The composition of the soil should include:
- leaf land;
- humus;
- peat;
- coarse sand.
All these components must be contained in equal parts. And remember to provide good drainage. But it is better not to start planting seedlings before the ninth of May. This is due to the fact that in spring the air temperature changes quite often. And from the heat of the day in the evening there may be nothing left. Such drops can have a very detrimental effect on the plant and slow down not only its growth, but also flowering. cultivationoutdoor cannes can be very difficult.
Disembarkation process
We have already decided on the disembarkation period, now we need to study the disembarkation process. Prepare the landing hole in advance. Its diameter should be 50 centimeters. The bottom must be covered with a layer of manure of at least 20 centimeters. This is necessary so that the roots of the plant are always warm even during severe winter frosts. But do not forget to sprinkle the manure with a layer of earth so that the roots do not "burn out". Planting of seedlings can be started only after preliminary moistening of the laid out layers of manure and soil. The rhizome is lowered into the hole and sprinkled with earth. If you decide to plant unsprouted tubers, then do not deepen them by more than nine centimeters. The distance from flower to flower and from row to row should be at least half a meter. From the moment of planting to the first inflorescences, no more than two months pass under optimal conditions for the development of the plant.
Garden Care
Growing conditions for cannes do not have any special features, however, every gardener should remember some rules. First of all, the plant needs top dressing during the growing season. You can carry out this procedure two or three times. To do this, you will need mineral fertilizer granules, which can be bought at a special store. They are simply sprinkled in the root zone, and then the soil is well loosened. And you can also prepare a mixture of fertilizers, which will positively affect the flowering process and the development of the whole plant. For this onesquare meter of land you will need a mixture, which includes:
- ten grams of potash;
- 12 grams of nitrogen;
- twenty-five grams of phosphorus.
All other aspects that relate to cannes, care and cultivation for her, do not have any features. Water regularly, but not too often. With the appearance of the first shoots and the beginning of flowering, moisture should be more frequent, but try not to flood the plant, as too much moisture can lead to the development of various diseases. And fungal and infectious diseases lead to blackening and even death of the buds. Among insects, caterpillars of butterflies are especially dangerous, which damage leaves, as well as nematodes, which are especially detrimental to the root system. Insecticides are most effective in controlling these pests.
After flowering is complete, faded buds must be removed. During the growing season, make sure that various weeds do not appear in the root zone, and if they are, be sure to remove them. When flowering is fully completed and nature begins to prepare for winter, the cannes need to be spudded, and quite high, to protect the root collars from freezing. At the beginning of the article, we talked about the fact that this plant is afraid of severe frost.
Growing cannes at home
Cannes can be found not only in a beautiful garden, but also on the grower's windowsill. But not every variety can fit on your window or balcony, so you need toexercise special vigilance. Canna home, which is grown in the winter garden or on the terrace, blooms almost all year round. She only needs two months to rest a bit. You can immediately plant a canna in a pot and place it on your windowsill, or you can transplant it from the garden in late autumn to extend the summer in your apartment. But remember that when transplanting a garden plant, you need to prepare a pot in advance, the diameter of which should not be less than fifty centimeters. And a particularly important point is that you need to treat the soil from the garden with insecticides in advance. This will be a prevention against insects, which, together with the plant, can enter your house and hit all home flowers.
Apartment care
Eland care at home is much easier than in the garden, although even there the process is not too tiring. It is enough just to put a flower pot in a place that is well lit, and also water it on time. Periodically you need to wipe the leaves with a damp cloth. Do not forget to prepare water for irrigation in advance so that it has time to settle. You don't have to take any other action. At home, even after flowering stops, the leaves of the plant remain as beautiful and bright.
After flowering
Home canna fades and needs rest during this period. The task of the owner is to gradually reduce the watering of the plant, and then completely stop. After that, the leaves must be cut at a height of ten centimeters from the base. A pot with a prepared plant should be placed in a dark, cool place where the air temperature should not be below ten degrees. With the onset of spring, the rhizome is taken out of the pot and divided for the purpose of reproduction. You can plant the received delenki in other pots or take them out to the garden to plant flowers on the street.
As for growing canna flowers in the garden, they also need to be watered as little as possible after flowering is over, and then spud, as described earlier in the article. With the onset of the first frosts, the rhizome, together with the earthy clod, is taken out of the ground, and the stems are cut off by twenty centimeters.
Winter period
In the middle of autumn, dug out cannes, together with a clod of earth, are transferred to the place where they will "wait out" the winter. To do this, it is better to choose a room where there will be diffused light, cool and moderately humid air. Rhizomes are placed in special containers and sprinkled with a special mixture of peat, earth with sawdust and coniferous needles, as well as sand. This substrate must have a temperature of at least eight degrees. But do not forget that you have canna stored somewhere. Conduct regular inspections of the rhizomes, as rot can form on them. If such a problem is found, it is necessary to cut off the affected area, and treat the place with a solution of iodine. In addition, under constant control should be the level of humidity and temperature. Drops can be detrimental to rhizomes.
In cases where there is no storage space, you can do thisin the fridge. The tubers need to be dug up, washed, dried and wrapped in paper each separately. But also do not forget to monitor the appearance of rot and get rid of it in time.
