Seeing once this tropical perennial, every florist will want to move him to his garden. No wonder that cannes attract eye with motley leaves and bright lush flowers. Against the background of other plants, they seem to be giants, because in favorable conditions they stretch up to two and a half meters. Yes, and in the care are not picky. Their only whim - intolerance of cold. What is the love and the role played by cannes in landscape design, try to figure it out.
Canna flower
Where there is such an exotic, there is always the effect of a color show. It is created thanks to the colorful spectrum of wax-coated leaves: from emerald green to bluish burgundy and bronze, as well as luxurious blood-red, yellow, orange inflorescences. The plant is unpretentious, easily endures drought, blooms from late June to the first frost, rarely ill. Another advantage - the widely branched cannes rhizome accumulates stocks of nutrients.
Did you know? The ancient Indians in search of vitamins ate canne shoots saturated with starch, and their succulent tops regularly fed cattle.
The homeland of culture is the tropics and subtropics of America, the Caribbean islands, India and China. Straight tall stems, ellipsoid leaves 80 cm long and 30 cm wide, asymmetrical large flowers of the plant appealed to Portuguese sailors, who brought it to Europe in the 15th century.
If you look closely, you can find a similarity with a banana, iris, gladiolus and even orchid in the flower. Canna is not a hybrid, and belongs to a single genus that accounts for about fifty species. 
Tropical guest has few disadvantages: lack of aroma during flowering and poor frost resistance. But such small nuances are not a barrier to acquire a unique culture.
Choosing a landing site for cannes
Having procured the desired sprout, gardeners are immediately puzzled: where and how to plant cannes. But everything is simple. When choosing a landing site, it is enough to take into account the peculiarities of the tropical climate and the poor cold resistance of the plant. He will be comfortable in an open, sunny area. A tall varieties (shoots up to 90 cm are considered undersized) need protection from winds and drafts - strong gusts can break the succulent stems. For such instances in the future, you may need garden supports. At home, these herbaceous perennials have chosen the raw glades along the fields and reservoirs. In our latitudes, they are well lit and loosened places. In the shade, they too will take root, but they are unlikely to delight in flowers.
Soil requirements
Gangnam, as the plants are not picky, special conditions are not needed. Rapid growth and flowering will provide them with a moist, saturated drainage and organic, loose soil. But if this is not found, the seedling will take root in any permeable soil. Experienced gardeners, taking care of the culture, stimulate its growth. We managed to collect the most useful tips:
before planting on deeply dug up beds, humus should be added (approximately 4–5 kg per square meter);- from equal parts of coarse sand, leaf soil and peat to make a special mixture for the culture;
- loosen the ground to 40 cm and mix with a layer of compost about 7 cm. To retain moisture after planting, it is necessary to mulch;
- alternatively, a “hot pillow” can be prepared for the roots: over 15 cm of manure is poured into the bottom of a 70-centimeter depression, and generously sprinkled on top of it.
before planting on deeply dug up beds, humus should be added (approximately 4–5 kg per square meter);Did you know? As legend has it, canna grew up on a campfire site, where the Indian leader gave a fire to the peace treaty, unleashing military bloodshed.
Planting canna
In order not to lose time with the time when you can plant flowers in open ground, do not rush. If the culture survives a sharp temperature drop, it will sit down for a long time in growth and delay the budding, and in the worst case, the inflorescences will not appear at all. And for a weakened escape, it is fraught with sensitivity to various diseases. Some flower growers consider the second half of May an ideal period. But in fact, decide all weather conditions. Planting cannes occurs in the spring after the completion of frosts in the prepared flowerbeds. It is believed that this perennial should be planted overnight with cucumbers, because they have many common requirements.
Sprouted bulbs dipped to a depth of 10 - 15 cm, and those that did not have time to take roots, planted no deeper than 9 cm. The distance between the specimens determine the characteristics of varieties. For stunted species, a 40 x 40 cm or 40 x 60 cm scheme is often used, and for a tall one - 70 x 70 cm. As an exception, the density of 30 x 30 cm is allowed in small areas. The technology that determines how to plant cannes correctly depends on the method their reproduction. To this topic, we will return.
How to properly care for cannes in the open field
For growth and timely flowering culture requires certain conditions: heat, regular watering, loosening the soil and weeding. If all this is ensured, in one and a half - two months after planting the first inflorescences will appear. Unfortunately, they are short-lived. The abundance of flowers activates the tearing off of faded buds on the peduncle.
How to water cannes
From the moment of planting to flowering, the bush should be moderately watered. Young saplings appropriate for the first ten days after planting in open ground watering with a solution of potassium permanganate.
Avoid excess moisture. For this purpose, when the canna flower is planted, they monitor a sufficient amount of drainage in the substrate and loosen it in time. In a raw environment, various fungi are actively developing, which can harm cannas. Infected stems are cut without sparing. The plant will develop poorly in dry soil. Grassy perennial evaporates moisture, releasing dew on the leaves.
Did you know? People have noticed: when canna leaves "cry", it is worth preparing for the rain.
During flowering, watering increase, and with the arrival of cold, in autumn, reduced. When cannes fade away, stop completely. Water for irrigation should be warm. It is better to collect in advance in a bucket and let it settle.
Fertilizer and dressing cann
Cannes in planting and care in the open field are not at all troublesome. They need additional feeding during the growing season no more than three times. It is better to carry out immediately after planting, with the ovary of inflorescences and during flowering. To do this, mix nitrogen, potash, phosphate fertilizers in the ratio of 12:10:25 g and scatter them around the bush after rain or watering. So that the granules are well dissolved, the soil is loosened. The first dressing can be done only with nitrogen-containing fertilizers, and the subsequent - phosphate-potassium fertilizers, or each time to reduce the amount of nitrogen. For the flower will be useful to alternate between mineral and organic fertilizers. As organics diluted with water chicken droppings, domestic animal dung.
Wintering cannes
Starting work with cannes for cleaning and storage for the winter should be in early autumn. When it gets cold, the flower is carefully rolled up to protect it from freezing.
Important! If time does not spud the plant, in winter the rhizome can be affected by rot.
Autumn frosts for a thermophilic tropical guest are deadly. Her leaves immediately turn black and become lifeless. The stems are cut at a level of 20 - 25 cm from the ground, and a tuber with roots is carefully dug out.
Knowing how to care for cannes in the winter, you will be able to keep its rhizomes whole until spring. Important conditions in which they will wait for heat. For this florists advise several alternative options:
- place the dug roots in a plastic bag and spray the water as the soil dries;
- place the earthen tubers, not allowing them to touch, in a box with peat moss (can be replaced with peat or perlite);
- sprinkle the roots in the box with wet sand or sawdust (conifers will not work).
Some flower growers, in the absence of cellars, store cannes until spring on the balcony. In the autumn, after digging up the rhizome, carefully removing it from the ground, you can rinse it in a solution of potassium permanganate, dry it thoroughly and store it, wrapping each in a separate piece of paper, in the refrigerator. Others, to avoid messing with the roots, planted them in a pot and kept in the apartment.
Breeding cannes
To propagate the culture in two ways: grow seeds or divide the rhizome.
Seed method
It is rarely used, because the process is time consuming and time consuming. Before planting canna seeds, to soften the hard shell, they are treated with boiling water and kept warm for more than five hours. Also, the shell breaks under the influence of cold. In this case, the grain is placed in the refrigerator for an hour or two. After the procedure can be planted. The best period is February. Prepared seeds are buried in fluffy and warm (up to 23 ° C) ground. When breeding cannons in this way, the first shoots will appear no earlier than three weeks. All this time the box with the “bed” should stand in the penumbra. The box on top can be covered with glass or film, creating the effect of a greenhouse. When 3 - 4 leaves appear on young shoots, they are planted in separate containers and kept at a temperature of 15 ° C. In the second half of May, seedlings can be relocated to open ground. The disadvantage of this method is the poor saving of varietal characteristics.
Important! Not all varieties of cann produce seeds.
Root division method
This method is simple and convenient. In the spring, making sure that there is no rot on the rhizomes of cannas, they can be divided for reproduction. For this choose powerful tubers.
Cut them with a sharp knife, leaving one growth point on each cut piece. The edges of the sections are treated with wood ash or a solution of potassium permanganate (0.2 g per 1 l of water). For reliability, delenki placed in pots with warm sand, watered and put in the room. It is very good to use for this purpose transparent plastic boxes with lids. In them the first roots seem faster. Gangnam blooming will provide greenhouse cultivation of young shoots. Before the appearance of foliage on them, it is not necessary to hurry with the planting of the culture in open ground. 
This method is used by most gardeners, replenishing their beds with new shoots every three years. If you have wintered a flower in a pot, shake out its roots before dividing it and leave it to lie for a day.
Diseases and pests
Canna leaves can occasionally lose their decorative effect through the fault of caterpillars, slugs, spider mites, and snails. In the fight against them, insecticides have proven themselves well.
Various fungi, bacteria, viruses, affecting the bushes, make themselves felt pronounced rust, yellow or black spots. The hazards are all parts of the plant. Damaged leaves and buds tear off and burn, saving the neighboring bushes. To prevent their misfortune, they are poured over with manganese solution. Rust is treated with fungicidal sprays. They can also be used for prophylactic purposes. The cause of the disease lies in the excess moisture.
The roots of a tropical guest love to eat nematodes. Overheated specimens are thrown away. And the soil around is treated for prophylaxis with special means that are on sale in a wide range.
Canna in landscape design
This flower perfectly gets on a bed with other cultures. Moreover, combined with them allows you to create great contrasts. In a flowerbed cannes look with almost all plants. The main thing is to take into account the characteristics of growth and care when disembarking.
In landscape design, tall perennials are used as a hedge, framed by garden paths, or create contrast against the background of green lawns. In the flower garden eland will not be superfluous anywhere. With its decorativeness, designers often mask some unattractive places in the garden. Very effectively cannes look near the pond, by the way, such conditions are close to those in which their ancestors grew.
