Canna Burgundy Leaves with Red Flowers

Canna x generalis

Characteristics

Culture

A favorite for over a century, Canna Burgundy Leaves with Red Flowers produces a profusion of immense, rich deep reddish-orange flowers.  Sitting on erect, branching stalks, the brilliant blossoms contrast nicely with the lush foliage of large, lance-shaped, burgundy leaves.  Blooming from summer to fall, this canna provides a cheerful touch of the tropics in the garden or patio.  Canna lilies are warm weather lovers!  While tolerant of partial shade, they thrive in the sun! Winter Hardy in warmer zones, be sure to plant once soil and nighttime temperatures are consistently warm.  In climates that are warm year round, cannas can remain in the ground and given a dose of fertilizer in the spring to start the growing process over again. Frost will kill them during the cooler months, but if you mulch with straw, old leaves or other organic matter in the fall, your cannas should come back with vibrant new foliage and flowers the following spring.  Deadhead throughout the growing season to prolong flowering.

Noteworthy Characteristics

Although not a true lily, the Canna lily comes in a rainbow of colors and can add dramatic emphasis to your garden. With a huge selection of flower and leaf colors, there is sure to be a canna that will add pizzazz to your garden. While the flowers of some varieties of cannas are the show, in others it’s the huge, tropical-looking foliage, and in many modern varieties, it is both.  Boldly and brazenly patterned, these big redish-orange flowers are offset by burgundy leaves.

Problems

Cannas are largely free of pest, but the canna Leaf Roller can damage leaves.

Garden Uses

Canna lilies look best when massed along walls or hedges.  Well suited for container growing