PlantFiles: Canna Lily, Indian Shot
Canna indica 'Red Stripe'

This has been one of the hardiest and most spectacular of my Cannas as far as foliage. Mine makes small red flowers followed by seed pods bearing typical "indian shot" seed. Mine has topped out at a little over 6 ft. in full sun in a place that doesn't receive much water, but the ground does retain more moisture in that area. The stalks are very sturdy, but can get a bit heavy sometimes and may need occasional staking against high wind. It's one of my absolute favorites.

for years, after a heavy rain, I would have little shoots of something pop up in the back of my yard, then die back again. Looked like a garden plant rather than a weed and finally last year, after heavy rain when they again sprouted, I transplanted to a part-shade area that gets regular water to see if they'd grow and if they were something I'd like. They immediately shot up and within a couple of months flowered. After flowering, swollen, warty 1" fruits develope with black globous seeds. Took me a while to identify (the few canna I'd seen have big frilly flowers and the petals on these are very slender). This plant is from S.Amer. flowers are bright yellow or red. Mine is bright yellow with some red splatters(more like vertical dashes). 7 mos after transpalnt they are 4'-5' high and spread rapidly by sending new shoots up from underground.Here in hawaii the seeds are used in leis and rattles.