PlantFiles: Canna Lily
Canna x generalis 'Tropicanna'

This variety has been adored for decades all over the world. It was not developed by Tesselaar, but merely patented by them and given a new trademarked name. The only difference is the higher price for Tesselaar's.

I have a canna which blooms red and yellow. A friend's husband got it to me about 6 years ago. I have split it and planted in different areas in my yard. Also shared with family and friends. It is beautiful and blooms all summer until frost .

It's beautiful and easy to grow. One of the best Cannas. It is perennial in my area (zone 6b/7a) WITHOUT digging the bulbs up, but only if planted up next to the house where the ground stays a little warmer then usual. It never sets seeds, but is easily divided.

Cannas are susceptible to the Canna Leafroller or the Brazilian Skipper butterfly. The larva can do extensive damage by rolling up the leaves and feeding on them.
Other than this drawback, I love the Tropicanna.

I love my cannas but something has eaten all the leaves. Help! What is it and what can I do to stop it?

I purchased my Tropicanna from a store in Portland last summer. I was uncertain about planting them outside, so they are still potted. I kept the pot outside on my covered front patio so they got partial sun - but I had to water every day. They grew like crazy all summer long and were just gorgeous! So far it has been my favorite tropical plant. It was also a lot of fun to bring them inside for a tropical touch when I had guests. I'm not a big fan of the color orange. However, the flowers are simply BEAUTIFUL - a bright show of orange against the large leaves of the plant that are filled with various multi-color stripes of red, purple and green. It is just amazing - I can't say enough! The blooms are long lasting but when they died, I did cut them off the plant. During winter, I brought them inside when the temprature in our area dropped to below 40 degrees. Initially they had a hard time adjusting even though I had placed them by some large windows in our house. However, the plant did amazingly well considering the lack of sunshine all winter. Recently, I did have to cut back the original plants which were dying - but already there are lots of new shoots emerging. Since I purchased them, I have seen lots of cannas in my area that are being grown outside. So this summer, I think I am going to try to transplant one of them and see how it goes. I am so excited to enjoy them all over again this summer!

Beautiful easy to grow plant! I picked it up at a local discount garden center (yes, the real Tropicanna) & dropped it in my garden. It was in an irrigated zone, so it received a decent amount of water. It grew to about 5 feet in year one and bloomed like crazy. In the late fall, I chopped it right down, threw some of the leaves on top of it for mulch, some soil,, and let it sit. I looked today, and it's coming back up. Amazing, but I think it may take over the garden. I will have to divide and give to some friends.
Update, August 06, this thing grows in BC very well, and I never took it in.

One of my top five favorite cannas. Medium height, foliage has scrumptious, almost surrealistic multi-coloration.

This one is beautiful to me, it's held up well over this past summer's drought, even when neglected somewhat. Dust and dirt really show on the foliage though.

Many thanks to SoCal (Donna), I now have this beautiful plant. This cultivar is BREATHTAKING. Truly the backbone of my small tropical corner.

I received Donna's gift late June 2005, and by the end of summer, I was able to give away two more divisions. One for my mom in San Diego, and another for my godmother (San Jacinto). Imagine, from a 2g pot!

It has also bloomed for me during that short period of time.

Really adds a tropical look, but requires LOTS of water and, in here in Zone 9, can be quite invasive. The clump gets much larger very quickly - fine if you're willing to regularly (twice per year) dig up and divide. However, this is a large, heavy plant so digging up and dividing is not the easiest chore in the garden! Leaves look ratty if plant doesn't get enough regular water. Great for a trouble spot that remains constantly wet yet receives full sun.

I bought a one gallon container of the 'Tropicanna' last Spring (2004) from Lowe's for about $10. Within a week, it had another stalk coming up before I even planted it in the ground. I divided it and put the smaller cutting in a large pot and planted the larger stalk in the ground. A year later, I have over 25 of these, all over 4 feet tall, some around 6 feet, and all are blooming. They are probably the best looking tropical I own.

Here in Southern California, they grow in our clay soil very well with a lot of water and even more fertilizer. They have filled in a totally bare spot on the side of my house. The tropical effect of the different colors in the leaves is an eye-catcher. I've had several neighbors ask for cuttings, and they're pretty surprised when I just stick a spade in the ground, cut one in half and hand it to them. The orange flowers are beautiful, but they don't self-clean like Spitfire. If you have snails and slugs, bait, because they love them. I haven't had any trouble with insects on these cannas.

BEWARE of some sellers promoting 'Tropicana' cannas. (Notice the different spelling and it is a totally different variety.) I have seen them at Home Depot and they are not 'Tropicanna'. There is also a variety of 'Tropicanna' that is now called a 'Gold'. It is more like a 'Bengal Tiger' and not nearly as colorful as the original. Both of these varieties were developed by Anthony Tesselaar (visit their website). When buying, if it doesn't say Tesselaar, it's an illegal division from the original. There are a lot of bogus ones on eBay.

These also look great in large pots in an entryway. The older leaves will fade a bit in full sun, but the emerging leaves are a dark burgundy and then the stripes are predominate. You may limit the amount of sun during the day for a darker color. I think you will be more than pleased with this variety.

I have always heard people sink their cannas in ponds. I wouldn't recommend this. These guys do love water, but they could drown.

A note on flowering time ...my 'Tropicanna' started flowering on March 1 this year. In this climate it will be in almost continuous flower from now until November or December. Most cannas here seem to shut down flowering for the "winter' months. They are real heat lovers.

Just bought my first 3-gal. Tropicanna and read it was okay to sink it my koi pond (see "wnstarr, Oct. 26,2003") . Has been there over a week and we have had more rain days than not, temps 50's-70's. Leaves are starting to curl up, plant is submerged about 1 1/2" below water level. Just wondered if anyone else had experience with this one in a pond.

This canna does well also in partial shade. In frost-free zones it will exceed 7' in a single season. Extremely vigorous, almost to the point of invasiveness. Divide regularly to keep in check.

A stunning plant, with a gorgeous rainbow leaf and hot orange flowers. We put the pot away for the winter and bring it back out again in spring when the leaves explode with colour. This does well no matter where we put it, sun or shade.

I have not yet grown this particular cultivar, but I grow many other cannas. My comment is directed to the 3 requests above:

To overwinter cannas in colder zones, wait until a frost has blackened the leaves. Dig the plants up (the rhizomes can be large, so dig generously so you don't chop them in pieces), cut the tops back to 12 inches, wash off all the soil, and lay out to dry in a dark, airy place for a couple of weeks, turning occasionally.

When fairly dry (don't dry them too much, they should not shrivel), cut off the tops to 2 inches and store. I store mine in loosely closed plastic (Walmart) bags for the winter, without any packing material and have had better results than with sand, peat moss, sawdust, etc. I store them in the dark in the coolest bedroom under a dresser at about 60 to 70 degrees.

It is a good idea to check them occasionally during the storage period...if too wet (moldy) dry them out a bit...if too dry (shriveling up) give them a light sprinkling of water. And don't pile up a whole bunch of them...put the bags in a single layer with the tops slightly opened for air circulation. Put a cardboard box under them in case they leak or rot and your sack has a hole in it.

The rhizomes can be divided into smaller clumps next spring, but make sure each division has at least one eye (bud). I start mine indoors in a warm place in late March to get a jump on the season. Water the potted rhizomes once and then only slightly until new growth emerges, then give full sun and plenty of water, but do not leave outside until danger of frost is past.

Sometimes I leave the more common cannas all winter in the ground here in zone 6. If the area has good drainage, they don't rot. They need a good mulch to keep from freezing solid. The more expensive ones I always dig because a really cold winter could certainly be fatal. This may not be the official method for saving cannas, but it has worked for me. Hope this helps!

May 2005: I finally got one of these. The leaves are so dramatic!

I bought a bag of these at a discount store this spring, popped them into the flower bed, and waited with not very high expectations. But I have over a dozen gorgeous cannas growing now, blooming with great enthusiasm -- we've had a fairly wet summer, and apparently they've decided they like Pennsylvania. How do I make sure they survive the winter?

I am a new gardener and have been awed by this beautiful plant. I live in CT so I keep it in a pot. What is the best way to save it for next year?

I am in zone 7B in the North Georgia mountains and planted Tropicana Canna in 5-gallon pots on my deck. They have done great. My question is, how do I kep them over the winter?
Carolyn

A popular canna cultivar with stunning red striped foliage. The large flowers are bright orange. I find it easy to propagate by root division. This cultivar is less vigorous than some other cannas but I believe it is well worth the effort.

Edgewood, Washington
This Canna has grown for years in my garden. It has survived many winters where there were freezing temps and lots of rain. It will rot from the constant water over the winter if not planted in a well drained location. The foliage is every bit as exciting as the bloom if not more so. Propagation is best by division. I have them planted in the ground and also have them in pots sunk into the koi pond. Wonderful addition to tropical look in a temperate zone. Try one and you too will be a convert to this beautiful plant.

Even if this canna never did bloom, the foliage would certainly make having the plant worthwhile. Such gorgeous colored leaves! I started with one bulb several years ago and it has multipled into many, many more. I have dug many for friends - so easy to grow in central Texas.

San Antonio, Tx.
In my opinion, this is the showiest of all the cannas. It is especially noteworthy when planted in a location where the morning and afternoon sunlight can backlight it. Providing exquisite color, it practically jumps out from among the other plants and says, "Look at me!" It is super easy to grow and would provide a beginner gardener instant gratification.

I love cannas and they usually love growing in my climate, Northcentral Florida, zone 8b, as we get about 60 inches of rain a year. However, nearing the end of this rainy, cool summer we have already had 60 inches of rain, and if the promised La Nina doesn't come this fall, we may wind up with close to 80 or 90 inches. My cannas still love all the rain, and I have masses of foliage, but not many flowers.

My "Tropicana" was a gift last year from a neighbor, and I planted the baby plant in a raised flower bed last November. We had an unusually cold winter, but the "Tropicana" sprouted beautifully this spring, only to be hit hard by a very late frost. It had a harder time rebounding from the frost than any of my other cannas, possibly due to it's being so young. Only now in early August has it finally gotten to some height, but it has never flowered, probably due to so little sun this summer. We are in the high 60's at night and the middle 80's during the day--unheard of here in August.

June 1, 2004

My tropicana has finally bloomed--a beautful light-orange flower--I am just thrilled with it and think that it is my favorite canna, both for the red foilage and the beautiful flower. I moved it to a much sunnier spot late last fall, along with several of my other canna varieties, and they make a very pretty flower bed, with the different colors of leaves and flowers. I also have yellow day lilies and red crocosmias in this bed, along with several Louisiana iris.

Canna "Tropicanna" is very easy to grow. Good soil,sun and generous amounts of water will suffice. Very good looking foliage and orange flowers. Put canna in your front yard and your neighbors will want to have a tuber or two for theirs.

My past experience with Cannas shows me root division is the way to go to get more of these. I could be wrong about this one, so check it out with other people first. I would love to have this variety in my garden.

This is a canna with brilliantly coloured foliage, purple with pink veins fading to orange. The flowers are orange, and they are a bonus to the beautifull foliage. It grows very well in a soil which is high in organic matter. The plant prefers to grow at about pH6.5.