Canna Lilies

How to choose canna lilies

Leaf colour does as much work as the flowers. Bronze Scarlet Canna and Bronze Orange Canna have dark bronze foliage that looks good from the day the leaves unfurl and makes the hot flower colours stand out. Among the softer flower colours, Mango Canna and Lemon Canna bring warm and pale yellow tones that blend easily with other plants, and Rose Canna gives pink for a gentler scheme.

Most garden cannas stand between 1m and 2m tall in flower, with clumps that widen each year. One colour massed has more impact than a mix of several.

Where canna lilies grow

Cannas grow across Australia. They are at home in tropical and subtropical gardens, where they stay in leaf and flower for most of the year, and they do well in temperate and cool regions as summer plants. Frost blackens the foliage, but the rhizomes survive below ground in most districts and reshoot in spring. In very cold areas a thick mulch over the clump protects them. Give them full sun, at least six hours a day, and shelter from strong wind, which shreds the big leaves.

They are among the few flowering perennials that enjoy wet feet. Use them at the edge of a pond or dam, in a boggy corner, as well as in ordinary beds that are watered regularly. They mix well with other tropical plants and with the plants in our high water range.

Planting and spacing

Plant from spring to early autumn in warm areas, and in spring after the last frost further south. Dig in plenty of compost and aged manure, as cannas are hungry. Space plants 50cm to 60cm apart for a solid screen of foliage within a season, or 75cm apart in mixed borders. Set each plant at the depth it sat in the pot, water in well and mulch. Cannas also grow in large tubs at least 40cm wide, which is a simple way to keep the clump contained.

Care basics

Water deeply two or three times a week in summer. Cannas in dry soil stay short and flower poorly. Feed in spring and again in midsummer with a complete fertiliser or pelletised manure. Once a flower spike finishes, cut that stem to the ground, because each stem flowers once and new shoots replace it. In late winter cut the whole clump down to about 10cm and clear the old leaves. Lift and divide crowded clumps every three or four years at the same time, replanting sections of rhizome with two or three growing points. Rust can spot the leaves in humid weather: remove affected foliage, bin it and thin the clump for air movement. Do not dump unwanted rhizomes in bushland or near waterways, where cannas can take hold. For more colour through the seasons see our flowering plants.

Common questions

Do canna lilies die back in winter?

In frost free areas they stay green and only slow down. Where there is frost the leaves blacken and die back, and the clump reshoots from the rhizomes in spring.

Can canna lilies grow in water?

Yes. They grow in boggy soil and at pond margins, and a potted canna can stand in a few centimetres of water through the warm months.

How tall do canna lilies grow?

Most garden varieties reach 1m to 2m in flower, depending on the variety, the soil and how much water they receive.

Do canna lilies need full sun?

Yes, for strong flowering. They grow in part shade but become taller, softer and carry fewer flowers.