About
Canna 'Australia' is a quick-growing, deciduous perennial that develops from rhizomes. It features upright stems and narrow, glossy foliage in a deep purple hue. In late summer, it showcases large flowers that are orange-red in color.
About the genus
Canna are herbaceous perennials characterized by their rhizomatous growth and upright stems. They feature broad, oval leaves and prominent flowers that include petal-like staminodes along with smaller, colored petals and sepals. These blooms appear in clusters, such as racemes or panicles, during the summer and autumn months.
Growing conditions
- Sunlight
- Full sun
- Soil type
- Loam, Sand
- Soil pH
- Acid, Alkaline, Neutral
- Soil moisture
- Moist but well-drained
- Aspect
- South-facing, West-facing
- Exposure
- Sheltered
- UK hardiness
- H3
Plant details
- Plant type
- Conservatory Greenhouse, Herbaceous Perennial
- Habit
- Clump forming
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Height
- 1-1.5 metres
- Spread
- 0.1-0.5 metres
- Time to full height
- 2-5 years
- Suggested uses
- Architectural, City and courtyard gardens, Cottage and informal garden, Mediterranean climate plants, Patio and container plants
Care notes
- Cultivation
- As a patio plant grow in pots of peat-free compost in a sheltered site in full sun. Plants can also be planted into a sunny border. Water freely and apply a high potassium feed every 2-3 weeks in the growing season. Lift the rhizomes in autumn when frost blackens the foliage. Store over winter in barely moist compost in frost-free conditions. See canna cultivation for further information
- Pruning
- Leave to die back in autumn, deadhead flowers to prolong flowering
- Propagation
- Propagate by division of rhizomes in spring
- Pest resistance
- May be susceptible to caterpillars, glasshouse red spider mite and aphids
- Disease resistance
- May be susceptible to canna viruses