Canna
Canna hybrida
Canna Plant Features
Add bold color and drama to flower beds or containers with canna lilies. These easy-care tropical bulbs are prized for their super-sized leaves in bright green, bronze, black, or variegated. Plus, cannas shoot up showy stalks of yellow, red, salmon, orange, pink, or bi-colored blooms in mid to late summer that attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Cannas are sun-loving tropical plants that thrive in hot, humid conditions. They have few insect or disease problems and are available in standard forms that can grow 5 feet tall and dwarfs that grow just 2 feet tall. In colder regions, cannas need to be dug up and stored over the winter. Hardy from zones 7-11.
Canna Questions?
Email us and one of our flower gardening experts will get back to you.
Canna Growing Instructions
Plant cannas in a sunny spot with rich, slightly moist soil. Place standard canna varieties in the back of your border where they won't block your view of smaller plants and use dwarf types at edge of the flower bed or in large tubs or planters. Cannas are heavy feeders so apply a dilute solution of liquid fertilizer every week or two. And, try not to let the soil dry out. Cannas like moisture so much they'll thrive in the shallows of a water feature.
This plant not intended for human or animal consumption.
Special Care
In frost-free regions cannas can be grown as a perennial in your garden. In other locations, they need to be dug up and stored after the first frost blackens their foliage. Dig the plants, brush away all the excess soil around the roots, clip away the foliage, and plunge the roots into a cardboard box filled with slightly moist vermiculite or peat moss. Store in a dark, cool, location over the winter. Do not seal the box. Check the bulbs now and again over the winter. If they are starting to shrivel, sprinkle just a bit of water over them and put them back in storage. Come spring, plant them back outdoors after frost danger has passed.
-
Light
Outside: Sun
-
Colors
Orange, Pink, Red, White, Yellow
-
Water
Moist, well-drained soil
-
Special Features
Attracts butterflies
Attracts hummingbirds
Colorful foliage
Super-easy to grow
Complement your Canna with these varieties:
Both Cannas and Dahlias love hot, humid weather. These tropical beauties look great together.
The yellow daisy-like flowers of Black-eyed Susan really pop when planted against the bold green or bronze leaves of Cannas.
Varieties: Our Favorites

Canna 'CannaSol Happy Wilma'
CannaSol Happy Wilma shows off lovely peachy-orange flowers over bronze-purple leaves on a 3-foot-tall plant. It was an excellent performer in our Trial Garden!

Canna 'Cannova Red'
Hummingbirds love ‘Cannova Red’ canna. They’ll feast from the nectar-rich flowers that are held above green or bronze foliage. Growing about 4 feet tall, ‘Cannova Red’ canna works well in large containers or in the back of the border.

Canna 'South Pacific Scarlet'
An award-winning variety, ‘South Pacific’ canna flaunts super-large flowers held over dark green foliage. ‘South Pacific’ is more compact than older forms of canna, growing just 2 to 3 feet tall. Use it in the flower border or large containers.