Canna seeds

CANNA SEEDS

CANNA FLORAL VARIETIES

VARIETY	PRICE per pkt	DESCRIPTION	SMALL PICTURES	LARGE PICTURES
'Tropical Red'	10 seeds £5.00	Very short, typically 30 - 40cm. Green foliage. Red flowers. Pre-scarified, fungicide treated.		Picture 1
'Tropical Rose'	10 seeds £5.00	Very short, typically 30 - 40cm. Green foliage. Pale rose-pink flowers. Award-winning variety. Pre-scarified, fungicide treated.		Picture1 Picture2 Picture3
'Tropical Salmon'	10 seeds £5.00	Very short, typically 30 - 40cm. Green foliage. Orange flowers. Pre-scarified, fungicide treated.		Picture 1
'Tropical Yellow'	10 seeds £5.00	Very short, typically 30 - 40cm. Green foliage. Yellow flowers somewhat speckled with pink. Pre-scarified, fungicide treated.		Picture Picture
'Tropical White'	10 seeds £5.00	Very short, typically 30 - 40cm. Green foliage. White flowers, some faintly speckled purple. Pre-scarified, fungicide treated.		Picture1 Speckly variant
'Tropical Mixed'	15 seeds £7.50	3 seeds each of the varieties of the Tropical Series, ie Red, Rose, Salmon, Yellow, White. Pre-scarified. Fungicide Treated. They flower in about 100 days from sowing.

Notes:
The 'Tropical Series' are all dwarf plants with green foliage. They come in 5 different colours. They are pre-scarified. We find that germination is 7 to 10 days, and the success rate is about 70%. They flower in about 100 days if grown under warm conditions. We supply full cultivation Wholesale prices available for quantities of 50+

CANNA SPECIES

SPECIES	PRICE per pkt	DESCRIPTION	SMALL PICTURES	LARGE PICTURES
Canna altensteinii OUT OF STOCK	10 seeds £5.00	A very tall (2.5m) pale green variety with enormous leaves and small orange flowers. Very vigorous.
Canna coccinea OUT OF STOCK	10 seeds £5.00	Green foliage with a reddish tinge. Medium height, 1.5m. Small orange/red flowers. Botanically now thought to be a variety of C indica.
Canna indica (Red)	18 seeds £5.00	Red flowered species canna with green foliage.
Canna paniculata	6 seeds £6.00	Slow growing, but becomes a very big plant up to 4m. Rarely seen in cultivation and the only one we know of grows in the Temperate House at Kew Gardens. This seed was imported, and whether it is the true C paniculata remains to be seen, but we have been growing it for 12 months, and it looks to us like the real thing.
Canna speciosa OUT OF STOCK	10 seeds £5.00	Imported seed, and this year is the first year we have tried it.
Canna warscewiczii	10 seeds £5.00	A favourite of parks and stately homes. A short canna with dark red foliage and small but intensely red flowers.
Canna flaccida	10 seeds £5.00	Species from Florida and other southern states in the USA. Likes wet ground, and often grows in water. A largish yellow flower not unlike a daffodil, slightly scented. Medium size plant with pale green foliage.
Canna tuerckheimii	10 seeds £5.00	Species from Belize. A tall and robust plant with large green leaves and largish long tube-shaped orange flowers.

For further information on canna species, taxonomy and nomenclature, click here.

Notes on growing cannas from seeds.

Canna seed has a good germination rate of typically 65% to 95% depending on species/variety. The seed stores well.

Canna will flower almost as quickly if grown from seed as when grown from rhizomes, and plants grown from seed usually flower the same year if started early in the year. It is important to keep the seedlings warm and well waterered, and to not let them get pot-bound. Pot on frequently and use rich compost.

The seed of cannas is extremely hard, and needs to be "scarified" before sowing (the easiest way to scarify seed is to use a workshop file, holding the seed in workshop pliers, until the internal white just shows through. You only need to do this at one point). Some seed is provided already scarified, and if so this is stated on the packet.

"Damping off" is reduced if seeds are treated with fungicide. Some seed is supplied already treated with fungicide.

We find that is not necessary to pre-soak seed. We sow seed 1cm deep in peat potting compost, which we then water well so that the compost is quite wet. Seed germinates much quicker, and with a better germination rate, under very warm conditions (70F to 80F), and also fully humid (ie the seed tray enclosed in a polythene bag). Under these conditions we usually see the first shoots coming through after about 7 days.

Many named garden varieties are sterile (ie they do not produce seeds). Of those that do produce seeds, not many "come true", ie the flower will be different to the parent, and will usually be inferior. The "Tropical Series" do come true from seeds.

Canna grown from seed is free of virus disease, which is a good reason to grow canna from seed.

Many countries do not have restrictions on importing seeds, and so we can export seeds to a wider range of countries than we can export plants.

It is possible to collect own seed, but except for the "Tropical Series" and species, they generally don't come true (ie the flower you get is not the same as the flower of the parent). However, growing own canna seed is an interesting hobby. See our website www.canna-trial-international.com

Order by e-mail, phone, fax, or call in person.
Pay by Paypal, credit card, cheque or cash.
For seeds ordered alone, postage £1.50.
We despatch immediately.

'Tropical Mixed'