362 MANUAL OF GARDENING 



masses, and — when desirable — good center plants for beds. They 

 are much used for subtropical effects (see Plate V). 



Cannas grow 3 to 10 feet or more high. Formerly they were 

 valued chiefly for their foliage, but since the introduction, in 1884, of 

 the Crozy Dwarf French type with its showy flowers, cannas are 

 grown as much for their bloom as for their foliage effects. The flowers 

 of these new kinds are as large as those of gladioli, and are of various 

 shades of yellow and red, with banded and spotted forms. These 

 flowering kinds grow about 3 feet high. The older forms are taller. 

 In both sections there are green-leaved and dark coppery-red-leaved 

 varieties. 



The canna may be grown from seed and had in bloom the first year 

 by sowing in February or March, in boxes or pots placed in hotbeds 

 or a warm house, first soaking the seeds in warm water for a short time 

 or filing a small notch through the coat of each seed (avoiding the 

 round germinating point). It requires two years to raise strong plants 

 of the old-fashioned tall cannas from seed. Sow in light, sandy soil, 

 where the earth may be kept at 70° till after germination. After the 

 plants have got well up, transplant them to about 3 or 4 inches apart, 

 or place in pots 3 inches wide, in good rich soil. They may now 

 be kept at 60°. 



The majority of cannas, however, are grown from pieces of the 

 roots (rhizomes), each piece having a bud. The roots may be divided 

 at any time in the winter, and if early flowers and foliage are wanted, 

 the pieces may be planted in a hotbed or warmhouse in early April, 

 started into growth, and planted out where wanted as soon as the 

 ground has warmed and all danger of frost is over. A hardening of 

 the plants, by leaving the sash off the hotbeds, or setting the plants in 

 shallow boxes and placing the boxes in a sheltered position through 

 May, not forgetting a liberal supply of water, will fit the plants to take 

 kindly to the final planting out. 



Plant out roots or started plants when there is no longer danger of 

 frost. For mass effects, the plants may stand twelve to eighteen inches 

 apart; for individual bloom twenty to twenty-four inches or more. 

 Some gardeners plant them not closer than twenty to twenty-four 

 inches for mass beds, if the soil is good and the plants strong. Give 

 them a warm sunny place. 



