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TAKING COUNT OF 



TODAY'S CANNAS 



Becoming more popular year by year, carinas are handled in larger quanti- 

 ties by florists, seedsmen and nurserymen. For home and park planting, in 

 small numbers or in large beds, they are highly useful. This article and its 

 successor will inform you as to what is the best and latest in cannas. 



OME five or six years ago 

 I reported the results of 

 our experimental work 

 with eannas at Madison, 

 Tenn. Since that time 

 many new varieties have 

 been placed on the market 

 and, as a result, many that 

 were then considered first- 

 class should be discarded 

 today. Furthermore, the public has come 

 to appreciate cannas more than at that 

 time and is beginning to use them in 

 many new ways. While we have not 

 grown so many cannas 

 the last six years as 

 formerly, we have 

 tested a few of almost 

 every new variety that 

 promised any great 

 value, so that our test- 

 ing work has gone 

 straight forward. At 

 the same time, we have 

 been cross-breeding and 

 growing seedlings. This 

 has been fascinating 

 work and while, as in 

 other lines of plant 

 propagating, one must 

 expect to grow hun- 

 dreds of ordinary seed- 

 lings in order to get 

 one winner, neverthe- 

 less, as each day sees 

 some plant open its 

 first bloom the endless 

 variation gives a never- 

 ending interest to the 

 work. I believe that if 

 I knew I should never 

 get any unusual results, 

 I would grow seedlings 

 merely for the pleasure 

 of seeing the endless 

 varieties that come. 



Study. 



During tlie last two 

 years I have visited 

 many of the large 

 canna-growiug centers 

 of the United States 

 and liavo had the pleas- 

 ure of seeing most of 

 the newer varieties 

 there. I have seen 

 the c a n n a under 

 strictly southern condi- 

 tions in the gulf dis- 

 trict, as well as in the 

 most nortliorn location 

 in which it is grown. 

 Coming to the conclu- 

 sion that I would begin 

 commercial as well as 

 experimental growing. 



By FLOYD BRALLIAR. 



last season I gave special attention to 

 the newer varieties, knowing full well 

 that profit comes from growing the best. 

 After giving considerable attention to 

 the matter of digging and storing can- 

 nas for the winter, our own practice 

 has changed quite decidedly as a result. 

 Some experiments also have been carried 

 forward looking toward ascertaining in 

 what soil the canna does best. It is to 

 give The Eeview readers the benefit of 

 these observations that these articles 



Rosea Gigantea, One of the Most Popular Pink Cannas. 



are offered. I purpose to consider soil 

 first. 



I have grown cannas in heavy clay 

 soil that was rich in lime; in equally 

 heavy clay soil that was practically 

 free from lime; in muck soil, and in 

 what would be considered a good green- 

 house soil for general pot plants. So 

 far as I have been able to decide, it 

 makes no difference whatever to cannas 

 whether their soil contains lime or not. 

 I have grown them as luxuriantly in soil 

 that tested only one-half of one per cent 

 of lime, as the same variety grew 

 under similar condi- 

 tions in soil that con- 

 tained ten or twelve 

 per cent of lime. In 

 r d er to ascertain 

 whether some happy 

 medium between these 

 two extremes might be 

 best, I took plants 

 growing in tubs in 

 practically lime - free 

 soil and began water- 

 ing with lime water, 

 which, of course, stead- 

 ily increased the per- 

 centage of lime in the 

 soil, but I was not able 

 to get any apparent re- 

 action. I find that can- 

 nas do better in loose 

 soil than in tough clay, 

 but a mixture of sand 

 with the soil to make it 

 loose does not give the 

 result that is secured 

 by adding humus. The 

 canna is a gross feeder 

 and demands a large 

 amount of water as 

 well as an abundance 

 of soluble plant food. 



Soils. 



Iv\|)('iiiiii'nt.'illy I sc- 

 IcM'ted a bed of eannas 

 growing in good garden 

 loaul. After they were 

 well established and 

 were beginning t o 

 bloom, fresh manure 

 from the horse stable 

 was sjiread over the 

 ground two or three 

 iiiclu's deep, as a mulch. 

 I confidently expected 

 Hint these caiiiias would 

 lire badly if they did 

 not die outright. In- 

 stead, they made the 

 most rampant growth 

 and gave the finest 

 sliow of liloom of any 

 cannas I have ever 



