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Canna is a tender perennial that is
treated as an annual in the North. When you want a striking accent
plant for your garden, choose the exotic Canna Lily. It is also
excellent for massed displays and containers. The attractive
broad, tropical-looking foliage may be bluish, green or bronze.
Its spikes support 4-inch flowers in showy colors of white, cream,
yellow, pink, orange, salmon, or red that bloom from mid-summer to
fall.
Standard varieties of Canna grow 5 to 6 feet tall. If garden space
is at a premium, plant dwarf cannas, which reach a height of only
3 feet. Cannas prefer full sun and moist, rich, fertile soil.
Canna rhizomes should have at least two growing eyes. When
planting, lay them flat in the planting hole, with their growing
tips 1 inch below the soil line. Plant standard varieties 2 feet
apart and dwarf varieties 1 foot apart. For overwintering, lift
the rhizomes after frost has killed the tops, then store at 45 to
50 degrees.
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