Canna 'Triomphe'

Canna 'Semaphore'

Canna 'Angelique'

2006 Raphaël ROGER new Cultivars
15 January 2006

Canna 'Amandine'®

Flower: Orange with a yellow border.
Foliage: Green
Height: 1m20

Canna 'Bois de Villée'®

Flower: Pink streaked with white.
Foliage: Green
Height: 1m20

Canna 'Bonnet'®

Flower: Clear yellow, no markings.
Foliage: Green
Height: 1m

Canna 'Crème Abricot'®

Flower: Creamy white
Foliage: Green
Height: 1m

Canna 'Eloïse'®

Flower: Yellow with orange spots
Foliage: green
Height: 1m20

Canna 'Orange Vif'®

Flower: Orange
Foliage: Green
Height: 1m

Canna 'La Thudinie'®

Flower: Orange
Foliage: green
Height: 1m

Finally the old Yahoo! cannaseeds  group moderated by Alice Harris has been renamed CannaSeedsFun. This is to reflect its change of focus to a Canna enthusiasts social club, and is also encouraging as it is a consequence of the growing number of Canna enthusiasts and the need to accommodate all their requirements.

The picture above has a distinct resemblance to Canna 'Wyoming'.  The pollen parent is either C. 'Wyoming' or C. 'Pretoria', as experiments were made with both as pollen parents at the same time. 
Mr Yorke commented that "The leaves are just a shade lighter than C. 'Wyoming', but the flower is remarkably similar.  Where the interest lies in this seedling is the fact that this is probably the first published large floppy orchoide type bred in the modern era of Canna breeding.  The modified petal-like staminoides seems particularly large too.  Even larger than the old hybrids of this type produced by Dammann & Co. and Wintzer a century ago."

Once again the topic of forming a society devoted to Canna has been raised, this time by Alice Harris of Karchesky Canna. The topic has, as usual, raised a great deal of interest, but it is noticeable that those who have expressed their enthusiasm in the past for such a project are not participating this time around.

Mr Brian Williams was quoted as saying "All it might take is setting up a small web site with the name International Canna Society and introduce a news letter and a membership fee. With the availability of the Internet today it is much easier than years ago. I know that if I saw a canna society I would join in a heart beat. After a bit of time and funds it could be come a huge society."
Brian went on to say that " I personally would like to know why the other attempts at forming a society failed? I really do not see what is holding the society back besides a few dedicated people and a home base to work from? It maybe interesting to see how many would join here and how many would help out. The society may already be here."
Several people volunteered assistance, but nobody with this type of experience has stepped forward to offer to organise such a society.

Italia flexes its muscles after winter rest
1 January 2006

From Australia, Raelene reports that her first flowers from Canna 'Italia' in 2005 have produced a few surprises.

She said, "The first bloom for the season (see photo on the right) had six staminoidia, (petals). Only the first flower on that particular branch did that. Normally, only the lip (labellum) is heavily coloured, but in this case there were two with that colouring."

Click on images for larger pictures.

Raelene said "I don't put much faith in the first flower that opens as I've found many aren't true to colour when compared to the following blooms. Anyway, only the first bloom had six petals on it."

The second bloom to open (see photo on left, the right flower) had two full orange lips with an interesting notch in one of the petals.

Subsequently, the third bloom on that branch opened and it was totally normal.

Finally, the second branch has started blooming and that appears to be normal too.

Canna registration at KAVB
24 December 2005

One of the registered cultivars.

Malcolm Dalebö at Claines Canna reports that this year he and Margaret decided to take the plunge and register their new cultivars with the Royal General Bulbgrowers Association (KAVB).

The main Canna discussions group had debated the issue of registering Canna cultivars, and this had resulted in the widespread impression that such a process would be fraught with difficulty, and involve a large amount of work and expense. In addition, only Dutch speakers could possibly hope to succeed.

However, Malcolm recounts that it was all surprisingly simple and straightforward and, having survived the experience with no side-effects, he can recommend that everyone else breeding Canna cultivars should give it a try. The benefit of registering the names of new cultivars speaks for itself.

Previously all documentation was in the Dutch language only, and this made it almost impossible for English speakers to register their cultivar names, as Dutch is a minority language. The KAVB have now provided a copy of their registration form in English, and there is a link to an Adobe .pdf file below to print out the form. Simply fill in the printed paper form in English, put in the post, preferably with a photograph but that is not mandatory, and the KAVB then takes care of everything.

Malcolm said that "A month or so later a nice letter in English was received confirming that the KAVB had accepted the responsibility to publish the cultivar details, and the deed was done." Finally, as someone notoriously careful with his pennies (Celtic ancestry as well as Norwegian), he is also pleased to confirm that the only cost involved was the price of an envelope and the lowest-cost letter postage to Holland!

Malcolm went on to state that, "There is no doubt that the KAVB are now getting their act together and are very professional. They have even promised an English language section on their web site, sometime in the future. However, if my only language was French or German, then I would still feel very discontented and disillusioned. As France and Germany have the greatest history of all as far as Canna breeding is concerned, this is very sad for all of us. However, we now intend to register all of our other new cultivars with the KAVB and can only hope that they can eventually reconcile the foreign languages of French and German!"

Canna registration form (English)

[Ed. KAVB are the Royal Netherlands Society of Bulb Growers, and when the ISHS (International Society for Horticultural Science) were assigning International Cultivar Registration Authorities (ICRAs), there were no takers for Canna cultivars (there is no Canna enthusiasts society) and the KAVB accepted the responsibility, as they are a very responsible and honourable institution. However, they have only received a handful of registrations in all the years that they have been the ICRA and their Canna register is far from complete. ]

Canna indica new form discovered?
15 December 2005

It is reported that an interesting Canna indica form has been identified. It originates from Hayes Jackson's well-known N2tropicAL tropical garden establishment, from a C. indica L. var indica f. yellow specimen and purchased several years ago.

When asked for his opinion, it is reported that Mr Johnny Johnson, our leading Canna authority, stated that he had not previously seen or heard of anyone having such an indica forma or primary hybrid, and this was the first specimen to his knowledge that matched the "flava" foliage term. Of course, others may have found something similar before but not reported on it.

The specimen in question looks normal in the shade, but in full sun the leaves turn a neon green-yellow. The plant grows to about 7 ft tall and the flowers are small, typical yellow species like flowers.

[Ed. Regulars will recognise the hand of Brian Williams in this, it regularly appears on Canna photographs! Canna indica L. var. flava (Rosc.), is accepted by Doctor Tanaka, but in that case "flava" is referring to the yellow flower and it has green foliage. The last recorded Canna hybrid we can trace that matched this foliage colour description was Canna 'Annei floribunda' bred by Monsieur Année in 1861.]

Somewhere a Canna is flowering
3 December 2005

Cannas at Bendigo in 1945

Canna 'Britannia' this spring

Dale then confided that "Canna 'Britannia', 1895, is a very strange Sprenger (Dammann & Co.) bred Italian Canna.  She changes her colour patterns throughout the season.  The only consistent thing is that all the heads flowering at the same time have a similar pattern.  Subsequent heads of bloom may be very different.  So far I've counted eight different patterns of the red markings.  It has upright apple green foliage similar to 'Austria' (which most EU and US growers erroneously label as C. 'Richard Wallace' or C. 'King Midas').  Sometimes C. 'Britannia' can look very similar to C. 'Italia'."

Writing in The Plantsman, Prof. David Ingram calls for immediate action from the trade to prevent further imports of plant disease, an extract is published below

‘... if growers seized the initiative and introduced a voluntary code of practice immediately, disaster might be averted’

While governments worry about illegal immigrants, aliens of a very different kind - plant pathogens - slip into the country unnoticed. In his article (Preventing invasive pathogens: deficiencies in the system, pp54-57) Clive Brasier draws attention to the dire consequences of this for natural ecosystems and cultivated plants.

Image: Tim Sandall

Action Now
I endorse Brasier’s assertion that urgent action is required. At the back of our minds is the spectre of a catastrophe in the UK as great as the epidemic of jarrah die-back, caused by Phytophthora cinnamomi, that destroyed so much of the World Heritage status Gondwana-rich native vegetation of western Australia. Some may argue, irresponsibly in my view, that new plant diseases will pose such severe selection pressures that novel resistances will arise in hosts and that new equilibria between hosts and pathogens will soon be achieved. Yes, but only over enormously long evolutionary time scales. Moreover, with some new, aggressive diseases such as ramorum dieback, it is possible that eradication of a host may occur in islands such as these, with no possibility of recovery. We need to face up to the fact that time is not on our side.

Lets get on with it
Something must be done, urgently, but what? Brasier’s proposals are based mainly on scientific principles which the present procedures lack. Some are relatively inexpensive, such as updating risk protocols to cover pathogen genotypes, varieties and unnamed taxa, and regularly reviewing plant health policies and protocols. So let’s get on with them now. Effecting others, such as the more rapid identification of high-risk alien pathogens, and the provision of better scientific intelligence and forecasting based on intuitive, insightful and strategic research, will necessitate significantly increased funding. This will require considerable scientific pressure and political lobbying. Moreover, because of the nature of scientific research, the strategy will take a very long time to bear fruit. While lauding the approach, I fear that it may be so long-term as to be a case of closing the door after the horse has bolted.

Challenge for the RHS
Finally, Brasier argues for a Rio-style international agreement to provide for the scientific testing of the risks posed by newly identified pathogens both in the country of origin and, more importantly, in the countries at risk. This must be on the agenda of the next Earth Summit in 2010 but that is a long time off.
So why doesn’t the RHS take a lead by organising a meeting of all interested parties to debate the issues raised by Brasier and to formulate a plan of action?
If such a meeting is not called, a unique opportunity to help protect the UK’s natural ecosystems, the horticultural trade and our gardens will have been lost, perhaps for ever.
Prof David Ingram VMH is a plant pathologist and conservationist and Master of St Catharine’s College, Cambridge.

[Ed. The full article from The Plantsman can be viewed at RHS Online.
Also: Clive Brasier, Emeritus Mycologist at Forest Research and Visiting Professor at Imperial College]

Rust on Canna edulis in India
27 November 2005

Lower surface of an infected canna leaf

During December, 2002, Canna edulis plants at the Central Tuber Crops Research Institute, Kerala were found to be infected with a rust fungus. The pathogen produced numerous small yellow powdery pustules, primarily on the lower surface of the infected leaves (Fig. 1) and a corresponding small yellowish lesions of 1-2 mm diameter were seen on the upper surface (Fig. 2). In advanced stages of infection, the upper leaf-surface spots coalesce, turn dark brown-to-black and finally the infected leaves become dry and fall. Microscopic observations revealed the uredinospore rust stage. Uredinia were hypophyllous, subepidermal, erumpent, dark yellowish, circular to irregular in shape.

Urediniospores were light yellow in colour round to ovate in shape, echinulate and 25-35 µm x 15-20 µm include wall thickness. The hyaline wall had an obscure germ pore (Fig. 3). The pathogen was identified as Puccinia thaliae (HCIO. NO. 44.744). A reference sample has been deposited in the Herbarium of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi.

Upper surface of an infected canna leaf

Urediniospores of Puccinia thaliae from infected canna

This is the first record of P. thaliae infecting C. edulis in India. Literature searches show that there are no previous records of this disease from India (Bilgrami et al, 1991; Butler, 1997). Bagyanarayana & Ramesh (1999) reported Puccinia cannacearum, another rust fungus on Canna indica from India. The only previous report of P. thaliae infecting canna is from Hawaii on Canna indica (Gardner & Hodges, 1989).

On the BBC Gardeners Question Time web site, Pam Burne-Jones sent some pictures of a mystery affliction on one of her canna lilies and visitors then sent their ideas of what caused it.

The most popular is that the writing has been caused by the sun shining through glass, the next most popular that the plant has been forced against an object that's made an impression on the growing leaf.

Genome study may help boost plant health
19 November 2005

In a study expected to greatly benefit crop plants, scientists have deciphered the genome of a root- and seed-dwelling bacterium that protects plants from diseases.

The research provides clues to better explain how the helpful microbe, Pseudomonas fluorescens Pf-5, naturally safeguards roots and seeds from infection by harmful microbes that cause plant diseases. The genome paper will be published in Nature Biotechnology and was scheduled to be posted online on June 26, 2005

“The genome sequence has helped us identify new chemical pathways that the microbe apparently uses to create what are known as ‘secondary metabolites’ – possibly including new antibiotic compounds,” says Ian Paulsen. He led the sequencing at The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR), Rockville, Md., US,  and is the study’s first author.

The use of naturally-occurring, beneficial microbes such as P. fluorescens to control plant pathogens is called “biological control.” That method is gaining momentum as a way to grow healthy plants without using synthetic fungicides. In all, about three dozen beneficial microbes are currently used as an environmentally-friendly way to fight plant diseases.

Joyce E. Loper, senior author of the genome paper and an expert on P. fluorescens Pf-5, predicts that the new genomic data will help scientists more quickly develop new ways to boost the effectiveness of beneficial microbes in fighting plant diseases.

Johnny K. Johnson health steady
17 November 2005

Friends of Johnny K. Johnson will be pleased to hear that he has now finished his course of operations to correct his medical condition.

Canna 'Borneo', raised by Johnny K. Johnson

Mr Johnson is going through the phase where he now has to rely on medication to stabilise his condition. Needless to say, and coming as no surprise to those who know him, JJ does find this irritating! The required heart catheterization and associated operations are the same as were performed on Mr Dick Cheney, the US Vice President.

Mr Johnson was fortunate to have this treatment available, but there were some complications before arriving now at this relative stability. JJ is relying on his musical interests to provide him with a stress-free recovery regime, luckily he is a talented musician as well as a world-class plant breeder.

Mr Johnny K. Johnson is probably the most senior member of our Canna family, having first started cultivating and hybridising canna in the 1980's, where his original contacts were with the generation of canna growers and nursery people who kept canna growing from the end of the 2nd World War until the time when JJ and Marcelle Sheppard and that generation picked up the torch.

[Ed. We know so little about the period from WW2 onwards, and it would be great to capture as much of that as we can, before we loose that generation of the Canna family.]

To link to this news item:
URL: http://www:clainescanna.co.uk/APage_News21thC.htm
Bookmark: Johnny K on mend

Raelene from Australia reports a unique canna incident, a cultivar Canna 'P.J. Berkman', that has grown a stem that then split into two.

It is usual for the stem to start branching once it has reached the level where it stops growing leaves and starts growing inflorescence instead.

Raelene is growing it on, and we all hope that it repeats it's great trick, as we can do with more diversity.

[Ed. No canna authorities that we have approached have experienced or heard of this phenomenon previously.]

The original Canna 'Florence Vaughan' has been traced hiding in the Melbourne Botanical Gardens.

Congratulations are due to Mrs Dale McDonnell in  Australia, for tracking down this elusive cultivar, dating back to 1892.  Canna 'Florence Vaughan' was traced hiding in the confines of the Melbourne Botanical gardens where it had escaped the vagaries of fashion and nurserymen confusing identities.

Canna 'Florence Vaughan' growing at the Melbourne Botanical Gardens, Australia

Florence Vaughan was originally raised by Monsieur Crozy of Lyons, France and imported into the USA by Vaughan's Seed Store and named for Mrs Vaughan.  It was described in the Garden and Forest: "This is the best yellow spotted Canna introduced up to this time; color, lemon yellow spotted with bright red. The size and form of the flower is by far the best that has been raised to date; it has been claimed for this variety that it was the best yellow in cultivation, but the scarlet markings on the petals detract from the brightness of the yellow. It is a strong, robust grower, with flowers of the largest size with large heads, blooms freely, and for florists' sale will be very, very satisfactory. Bronze Medal awarded for this at World's Fair, Chicago, 1893."

Vaughan's Seed Store advertisement, Cosmopolitan Magazine, 1894

The name and correct descriptions appeared in catalogues, gardening books and encyclopedia up until the 1940's. In the 1960's it again appeared in catalogues, but it was now Canna 'Roma' that had mistakenly been given this name in the USA and EU. Canna 'Roma' is described by Messrs Dammann & Co. as having light-yellow flowers adorned with its trademark nasturtium-orange blotches and red marks.

Most canna enthusiasts had recognised for some time that Canna 'Florence Vaughan' was wrong, but where was the real 'Florence Vaughan'? It has taken this discovery in the documented accession archives of the Botanical Gardens in Melbourne Australia to complete the solving of the long running mystery.

Canna 'Roma', 1898

In Australia Canna 'Roma' was known from the early 1900s but disappeared from catalogues in 1926 when Messrs Brunnings sold out, although it had been correctly described up until then. Unfortunately, Canna 'Roma' was subsequently misnamed as Canna 'Heinrich Seidel', another of the Italian cannas from the house of Dammann & Co. in the 1890's, which was yellow with a red throat, and the misuse of that name is local to Australia.

[Ed. As can be seen from the pictures, Canna 'Florence Vaughan' is a typical, French canna, with gladiolus-like blooms. Whereas, Canna 'Roma' is a typical Italian canna with large, floppy, iris-like blossoms, and the labellum is larger than the staminoides. The two types are so basically different that it is difficult to see how the original mix-up occurred.]

Brian Williams, a hybridiser from the USA, reported on a new seedling he grew this year. He stated that "It has been fairly odd, not to mention extremely beautiful, to watch it grow. "

First the seedling produced its first bloom, and it created great excitement, as it was a maroon purple coloured flower, very nicely formed. Next, the flower turned pinkish then red. Mr Williams was a bit concerned about this at first, but then new flowers came out the same as the first one. Finally, the seedling aged into blooms with red petals and purple looking tips.

Brian confirms that this is not a practical joke, and he confirms that the seedling really seems to have purple or some blue pigment in it. The parents of the seedling are both unnamed hybrids that Mr Williams raised last year.