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Canna true from seed?

strelitzia32strelitzia32 Posts: 758
in Plants
Last year I collected some seeds from one of my cannas (variety lost in the sands of time, the flowers look like a Pacific beauty but with green leaves) and sowed them this year as a little experiment.

I've been pretty surprised by the result - the new plants are around 4ft high, large rhizome based on the stems coming up and flowering well. Impressive growth for the first year from seed.

But more surprising is that they are visually identical to the parent plant. I thought cannas don't come true from seed, so I hoped for an attractive result but was prepared for muddy and unattractive. I wasn't prepared for a visually identical clone!

Have I just got lucky here? Or do some cannas come true? If I try again from seed next year, am I likely to get the same identical result?

Posts

  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    I have grown several Canna from seed, and they have come true, but I don't think all of them do.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • strelitzia32strelitzia32 Posts: 758
    Thanks @punkdoc , good to know it's probably not a fluke. I'll go again next year!
  • sarinkasarinka Posts: 270
    Wonderful. Where did you get your first canna? I was impressed by Monty's on Gardener's World recently
  • floraliesfloralies Posts: 2,718
    Not all come true, I grew seeds from a pink variety some years ago which I gave to a friend and they turned out yellow.
  • strelitzia32strelitzia32 Posts: 758
    sarinka said:
    Wonderful. Where did you get your first canna? I was impressed by Monty's on Gardener's World recently
    @sarinka I think I got it from the bargain bulb (/bulb-esque) bucket at the local garden center. I pick up a lot of these types of things for cheap just out of season - this year I got a huge number of dry, sorry looking lily bulbs for pennies each in June. Threw them all in some pots, many have popped up and will grow properly next year. Bargain.

    I also bought some full price bulbs etc at "the right time of year", including a canna Wyoming which I've wanted to get for a while. Of course these full price ones did absolutely nothing  :s

    Thus proving my gardening style of "be cheap and be lazy" is clearly effective!
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    They are very easy from seed. Started in a heated propagator in January, you can sometimes get flowers in the first year.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • strelitzia32strelitzia32 Posts: 758
    @punkdoc I was surprised how fast they grow. Here's one of the ones I started from seed in March, as of right now! Excuse the background assorted mess in my temporary grow on area.


  • InglezinhoInglezinho Posts: 568
    Canna does not come true from seed. Some genes are more dominant, red flowers green leaves. Especially purple or variegated leaves  are less dominant ( recessive) and can only be reliably reproduced by vegetative means ( cuttings)
    Everyone likes butterflies. Nobody likes caterpillars.
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