The illustrated growing guide

Canna Lily

Canna × generalis

Family Cannaceae

Est. zones 7-10

Botanical illustration of Canna Lily — Bulb · Canna × generalis

Instant tropics for gas-station money: banana-esque leaves, hummingbird spikes, and rhizomes that triple every summer. The leaf show outranks the flowers on the striped types.

Bulb

Where to buy the plant — 1 nursery

Water Canna — a print from the Pond & Water Garden collection

From the print shop

The closest print we make

We don’t print Canna × generalis. The closest we have is Canna glauca (“Water Canna”) in the Pond & Water Garden collection — the same genus, Canna, not the same species.

16 designsfrom $21.99white or black groundmatte poster, unframed

Shop Pond & Water Garden botanical prints →

Overview

Will canna lily suit your garden, and what goes wrong.

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Will it thrive where you are?

Enter your ZIP — we look up your USDA hardiness zone (2023 map) and check it against what canna lily actually needs.

Life cyclePerennial zones 7–10, annual elsewhere

Canna Lily at a glance

Life cyclePerennial zones 7–10, annual elsewhere

Mature size3-8 ft

PollinationHummingbirds

Chill requirementNot yet established

Bloom seasonJuly - Frost

Harvest seasonNot yet established

Growth rateVery Fast in heat

Common canna lily problems

Canna Leaf Roller (South)
Japanese Beetles
Slugs
Canna Rust
Virus (buy clean stock — mottled streaked leaves are viral, destroy)

Growing

Light, water, soil, propagation and the season’s jobs.

How to grow canna lily: light, water & soil

LightFull Sun

WaterHigh — it's a marsh plant; pots can sit IN water saucers

SoilRich, moist · pH 6.0 - 6.5

FertilizerMonthly heavy feed

PruningFrost → cut, lift rhizomes, store barely-damp at 45-55°F (multiplies 3-4x yearly) — Deadhead spent spikes to the next side bud; remove ratty leaves.

Spacing18-24 in

How to plant & propagate canna lily

PropagateOffsets, division, or bulbils

When to spray canna lily

Growing season. Pick rolled leaves open and squish the roller; rust in humidity means thin the clump.

Timing only — the label is the law

This is when to watch and when a treatment is worth considering, not a recommendation to apply any product. Read and follow the product label before you spray — under federal law the label is the legal instruction, and using a pesticide against it is illegal.

Check the pre-harvest interval. Every product that’s cleared for an edible crop sets a minimum number of days between spraying and picking. Find it on the label before you spray anything you intend to eat.
Check the re-entry interval before you or anyone else works in the treated area again, and use the protective equipment the label names.
Confirm the product is registered for canna lily in your state. A product legal on one crop is not legal on all of them, and state registrations differ — your state pesticide agency or local extension office can confirm both.
Rates and mixing instructions come from the label, never from us. We don’t publish them because they differ by product and formulation.

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The year

What canna lily asks for, month by month.

The canna lily year, month by month

MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Bloom

What each band means

Bloom — flowers open — pollinators working, frost on blossoms is the danger.

The canna lily year as text

Jan quiet month
Feb quiet month
Mar quiet month
Apr quiet month
May quiet month
Jun quiet month
Jul bloom
Aug quiet month
Sep quiet month
Oct quiet month
Nov quiet month
Dec quiet month

These are the species' typical months — expect them a few weeks earlier in warm zones and later in cold ones. Watch the plant, not just the calendar.

Ecology & uses

What it does for the garden, and what it is grown for.

Canna Lily in the garden system

Herbaceous layer bulb

AttractsHummingbirds

HabitatWetland

MoistureWetland / wet-tolerant

DeerBrowsed — protect young plants

OriginIntroduced

What canna lily is grown for

✓ Not known to be toxic

UseTropical borders

UsePond edges

UseBig pots

Edibility, identification, and traditional-use notes here are general reference — not medical or veterinary advice, and not a claim that any plant treats or prevents anything. Medicinal ratings record how strongly a plant features in herbal tradition, nothing more. Never eat or dose a plant you have not positively identified. More on how to use this library.

Cultivars

Named varieties of canna lily, ruled as a catalogue.

Best canna lily varieties & cultivars

'Tropicanna' (striped circus leaves); 'Australia' (black-red); 'King Humbert'; 'Pretoria'

Sources & plant ID

Where the care distinctions come from, and how the plant is filed.

Research basis

Sources behind this profile

No extension citations are attached to canna lilyyet. The care figures below come from the library's own catalogue rather than a traced primary source.

Plant ID

BinomialCanna × generalis

FamilyCannaceae

TypeBulb · Tender Perennial

USDA symbolCAGE3

OriginIntroduced

Invasive riskLow

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Where to buy

Third-party nurseries — not Story Thyme Farms.

Third-party nurseries, not Story Thyme Farms. Prices are theirs.

Story Thyme Farms may earn a small commission from these links, at no cost to you — it never changes what we recommend.

EtsyBrowse growers↗

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Questions

Canna Lily questions, answered straight.

Is canna lily safe for kids and pets?

Canna Lily is commonly eaten and isn't considered toxic, but "commonly eaten" isn't a guarantee for any particular person or animal — allergies, quantity, and which part you eat all matter. Never eat a plant you haven't positively identified, and check with a vet before letting pets or livestock graze anything new.

How do you propagate canna lily?

Offsets, division, or bulbils.

Elsewhere

Where canna lily sits in the library.

Grows in the same world