Canna generalis ‘Australia’ Patent: PP# 21391

USDA Zones: 8-11
Size: 5-6′ H x 1-2′ W
Light: Full Sun to Half-Day Sun
Bloom Color: Orange-Red
Bloom Time: Summer and Fall
Foliage Color: Deep Maroon/Burgundy

We’ve grown a lot of purple-foliaged cannas over the years, but nothing like this. The deep burgundy-black foliage of ‘Australia’ is the darkest and most exotic we’ve ever seen. To top things off a magnificent display of shocking orange-red flowers rise above the 4-5′ foliage….a true stunner and hummingbord magnet!

The large lustrous leaves have a satin-like sheen and the intense deep color holds superbly during the summer heat, making it a wonderfully flamboyant and tropical addition to any garden. Plant it in garden beds or as a centerpiece in container gardens.

Foliage - Large leaves with the deepest burgundy foliage color of any canna.

Flowers – We’ve seen many websites on the internet that say the flowers of Australia are red, but the one’s in our garden are more of an intense orange-red.

Pests and Diseases - No problems with pest’s or disease have been observed so far. We haven’t seen any problem with leaf rollers on this variety of canna.

Companions - The deep burgundy foliage of this canna combines with almost too many plants to name. Almost any other color or texture goes with it.

Wilson Bros. Performance Rating: 9 out of 10

We give it a 9 because, as with other plants we don’t have long term experience with, we just can’t say how hardy it is in our zone. We’ve planted some in our trial gardens and will be sure to let you know next year if it survived the winter here in Zone 8a. Otherwise, based on color and single-season performance alone, we’d give it a WHOPPING 10! Even if this plant doesn’t come back in your hardiness zone, it’s well worth using as an annual for tropical effect in garden beds or container gardens.

Uses

Use Australia Canna anywhere in the sunny to partially shaded landscape where you want an outstanding tropical effect. Makes a great background and adds bold texture in annual flower beds or perennial gardens. Also useful as a centerpiece in large container gardens. Great around swimming pools, ponds or other bodies of water.

General Culture

As with other cannas, Australia prefers soil that stays consistently damp or moist. It’s not too fussy about soil type or pH.

Other Tips

Canna lilies, like many other lilies, will multiply every year to form a patch. They can be divided every few years and transplanted to other areas in the landscape or garden.

SEE: Plant File for Canna Lily ‘Australia’ on Gardenality.com

Flirt and other varieties of Nandina are now in stock at GardenerDirect.com

If you would like to have these or other plants we offer shipped to your location by mail contact Spencer Young at spencer@gardenerdirect.com or go to GardenerDirect.com

What is the best way to attract hummingbirds?
You can always attract hummingbirds with a feeder, but the best way to attract hummingbirds is the natural way: by planting plants that produce brightly flowered colors. But bright color isn’t everything. Keep in mind that hummingbirds prefer easy-access flowers that are rich in nectar. These are usually tubular flowers that allow their long, needle-like bills to fit inside these tubes. Thus, their tongues can easily lap up the sweet nectar found deep inside the flower tubes.

What flowering plants do hummingbirds like best?
There are hundreds or thousands of plant varieties that will attract hummingbirds, but through years of observation and taking notes, here’s a list of one’s we’ve found to be most liked by hummingbirds in the Southeast. Plant some or all of these in your garden and you’ll be sure to have some very happy hummingbirds buzzing aorund and feeding all season!

Annual Plants
Cleome > (Will reseed where happy)
Impatiens >
Lantanas >
Pentas >
Petunias >
Salvias >

Perennial Plants
Bee Balm – Monarda >
Blue Anise Sage – Salvia guaranitica (all varieties) >
Butterfly Bush – Buddleia (all varieties) >
Canna Lilies >
Hummingbird Plant – Diclipera suberecta >
Lantanas – Lantana camara >
Pineapple Sage – Salvia elegans >
Texas Sage – Salvia greggii (all varieties) >

Flowering Vines
Trumpet Vine ‘Madame Galen’ – Campsis tagliabuana >
Honeysuckle – Lonicera >

Shrubs
Encore Azaleas – Rhododendron hybrid (Blooms Spring, Summer & Fall) >

Tropicals
Bird of Paradise >
Fuchsia >
Hibiscus >

You might also be interested in therse related articles:

• Planning and Designing a Hummingbird Garden
• About Hummingbird Gardens
• About Hummingbird Feeders
• Maintaining a Hummingbird Garden
• FAQ About Hummingbird Gardening

But, that being said, we think it might be over watering. Not that if you’re having this problem it’s you who’s doing the over watering, it might be Mother Nature doing it? We’ve had quite a bit of rain this summer, enough to keep soil in some gardens saturated for prolonged periods of time. This can cause root-rot problems underground that eventually show up above ground. This is what we think the problem is.

Then again, it could be some kind of blight? We’re just not sure. If anybody is aware of a blight, do let us know and we’ll post the information in next weeks newsletter.

What we do know is that in our own home vegetable gardens, this problem is not occuring. Our gardens are raised bed gardens in which the plants are growing in humus-rich, but well-drained soil. Many of the reports coming in about the dying plants are from those who are growing vegetables in a non-raised bed “conventional garden.”

So, we think the problem has to do with soil drainage. Even if it’s a blight, the blight was brought on by over-saturated soil. But we could be wrong. Let us know if you think we are and tell us what you think here.

Gardenality connects gardeners around the world through an easy way to ask and answer questions.

Every answer is rated by members and quickly allows the best answer to surface. You can ask as many questions as you want, all 100% free. You can even upload pictures to your question if a thousand words just won’t cut it!

Ask your question here

Know gardening?

Share your gardening knowledge with the world and help your neighbors garden too! If you know alot about gardening, or a specific field of gardening, Gardenality needs you. Gardenality members are asking questions every day that need answers.

Answer questions here

Use the following links to learn more about Gardenality:

• How The Ask Expert System Works
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Gardenality Links: Wilson Bros Nursery I Plant Search I Articles I Gardens I Ask Experts I Quizzes I Profiles

Show Off Your Flower Pics and Win Cash!
Uploading your plant pictures to Plant Files in Gardenality.com

Got some nice plants and flowers growing in your yard? Well, now it’s time to take some pictures of them and upload them to a Plant File in Gardenality.com where other members can view and rate them! Click here to learn how to upload a picture to a Gardenality Plant File.
What is a Gardenality Plant File? Click here to find out!

Win Cash!
Soon Gardenality will start a Best Picture Contest in which the owner of the highest rated picture each month will win a cash prize or gift certicate to GardenerDirect.com!

So keep your camera handy and ready to get some pictures of your plants when they’re looking best or in peak bloom.

What if there is no Plant File for the picture I want to upload?
First, start by searching the Plant Files in Gardenality to find out whether or not the plant you have a picture for exists in the Plant Database. To do this, simply type in part of the common name of the plant in the search box in the header at the top of any page in Gardenality (shown in the picture below).

For example: If you are looking for a plant with the common name ‘Stella De Oro’ Daylily, just type “Stella” or “Daylily” in the search and then click on the green button with the magnifying glass. If you type ‘Stella’ you will be shown all plants with the word “Stella” in the name. If you type “Daylily” you will be shown all of the Daylily plants that exist in the Gardenality Plant Database.

If there is no Plant File in Gardenality that specifically matches the plant picture you want to upload click here to learn how to create a new Plant File in Gardenality.

How Do I Upload A Picture To A Plant File?
Uploading a picture of a plant to a Gardenality Plant File is pretty easy.

Step-By-Step Instructions:

1 – When at a Plant File in Gardenality, look for the link that says “View / Upload Pictures” as seen in picture to left. Click on this link to open the picture uploader.

2 – When at the picture uploader, put a check in the box beside “I have read and accept the above picture upload terms & conditions.”

3 - Then click on the grey “Choose File” button in the uploader to find the picture you want to upload that you have stored in a file on your computer. If you don’t know how to save and store a picture on your computer so you can upload it, ask your kids or grandkids.

4 - After choosing the picture you want to upload from your computer, click on the green Upload Picture button.

5 - After clicking on the Upload Picture button the crop tool will open. For best clarity, upload pictures that are 800 pixels x 500 pixels or larger. If your picture is larger than 800p x 500p, you can slide the crop tool up and down to crop your picture by holding down the left click on your mouse and dragging the crop box up or down. After cropping, click on the green Crop Picture button.

6 – The next step is optional but allows you to add a caption or description. The caption will show up on your picture. The description will show up underneath the picture. Click on the green Save Picture button and your done!

Picture Tips:

- When taking pictures of plants to upload to the internet, it is best to capture the plant or flower in the center of the picture.

- You can upload any size picture to Gardenality, preferably full-size pictures. If you know how, use a photo editor to pre-crop and size pictures to 800p x 500p before uploading. This will speed up the upload process.