Canna Semaphore - Indian shot

Canna 'Semaphore' is a hybrid variety that reaches an impressive height. This opulent rhizomatous perennial bears magnificent spikes of apricot-orange flowers, contrasting beautifully with its lush purple foliage. It blooms from summer to the first frost. This plant is drought-tolerant but will be more beautiful planted in moist but well-drained soil, in full sun or partial shade. It should be grown like a dahlia, either isolated in a lawn or at the back of flower beds.

Canna 'Semaphore' is a recent horticultural creation, resulting from the crossbreeding of C. edulis, or C. indica, a tall perennial native to tropical and subtropical regions of South America, and C. flaccida, with wider flowers and spectacular variegations, native to wetlands in the southeastern United States, from Texas to South Carolina. This plant belongs to the Cannaceae family, in the same group as gingers and bananas. In spring, its thick and knotted rhizome develops a dense clump measuring at least 1m (3ft), composed of numerous large entire leaves with sheathing bases that form false stems. The colour of the laminae is a deep purple, almost violet. From July to the first frosts, thin floral stalks reaching a height of 1.8m (6ft) appear in the middle of these stems. The asymmetrical flowers are grouped in dense spikes and display shiny apricot-orange petals.

Hybrid cannas are majestic and colourful plants, ideal for adding spice to the back of flower beds or planted in large groups on a lawn. Their cultivation is accessible to all. Consider planting them in dense flower beds of about ten bulbs of the same variety, or by mixing green and purple foliage. Canna 'Semaphore' can be used to create stunning exotic-looking container displays, but its size will require a particularly large pot. It forms a beautiful combination with a banana plant or bamboo. Grow this plant like a dahlia. Dig up the rhizomes before the frost arrives and replant them in spring.