Canna lily care: how to plant and grow these tropical gems

We're already mentally getting ready for summer; picture freshly mown lawns, deck chairs, barbecues, and gorgeous tropical flowers and displays. If you wish it, it'll come sooner right? And if you're looking for a statement plant to add fabulous design and a kaleidoscope of colour to your dream garden in the warmer months, look no further than the hugely popular Canna lily.

A favourite with garden designers, Canna lilies have bold, flashy flowers and luxurious, tonal foliage - and even better, it's easy to get growing yourself! While it might be a little early to plant them, now is the perfect time to get your hands on the dormant plant to save yourself a fortune ahead of summer.

We've shared a Canna lily care guide along with the best varieties to shop for to bring your dream, summer-holiday-ready garden to life in full force this year.

How to care for Canna lilies

The easiest way to grow Canna lilies is in a pot and fortunately, bare-root rhizomes (the subterranean plant stems) are a fraction of the cost of a potted-up, growing plant in summer.

These vibrant, funky flowers don't do well in the cold, so you should plant them in late spring or early summer when the chilly weather is less of a threat, and keep them in a frost-free spot for a few months. From early summer until the first severe frost of autumn, you can look forward to seeing some seriously gorgeous displays before they need lifting again in autumn to store away from the incoming frost. In a pot, that's easy!

If you'd prefer to have your Canna lilies in your flower bed, we'd recommend sinking a nursery pot into the ground so you can still easily lift them out when the winter frost arrives. That way, you can effortlessly blend them in with your other blooms and still make sure they flourish and survive.

While you can leave your rhizomes in the ground over winter, it does affect the plant's growth and lessens the chance of you getting those stunning, tropical-like flowers. The cold will likely cause them to grow later in spring which could result in less or even no flowers at all. If you do decide to leave them outside, make sure to cover them with a thick 15cm of mulch to help keep them protected as best you can.

Pick a healthy plant

Canna lily rhizomes are available to buy online, from specialist suppliers, and some varieties are available to buy at garden centres too. If you're buying from your local garden centre, you should choose rhizomes that are firm with no mouldy growth and, ideally, haven’t produced any leaves yet. Most Canna varieties grow to be 1.5-1.8 metres high, though there are some shorter varieties that only reach 50-90cm, ideal for smaller spaces and pots.

Here are our favourite Canna lily varieties to buy for a modern garden to make a statement this summer.

Our pick of the best Canna lily varieties

Keep your Canna lily alive

You've got your Canna rhizomes - next step is keeping it alive!

It's best to pot your rhizomes up as soon as possible into pots big enough to accommodate them with multipurpose variety compost around. If that's not doable, just make sure to pop them into a cold but frost-free and dark place until you're ready.

Once potted, you should store them in a frost-free place, such as a shed or garage, until the shoots begin to grow - then you'll want to move them somewhere that's still frost-free but well-lit.

When the danger of frost has subsided, normally late spring or early summer, move your pots outside to a warm and sunny spot so they can bask in the sunshine.

At the end of the season, bring your pots back inside and cut down the stems to just above compost level with a pair of secateurs. As these plants are dormant in winter, they won’t need any watering while stored. We said they were easy!

Help your Canna lily to thrive

Although Canna lilies will survive drought conditions, they will grow and flower much more lavishly if the compost remains moist. You should make sure to water them thoroughly whenever the compost starts to dry out and feed in spring with a controlled-release fertiliser for that extra boost.

We'd also recommend adding a 5-7cm deep layer of mulch around your rhizome after planting. Mulch is made up of organic material such as moss, grass, tree bark, and wood chips to help the soil retain moisture to improve fertility and suffocate weeds.

Canna lily care buys

Here's some products we recommend buying to help your Canna lily truly shine...

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