I learned about this canna from Will Giles’ Encyclopedia of Exotic Plants for Temperate Climates. I’ve never seen it in local nurseries but managed to purchase some from Old House Gardens, where it’s the only canna they carry.
It gets quite tall, so it’s nice at the back of the bed where you need a pop of cerise. It’s been short-lived in my garden, petering out after a few summers, but I may be denying it fertilizer or something else it really needs to thrive. Luckily Old House Gardens no longer limits you to one tuber per order like they did when I first started growing it.
The leaves are fairly plain for a canna but they are a welcome backdrop in the back garden jungle. The flowers are just now starting and tend to go all summer.
From Old House Gardens:
Though widely praised by late Victorian gardeners, it doesn’t store or ship as easily as other cannas so it all but disappeared in the 20th century. But now it’s back, and it’s a thrill! 5-7’, green leaves, minimum zones 8a or winter indoors, from Michigan.