Jeff (?),
Interesting blog you have. Not knowing which other canna cultivars you are growing, it is a bit difficult making comparisons. C. glauca does have a unique type of rhizome described as; slender, long-creeping, and stoloniferous, somewhat similar to C. ÂPanache as I recall. Under native conditions C. glauca tends to grow somewhat shallower than other species. In other words they may be more likely to freeze in the winter if not given more protection. You do not indicate if you only had one plant or several plants of C. ÂPanacheÂ. Do you ever dig and divide your cannas? I also grow in zone 7b and must always provide serious winter protection of cannas overwintered outdoors. Growers in this area also find it advisable to ensure their canna beds are well drained in the winter months. The cold heavy soils here will often cause major problems for some cultivars. Our winter temperatures seem to run in cycles where no protection is necessary or some winter cold periods are prolonged to the point of freezing several inches deep.
C. ÂPanache is not on my list of the easiest to overwinter or the most prolific, but with a little care it is a very interesting cultivar for the selective gardener.
Regards,
Kent

Thanks, Kent. Truthfully, we haven't had a real zone 7b winter in at least 10 years, and this definitely wasn't one. The lowest temp we experienced was around 17, and that only briefly. I've been growing cannas for as long as I can remember; no one here would think of digging and storing them, and they're rampant, often naturalized perennials. Within ten feet of the deceased 'Panache' is an enormous clump of 'Australia', and elsewhere in the garden are 'Wyoming', 'Constitution', 'Pretoria' (or 'Bengal Tiger' - this has even wintered over in black plastic pots sitting right out in the open for the last couple of years - just some spare plants for which I never found homes), and a red passalong variety that looks pretty close to a species. Others have come and gone over the years, and there are all of the usual suspects represented in the neighborhood, which I why I'm puzzled about 'Panache'. Drainage is not spectacular anywhere on the property (we're in a coastal area, just on the cusp of the area indicated as a flood zone n topographical maps), so that's always a concern, but also a boon to growing things like cannas and crinums, at least in the summer. Anyway, if I can scare up another plant (part of the reason for my consternation is that it's tough to find - I snagged that one on the sale table at Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria one summer), I'll give it another shot, not that I have room for it, anyway.

Just noticed yesterday that 'Panache' has finally emerged from dormancy - glad I didn't replant that area entirely!