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First Canna and first hummingbird!

minibite
19 years ago

I'm still so excited that I'm beside myself! Yesterday, I flung open my patio door leading to the deck because I wanted to hurry up and get the grill started, and to my suprise a hummingbird had been hovering over my first canna of the season. Since then I look before I open. Unfortunately, I startled the poor thing, and it flew off before I could get a good look at it,but I think it was a brownish-gray color. Hopefully, it will return and bring friends-I have at least 21 plants.

Please don't ask me what kind of canna it is, because it doesn't look like any of the ones I thought I ordered...Pretoria, Pink President, Red President, Wyoming, and something else. This has very small tubular orangish-red flowers. Not at all what I expected, but I'm anxious to see what else pops up!

I'm also a first-time canna grower and I can't believe the success I've had with these plants from figuring out how to get them started, and what soil to put them in to daily battles with Japanese beetles, etc. Certainly they LOVE water because they've grown more quickly since we've been getting all of this rain. Would love to hear your comments.

JB

Comments (6)

  • jroot
    19 years ago

    Cannas are pretty amazing plants. You can see them growing in the medians of some of our roads. They certainly are not getting a lot of watering. On the other hand they will grow in bog ponds, or even in ponds themselves. I have them beside my bog but the do get watered regularly, and are doing well. However, no flowers yet. I'm still waiting. Lucky you!

  • rjm710
    19 years ago

    Congrats on your visitor! May it be the first of many!Check out the Hummingbird forum to find out what else attracts them. They do seem to like the Cannas with smaller, species type flowers. I'm growing some Robert Kemps this year for them. I'm finding out, like you, that the Cannas grow best with lots of sun and water.

  • mimidi
    19 years ago

    Mimibite hummingbirds are the very reason I bought my first cannas yesterday. Now I am just having a fit to plant them. The first hummers have been reported coming this way. Three have been seen in Lousianna. I saw my first one on March 22, 2004. Can't wait for them to show up here. I plan to have so new food for them.

    I usually hang around the Hummingbird Garden Forum and when I saw pictures of hummers at cannas I thought I would give them a try.

  • ply17410
    19 years ago

    Minibite,

    Where did you order from? You actually were fortunate if attracting hummers was your goal. They generally avoid the gaudy hybrid flower types of the canns you mentioned. The smaller flowered type you got is preferred by hummers.

    Bob

  • njoynit
    19 years ago

    I have a red indica that atracts them cause of the smaller flowers,but they don't go for my pretoria or florence vaughn.I was told there is more nector in the smaller ones,they also set seeds.

  • minibite
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Bob,
    I ordered the following cannas on-line from Paradise Garden: Red King Humbert, Wyoming, Pretoria, Pink President, and City of Portland. For some reason, they didn't look exactly like the pictures to me, but perhaps because I'm a novice with these plants.

    Actually, I fell in love with the plant first, then quite by accident, and much to my suprise I noticed that I was getting hummers. Yes, the humming birds had no interest in the lovely large flowering ones, but stuck to the smaller long-throated flowers. (Note I said 'lovely' as apposed to gaudy-just MHO)

    Unfortunately, I wasn't smart enough last year to label what I pulled up, so I'm going to have to just plant them and see what comes up.

    I've posted the link below if you're interested, but I'm afraid to order more due to the large number of tubers you wind up with from just one at the end of the season. What are you growing this year?

    Janine

    Here is a link that might be useful: Paradise Garden

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