Canna Madame Angèle Martin - Indian shot

Canna 'Madame Angèle Martin' is an old and beautiful variety of canna lily that combines subtle shades of cream, pale-yellow and salmon-pink with very beautiful foliage tinged with purple. The flowers bloom from July until the first frosts. This large rhizomatous perennial with the appearance of a flowering banana tree boasts the splendour of the tropics where its ancestors were born. It is not very hardy, but it will reveal its full potential in moist, deep, and fertile soil, just like dahlias which are cultivated in the same way. Plant it in the middle of a lawn or in a large pot on a patio for a sublime summer display.

Canna 'Madame Angèle Martin' is a French horticultural creation introduced by Vilmorin-Andrieux in 1915. This hybrid is the result of crossbreeding between C. edulis, or C. indica, a large perennial native to the tropical and subtropical regions of South America, with C. flaccida, which has wider flowers and spectacular variegation, native to the wetlands of the southeastern United States. All these plants belong to the Cannaceae family, and to the same group as gingers and banana trees. In spring, its thick and knotted rhizome develops a dense clump measuring 1.4m (5ft) in height and 70cm (28in) in width under good conditions. The vegetation consists of large entire leaves, with sheathing bases forming false stems. Their colour ranges from purple to brown and violet, with older leaves becoming dark green. Thin flower stalks of about 1.60m (5ft) in height appear in the centre. The asymmetrical flowers are clustered at the top, displaying petals mixed with yellow, salmon, pink, and cream.

Hybrid cannas are majestic and colourful plants, ideal for adding interest to the back of borders for taller varieties, or for brightening up patios and balconies for more compact varieties. Growing them is within everyone's reach. Consider planting them in dense flower beds of about ten bulbs of the same variety, or by mixing green and purple foliage. Canna 'Madame Angèle Martin' can be used to create stunning exotic-looking container displays. Plant enthusiasts will also appreciate the astonishing Canna 'Cleopatra', the common castor bean, or Crinum asiaticum, with the appearance of a giant lily. Grow this plant like a dahlia. Dig up the rhizomes before the frost arrives and replant them in spring.