Description
Tropical Yellow Canna Lily Plants are related to banana plants and are most often grown for their spring and summer flowers. Tropical Yellow Canna Lily Plants have wide, pointed leaves and glowing yellow flowers that grow in clusters on the tops of their long stems. Also called Arrowroot or Canna Lily, Cannas grow from seeds or rhizomes. The plants also send forth new shoots that cause the plants to spread. They do best in the ground in USDA Zones 7 to 12, or in pots in Zones 4 to 12.
Tropical Yellow Canna Lily Plants are not just pretty, but the plants also have edible roots, new shoots, and leaves. Cannas have been used for food since ancient times in Peru and Ecuador. Today Canna roots are used as a starch in Hawaii, Asia, and many islands in the Caribbean and Pacific. Add a few of these exotic herbaceous plants to the edible garden and enjoy bright yellow blooms from late spring until early fall.
Canna Care
New Tropical Yellow Canna Lily Plants can be started from seeds, or by dividing and planting the growing roots. Dormant rhizomes can also be overwintered in a warm, dry location then planted in spring. When planting Tropical Yellow Canna rhizomes, choose a spot with direct sun and plant the roots about three inches deep. Water in well and keep the ground damp until the new shoots begin to grow.
Once established, Tropical Yellow Canna Lily Plants should be watered about once per week, or when the ground is dry to one or two inches deep. Tropical Yellow Canna Lily Plants can be planted in soil prone to flooding, and they can even be grown at the edges of fresh water lakes or ditch banks that are continually damp. Mulch plants with organic materials and fertilize with slow release balanced fertilizers in spring and summer.
Tropical Yellow Canna Lily Plant Uses & Harvesting
Tropical Yellow Canna Lily Plant shoots, leaves, and roots can be eaten. Collect new shoots that are about two to three inches long by cutting the shoots off at ground level. Shoots can be eaten raw in salads or cooked. Boil or bake the unpeeled rhizomes until the inside is tender, then serve by mashing with butter and spices. The cooked root starch can also be dried and used as flour.
Once plants have been growing for one year or more, harvest the rhizomes by digging up sections of the plant, cutting the canes off, and rinsing the roots well. Remove the smaller feeding roots and allow the rhizomes to dry in a cool dry place for one hour, or up to one day, before cooking. The traditional method of cooking Canna root is baking in a coal oven for as long as twelve hours.
Advice
Canna Lily seeds can be planted to grow more plants. Allow the green, fuzzy seedpods to turn brown on the plant, and collect the seeds by splitting the pods. Dried Canna Lily seeds are very hard and, in fact, were used as buckshot by early American hunters. Plant the hard seeds two to three inches deep and keep damp until they sprout.
Trimmed Canna Lily leaves, stalks, and flowers can be used as mulch and make a great addition to compost. The leaves can be fed to foraging animals such as rabbits, or used as bedding for small livestock like goats or chickens. In areas where winter freezing is common, collect rhizomes in early fall and store them in a warm ventilated area for planting in spring.
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