Canna Firebird - Indian shot

Canna Firebird is a medium-sized variety with bright vermilion red flowers, a shade that complements its lush forest green foliage, resembling that of a banana tree. This rhizomatous perennial is strong and reliable, faithfully blooming every year. This plant is drought-resistant, but will be more beautiful in moist but well-drained soil, in full sun or partial shade. Grow it like a dahlia in colder regions.

Canna Firebird is a horticultural creation belonging to a group of hybrid cannas with a complex and uncertain lineage. It is derived, among others, from C. edulis or C. indica, a large perennial native to tropical and subtropical regions of South America, and C. flaccida, with wider flowers and spectacular variegation, indigenous to wetlands in the southeastern United States, from Texas to South Carolina. This plant belongs to the Cannaceae family, in the same group as gingers and bananas. In spring, a thick and knotty rhizome emerges, giving rise to a dense and wide clump measuring at least 60cm (24in) tall, composed of numerous large entire leaves with sheathing bases that form false stems. The thick and dark green leaves resemble those of banana trees. From July to the first frosts, thin floral stems, 80cm (32in) to 1m (3ft) in height, appear at the centre. The slender, dark red buds open into asymmetrical flowers, clustered in dense spikes. They are elegant, composed of rather narrow petals, with an intense and refined red colour. At the end of the season, the flowers are followed by curious round fruits covered with thorns. These green capsules turn violet and then brown, containing very hard black seeds.

Hybrid cannas are majestic and colourful plants, ideal for adding spice to the back of flower beds or planted in large groups on a lawn. Their cultivation is accessible to all. Consider planting them in dense flower beds of about ten bulbs of the same variety, or by mixing green and purple foliage. Canna Firebird can be used to create stunning exotic-looking container displays, alongside agapanthus, amaranths, and cosmos. It forms a beautiful combination with a banana plant or bamboo. Grow this plant like a dahlia. Dig up the rhizomes before the frost arrives and replant them in spring.