Gardener's Guide to Growing Cannas [Hardcover]

Ian Cooke (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 30, 2001

This guide to cannas provides information on aspects of cultivation, propagation and controlling pests and diseases. It also includes an insight into the botany and history of cannas, and advice on the best use of the plants in garden setting.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Bold and brazen, lush and lurid, cannas are in-your-face plants, which might make their garden use limited. Cooke, however, thinks otherwise and has compiled an encyclopedia of canna culture, background, and species identification to prove it. Although the typical canna may be large and flashy, more suitable as dynamic focal points or creating a tropical atmosphere, there are smaller, more demure versions that can fit into other garden settings. Indigenous to the tropics, cannas are mistakenly assumed to be difficult to grow in cooler climates; however, thanks to extensive hybridization, ornamental cannas can withstand a wide range of conditions and make excellent and easy additions to almost any garden. Cooke carefully explains the cultural requirements, from siting and soil conditions to propagation and pests. An extensive list of all the generally available forms offers canna fans a definitive reference and introduces canna cowards to the variety, versatility, and value of these garden gems. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

The subject of the latest in the excellent series "Gardener's Guide to Growing" is Cannas, bringing the series to the forefront of fashion with today's current trend for exoticism in the garden. Written by one of the current holders of the National Collection of Cannas, Ian Cooke, this is probably the first comprehensive look at the genus since B.C. Ravenscroft's 1903 book "The Canna and How to Grow It". Cannas last had their heyday during the golden age of gardening in the mid 19th century when they were newly introduced to this country and widely used in the extravagant Victorian bedding schemes. Hailing from the West Indies and South America, they are both flamboyant and colourful with flowers ranging from red through pink, orange through to the palest yellow and with leaves from green to deepest purple to gaudy stripes. They combine well with their distant relatives the bananas and hedychiums and sit happily either in a conservatory with other tropical plants or as part of a traditional herbaceous border. Having similar cultural requirements to that of the ever-popular favourite, the dahlia, (albeit rhizomatous rather than tuberous) the canna has found favour with those gardeners looking for something a little different to enliven their summer displays. From general cultivation, propagation and hybridization, there is something for both the newcomer to gardening and the professional. An A-Z list of cultivars, hybrids and species is included together with a list of gardens where they can be seen in cultivation, both in the UK and abroad. The addition of canna-related website addresses brings this series right uptodate with today's Internet revolution. As the book is also aimed at the American market, the information includes nurseries and gardens throughout the USA for the benefit of American gardeners and those visiting the country.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: David & Charles Ltd (August 30, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 071531131X
• ISBN-13: 978-0715311318
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,045,860 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Author with a lifelong passion for plants and gardens and wide horticultural interest and experience. Now semi-retired and concentrating on writing, garden design and speaking but previously manager of award winning campus of University of Nottingham in the UK. Holder of the Associate of Honour from the Royal Horticultural Society and Chelsea Flower Show judge. Splits time between homes in the UK and California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The only book dedicated to Cannas, December 26, 2001

By 

Nanwei (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Gardener's Guide to Growing Cannas (Gardener's Guide Series) (Hardcover)

This book deserves more than five stars! I had searched for a book on Cannas for a long time. As Ian Cooke points out, this book is the only comprehensive work published on Cannas since 1903. It has become one of my treasured plant bibles, along side with "Heliconia: An Identification Guide" by Fred Berry & W. John Kress and "Exotica" by Alfred Graf.

I live in the tropics and Cannas are indispensable in adding colours to an otherwise overpowering green garden. This book is aimed at gardeners in temperate climate countries, who have a more challenging task in growing Cannas. Ian Cooke is obviously an authority on these plants. The book has valuable information on Canna species, cultivation including common pests and diseases, and propagation by rhizome division and growing from seeds. There is even a list of websites/nurseries dedicated to this genus and is an alternative avenue for sourcing of new species by keen gardeners.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the gardeners guide to growing cannas, December 19, 2001

By 

Yitzhak Greenfield (Jerusalem Israel) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Gardener's Guide to Growing Cannas (Gardener's Guide Series) (Hardcover)

Finally a book on the long-awaited gardening subject:
CANNAS , with the fine writing and photoes we expect from
Ian Cooke. A very useful book for gardeners who love
that exotic garden look.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Presents a canna expert's complete review of the plant, January 9, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Gardener's Guide to Growing Cannas (Gardener's Guide Series) (Hardcover)

Cannas are thought of in terms of their beautiful color. Ian Cooke's Gardener's Guide To Growing Cannas presents a canna expert's complete review of the plant, from an A-Z listing of varieties to the history of cannas, their cultivation and species, and cannas in the garden. Gardener's Guide To Growing Cannas is an appealing, colorful, comprehensive guide which gardeners and horticulturalists will appreciate.