Canna 'Ambassadour'

RHS Plant Profile

canna 'Ambassadour'

RHS / Joanna Kossak

Conservatory Greenhouse Herbaceous Perennial

An erect, clump-forming perennial to 1.8m with large, slightly greyish, mid-green leaves. Creamy-white flowers, the lower petals and throat initially with orange to pale pink markings, then becoming pure ivory, are produced from mid-summer to mid-autumn

Position

Full sun

Soil Types

Loam, Sand

Max Height

1.5-2.5 metres

Max Spread

0.1-0.5 metres

Size

Time to Maturity: 2–5 years
Max Spread: 0.1-0.5 metres
Max Height: 1.5-2.5 metres

Growing Conditions

Loam Sand

Moisture: Moist but well–drained
pH: Acid or Alkaline or Neutral

Position

Full sun

Aspect: South–facing or West–facing
Exposure: Sheltered
Hardiness

Hardiness Ratings

All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets

H1A: under glass all year (>15C)
H1B: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
H1C: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20): H3

Colour & Scent

Season	Stem	Flower	Foliage	Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Botanical Details

Family: Cannaceae
Native to GB/Ireland: No
Foliage: Deciduous
Habit: Clump forming
Genus: Canna are rhizomatous herbaceous perennials with erect stems bearing ovate leaves, with showy flowers with showy petal-like staminodes and small, coloured petals and sepals, borne in racemes or panicles in summer and autumn
Name Status: Unresolved

How to Grow

Cultivation

Outdoors grow in a sheltered site in fertile soil in full sun, planting in early summer once frosts have passed. Water freely in dry weather and apply a high potassium fertiliser monthly. Lift the rhizomes in autumn when frost blackens the foliage. Store over winter in barely moist peat-free potting mix or leaf mould in frost-free conditions. In mild areas leave in the ground but cover with a dry mulch. See canna cultivation

Propagation

Propagate by division in early spring

Suggested planting locations and garden types

Cottage and informal garden
Architectural
City and courtyard gardens
Coastal
Patio and container plants
Sub-tropical
Flower borders and beds

Pruning

Remove dead flowers individually to promote continued flowering. Leave to die back in autumn

Pests

Maybe susceptible to glasshouse red spider mite, slugs and caterpillars

Diseases

May be susceptible to canna viruses