DG Site Updates: Hardy Tropical forum. , 1 by bwilliams

bwilliams wrote:
Well my breeding of hardy tropicals manly deals with the Colocasias, Eucomis - pineapple lily, Cannas and Callas. I also breed last year some Hardy Cactus pads 4 different forms. I have been working on Bananas and Castro beans as well but very little to show for that now. Most of my work is for my own enjoyment. I usually am trying to make a plant that I can use in my own garden rather than trying to make one just for the market. I get some people who say why do you need a 12 foot black elephant ear or 10 foot cannas. I like miniatures but I love the big tropicals as well. their is a place for them all if you have enough room.
Breeding is not for everyone I know but I have a blast doing it and with out it I probably would have gotten bored of the same old plants long ago. Now I look at plants as if they have certain things to offer in my breeding. Some plants may have only one feature that I am after and will breed for. Then you also get surprises when you breed two things that produce something you never expected. With the Colocasias I breed, I found some with blue leaves and purple veins and others with pink stems and dark spots. Cannas are no different I find I am extremely interested in the darker leaf forms. These dark leaves are seldom seen in garden displays and if I am able to get a nice or beautiful flower on top of them then it just adds to the interest. My main interest in cannas has always been foliage. The leaves are still my main interest as the base for most my breeding, but adding the nice flowers different sizes from miniatures to extremely tall forms has always interested me. Some new things I have discovered in my canna breeding are rippled leaves downward hanging flowers and color changing flowers. I find I like extremes, either sizes colors or shapes.

Here is a canna I breed a few years ago called Exotic Fantasy. The leaves are purple and blue underneath. The flowers are a bright pink color it gets a bit taller than most cannas around 7 foot. I personally breed this plant for planting in between my bananas which needed something tall with color as well as flowers to contrast with the green bananas. It works perfectly for what I need it to and I have found others enjoy growing it as well.

This message was edited Feb 22, 2008 4:53 PM