List of Canna hybridists

Last updated July 13, 2023

The first hybridisation of Cannas was performed in 1848, and since then many Canna hybridizers have made their contribution to the genus over the centuries. This is a date ordered list of those people and their brief stories.

1848 Théodore Année

A retired French diplomatic agent in America, the gentleman gardener Monsieur Théodore Année of Passy, France, brought back from his travels the seeds of several Canna species, and in 1848 he crossed C. glauca with C. indica, so producing the first known and recorded Canna hybrid, C. x annaei André, now referred to as C. 'Annei'. Année was rapidly joined by many other enthusiasts and professional horticulturists as Canna hybrids enjoyed rapid popularity in France. In 1866 he retired to Nice, France, and from there released his last recorded cultivar, C. 'Prémices de Nice'.

1850s Jean Liabaud

A resident of Lyon, France.

1850s E. Chaté et fils

A resident of Paris, France.

1860s Jean Sisley

A resident of Lyon, France.

1860s Mr Goujon and Mr Jules Chretien

Resident of Lyon, France. Both supervisors of the Tete d’Or park.

1862 Antoine Crozy

Amongst the professionals who joined in the enthusiasm for new Canna cultivars was the rose breeder Monsieur Antoine Crozy of Lyons, France, who first started hybridising Cannas in 1862 and continued introducing new canna cultivars at a rapid rate until his death in 1903, giving his name to a whole new group of floriferous Canna cultivars. Crozy aîné (French for "elder"), as he was universally known, was succeeded by his son, Michel Crozy (1871–1908). He was also accorded the nickname of Papa Canna, as he was considered to be the father of Cannas. Unfortunately, no images of this remarkable man appear to have survived over the years.

1870s Monsieur Nardy

Resident of Lyons, France.

1880s Wilhelm Pfitzer

Messrs Wilhelm Pfitzer of Stadt Fellbach in Germany produced over 300 new cultivars up until the early 1950s. Many generations of the founder, Wilhelm, followed in the business, which is still in existence on a small scale. Wilhelm's son Walter took over control of the business in the 1870s until his death in 1931. Until then, Walter Pfitzer was still in demand judging at international fairs, exhibitions, and shows, retaining his presidency and Vice Presidency of the German and British Gladiolus Societies respectively, right until the end. His continual interest in Cannas meant a steady supply of new cultivars being produced each year.

In 1933, there were about 150 employees worldwide. That same year, in order to celebrate the elevation of Fellbach to the status of a city, the firm named one of its best seedlings that year as Canna ‘Stadt Fellbach’, meaning ‘City of Fellbach’. That is still a popular cultivar in this day and age.

Walter's children Paul, Anna & Rudolf followed their father into the business, but in the 1950s they were forced to abandon the breeding of Cannas, as the high cost of German labour meant that they could no longer compete with Mediterranean countries, who also enjoyed a more favourable climate.

1880 Vilmorin-Andrieux & Cie

Messrs Vilmorin-Andrieux & Cie in France produced a considerable number of new cultivars during the last century.

1890s Antoine Wintzer

Although thought of primarily as rose hybridists, the US firm of Conard Pyle Co. also contributed large numbers of cultivars in the early part of the 1900s, under the guidance of its chief hybridist Antoine Wintzer. Wintzer worked in collaboration with Dr van Fleet, of the USDA, to produce many new Canna varieties.

1887 Dammann & Cie

One of Crozy's most beautiful creations was the cultivar Canna 'Madame Crozy', that has a beautiful crimson red colour with a golden margin. It was used by the Italian horticulturist Carl Spenger, from the Dammann establishments at San Giovanni a Teduccio near Naples, to create the "Canna with orchid flowers" or "Italian Canna", as they were known. Examples of varieties having the Canna hybrid Madame Crozy as a parent, are C. 'Austria' (1893), C. 'Italia' (1893), C. 'Alemania' (1894), C. 'Britannia' (1895), C. 'Heinrich Seidel'(1895). There is recorded knowledge of 57 cultivars originating from this prolific nursery, until its destruction by the eruption of the Mount Vesuvius volcano in the early 1900s.

1880s Victor Lemoine

Victor Lemoine was a resident of Nancy, France, and considered^{[ by whom? ]} to be one of the greatest horticulturists of all time, and was the first foreigner to receive the Victorian Medal of Horticulture of the Royal Horticultural Society. He also received the George R. White Medal of Honor from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.

1892 Alipore Canna Collection

The Agri Horticultural Society of India, located in Kolkata, India, firstly under the Secretaryship of Percy Lancaster in 1892 and later that of his son Sydney Percy-Lancaster, raised the Alipore Canna Collection, which dominated canna throughout that continent. Over 100 new varieties are known to have been raised by the society during that period, as well as importing the latest favourites from Europe and later from the USA.

1896 Luther Burbank

Mr Luther Burbank was a celebrated horticulturist when in 1896 he released his first two Canna cultivars, C. ‘Tarrytown’ and C. ‘Burbank’. He is reputed to be the first to recognise and name the C. 'Roi Humbert' mutation, which he named as C. 'Yellow King Humbert'.

His known cultivars were all of the type found in the Italian Group of Cannas.

1900s Rozain-Boucharlat

In the early 20th century, the Rozain-Boucharlat establishments were prolific hybridists. Their nursery at Cuires-les-Lyon, France, was the origin of many canna cultivars. Their catalog of the year 1910 documented 110 canna varieties, many of them being their own creations.

One of their principal successes was the obtaining of a pure pink colour which didn't exist at that time (only pale pink and salmon pink existed). The obtaining of these cultivars C. ‘Francis Berthie’ and C. ‘Prince de Galles’ encouraged them to try for a purer colour. In 1922, the cultivar C. ‘Prince Charmant’ with its bright carmine pink colour brought the desired tone to the collection. This is still a popular cultivar, found in many collections.

However, the improvements didn't stop there and in 1930, the Rozain-Boucharlat's variety C. 'Centenaire de Rozain-Boucharlat' appeared in their list. This variety which is small, floriferous, with big spikes and carmine, lilac shaded flowers is still found at many horticulturists' and cities’ green spaces. It was released in celebration of the first 100 years of the company.

1960s Longwood Gardens

Longwood Gardens in the USA contributed a collection of Conservatory Group and Aquatic Group cultivars, originated by Dr Robert Armstrong the chief geneticist at Longwood Gardens, Pennsylvania, USA.

1980s Marcelle Sheppard

Although best known for her Crinum cultivars, over the years Mrs Marcelle Sheppard has also hybridized a number of winning Cannas. One of the most exciting to look at is C. 'Zulu Rouge' with its dark (almost brown-black) foliage and bright red flowers. Many of her cultivars were distributed over the years by Herb Kelly Jr.

Related Research Articles

Canna or canna lily is the only genus of flowering plants in the family Cannaceae, consisting of 10 species. Cannas are not true lilies, but have been assigned by the APG II system of 2003 to the order Zingiberales in the monocot clade Commelinids, together with their closest relatives, the gingers, spiral gingers, bananas, arrowroots, heliconias, and birds of paradise.

Dianthus is a genus of about 340 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native mainly to Europe and Asia, with a few species in north Africa and in southern Africa, and one species in arctic North America. Common names include carnation, pink and sweet william.

Pelargonium is a genus of flowering plants that includes about 280 species of perennials, succulents, and shrubs, commonly called geraniums, pelargoniums, or storksbills. Geranium is also the botanical name and common name of a separate genus of related plants, also known as cranesbills. Both genera belong to the family Geraniaceae. Carl Linnaeus originally included all the species in one genus, Geranium, and they were later separated into two genera by Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle in 1789.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canna 'Roma'</span> Flowering plant cultivar

Canna Italian Group 'Roma' is a tall aquatic Italian Group cultivar, equally at home as a water marginal or in the border; large green foliage, oval shaped, white margin, upright habit; round stems, coloured green & purple; flowers are open, yellow with orange blotches, throat red-orange, staminodes are large, edges lightly frilled, stamen is orange-red, petals red, fully self-cleaning; seed is sterile, pollen is low fertile; rhizomes are long and thin, coloured white and pink; tillering is prolific. Introduced by C. Sprenger, Dammann & Co., Naples, Italy, EU in 1898.

Canna 'Phasion' is a medium sized Italian Group cultivar; green, bronze and pink variegated foliage, ovoid shaped, branching habit; oval stems, coloured red; clusters of flowers are open, tangerine-orange and burnt-red, staminodes are large, edges frilled, petals purple with farina, fully self-cleaning; seed is sterile, pollen is sterile; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured white and purple; tillering is average. Originally a spontaneous mutation, probably of Canna 'Wyoming', as it has been known to revert its foliage colour to that identical to that old cultivar. Sold in the US and elsewhere as Canna Tropicanna®, it was protected under US Plant Patent #10,569. Because the patent was issue on 1998-08-25, it has now expired and propagation is now allowed. The plant can be sold under its cultivar name Phasion.

Canna 'Florence Vaughan' is a medium Crozy Group canna cultivar; green foliage, oval shaped, branching habit; oval stems, coloured green; flowers are open, yellow with red spots, staminodes are medium size, edges regular, fully self-cleaning; fertile both ways, not self-pollinating or true to type, capsules globose; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured white; tillering is average. Introduced by A. Crozy, Lyon, France in 1892.

Canna 'Madame Crozy' is a medium-sized 'Crozy Group' canna cultivar; green foliage, large, ovoid shaped, branching habit; oval stems, coloured red; spikes of flowers are open, scarlet with a narrow gold margin, throat gold with vermilion spots, staminodes are medium size, edges regular, petals red, fully self-cleaning; fertile both ways, not true to type, self-pollinating; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured purple; tillering is prolific. It was introduced by A. Crozy, Lyon, France in 1890 and was named in honour of his wife. It was awarded the RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM), in 1890.

Canna 'Roi Humbert' is an Italian Group canna cultivar; bronze foliage, ovoid shaped, spreading habit; oval stems, coloured purple; flowers are cupped, self-coloured scarlet, staminodes are large, edges ruffled, fully self-cleaning; seed is sterile, pollen is sterile; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured purple; tillering is average. Introduced by C. Sprenger, Dammann & Co, Naples, Italy, EU in 1908.

Canna 'R. Wallace' is a medium sized, Crozy Group canna cultivar; green foliage, oblong shaped, white margin, spreading habit; round stems, coloured green; flowers are open, pale yellow with red spots, staminodes are large, edges regular, stamen is rose-red with small yellow flecks; fertile both ways, not self-pollinating or true to type, capsules round; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured white and pink.

Sydney Percy-Lancaster was an English landscape gardener who worked in India. Both his father as well as his son worked as gardeners.

Wilhelm Pfitzer was a German horticulturist.

Carl Ludwig Sprenger was a German botanist, born on 30 November 1846 at Güstrow, Mecklenburg and died 13 December 1917 on the island of Corfu (Kérkyra).

Star Roses and Plants/Conard-Pyle, is a horticultural products company, based in West Grove, Pennsylvania since 1855. The company introduced the Peace rose to America from Europe, and always specialized in rose production, but at one time, they were the leading Canna grower and hybridizer in the United States. Star Roses and Plants/Conard-Pyle is best known for introducing the Knock Out Family of Roses and Drift Roses.

Pierre Antoine Marie Crozy (1831-1903) [also called Crozy aîné—French for "elder"] was a nineteenth-century French rose breeder. He was a partner in the French firm, Avoux & Crozy, La Guillotière, Lyon, actively breeding roses from the 1850s to 1860s. From the early 1860s until his death in 1903 he was also hybridising Canna species, and introduced many hundreds of new cultivars. The largest Canna Group today is still called the Crozy Group, and many of those cultivars are still being raised.

Théodore Année was a French horticulturist. He was a wealthy diplomatic consul in South America when he retired to France in the mid-1840s and settled in rue des Réservoirs, Passy, Paris, where he devoted himself to the culture of tropical plants from South America, having brought back with him the taste for plants with beautiful foliage, especially the Canna genus.

Pelargonium × hortorum, commonly called zonal geranium, or garden geranium, is a nothospecies of Pelargonium most commonly used as an ornamental plant. It is a hybrid between Pelargonium zonale and Pelargonium inquinans. They are the group of Pelargonium cultivars, with leaves marked with a brown annular zone and inflorescence in the form of large balls of tight flowers, usually red, pink, or white. These are the most common geraniums of garden centers and florists, sold in pots for windowsills and balconies or planted in flowerbeds.

Rosa 'Perle d'Or' is an apricot blend Polyantha rose cultivar bred by Joseph Rambaux in 1875 and introduced by Francis Dubreuil in France in 1883. 'Perle d'Or' was granted several awards, including the Lyon Gold Medal in 1883, and the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit in 1993.

Rosa 'Madame Caroline Testout' is a bright pink hybrid tea rose, bred by French rosarian, Joseph Pernet-Ducher. The pink, fragrant rose has been a very popular rose worldwide since its introduction in 1890. It is recognized by the city of Portland as being an important contributor to its worldwide reputation as the "City of Roses"

References

Bailey, L.H. - Canna x generalis. Hortus, 118 (1930); cf. Standley & Steyerm. in Fieldiana: Botany, xxiv. III.204 (1952).
Bailey, L.H. - Canna x orchiodes. Gentes Herb. (Ithaca), 1 (3): 120 (1923).
Chaté, E. - Le Canna, 1866.
Cooke, Ian. 2001. The Gardener's Guide to Growing Canna, Timber Press. ISBN 978-0-88192-513-5
Khoshoo, T.N. & Guha, I. - Origin and Evolution of Cultivated Cannas. Vikas Publishing House.
Moore, Thomas. 1892. The Gardener's Assistant. Blackie & Son Ltd.
Percy-Lancaster, S., An Amateur in an Indian Garden. 1927.
Robinson W., The English Flower Garden, John Murray, Albemarle St, London, England. 1883.
Robinson W., The Subtropical Garden, John Murray, Albemarle St, London, England. 1879.
Woodson, R. E. Jr. and R. W. Schery. 1945. Cannaceae. In: R. E. Woodson Jr. et al., eds. 1943–1981. Flora of Panama. 41 fasc. St. Louis. [Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 32: 74–80.]

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