Australia

Canna 'Australia'

Canna 'Australia'

(Italian Group)(Heritage Group)
Origin JOHNSON Jonny K.
Parentage unknown
Height Tall, over 6ft/185cm
Foliage Dark
Form Upright
Flower Orange
Blooming Average bloomer
Tillering Average
Available Specialist

Introduced by Jonny K. Johnson, USA in 1906, Canna 'Australia' is a tall Italian Group cultivar; bronze foliage, ovoid shaped, maroon margin, upright habit; oval main stems, coloured bronze; triangular flower stalks, coloured bronze; clusters of flowers are open, self-coloured red-orange, staminodes are large, edges frilled, petals purple with farina, fully self-cleaning, average bloomer, blooms open in the early morning; seed is sterile, pollen is low fertile; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured purple; tillering is average.

Canna 'Australia' is available from specialist growers.

This is probably the finest of all large 'black' foliage cannas, and its foliage prescence always obscures the fine flowers it also produces. On one of his many travels, the canna guru Mr. Jonny K. Johnson discovered this canna growing, unnamed, in New Zealand. Jonny bought the plant back to the USA, named it Canna 'Australia', and the rest is history as it has become one of the most popular of canna plants. 

I once asked Jonny about the naming of this cultivar, and he told me that he suspected that it was really C. 'Feurzauber' from the old nurseries of Wilhelm Pfitzer in Germany. However, research shows that C. 'Feurzauber' was a French Group canna, whereas the one Jonny called C. 'Australia' is most definately an Italian Group plant.
When the winter months arrive, it will make an interesting project to try and tie down the origins of this plant, but in the meantime it is Canna 'Australia', and I love it!

References

Damman & Cie, 1899
Australia - orchid flowered 1898 About 4 feet high, leaves dark green with a brown border; flowers very large, salmon -red striped with deep sulphur-yellow; extremely fine.

Das Geschlecht der Canna, by Árpád Mühle
Australia. (Dam.) height of 150 cm. Leaves dunkl green, flowers very largely, salm roth, satisfied sulfur yellow gest mature.

Cassells Dictionary of Practical Gardening, Walter P. Wright, 1910
Italian, or Orchid-like salmon red flowers, striped red. Green and brown foliage.

Brockings Exotics Catalogue, 1997
(T) very dark glossy purple leaves, orange/red flowers

Hart Canna, 2000, Internet October 2000
Flower yellow striped and overlaid with red. Leaves green. Tall. (This was the original ‘Australia’, Karl Sprenger 1906)

Plant Delights Nursery, Inc., 2000
Flowers red. Foliage very dark bronze/purple. Leaves narrow and spear shaped. This is commonly known as ‘Australia’ at the present day. We have grown a lot of purple foliaged Cannas, but never anything like this. The deep burgundy-black foliage has a satin-like sheen, and the intense color holds superbly during the summer heat. The foliage rises to 4-5 feet topped with a magnificent display of large, shocking red flowers....a true stunner. Thanks to Canna guru, Johnnie Johnson for sharing this coveted gem that he obtained from New Zealand. (Syn. ‘Feuerzauber’)

Bernard Yorke, Australia
(Orange Version) Good orange, velvet green leaves.

Ian Cooke, The Gardeners Guide to Growing Cannas
(T) The flowers of this splendid cultivar are large and a pearly salmon. However, the main feature is its brilliant burnished chestnut-brown leaves: it is probably the best tall, dark-leaved canna to date. Sadly, it is difficult to cultivate and likes to be kept growing throughout the winter, rather than being allowed to go dormant. It produces very few new divisions each year so plants are always expensive and in short supply. The name is confusing as ‘The International Check-list’ describes ‘Australia’ as a yellow-flowered cultivar raised in 1906. That form seems to have been lost and the name is now widely used for this later cultivar, which seems to have originated from Podgora Gardens in New Zealand. Sonja Mrsich, is the current owner, believes her parents acquired it from an unrecorded source. It can be dated as pre-1967 as it appears in pre-decimal currency lists, but its origins are unknown

Hart Canna, 2001, Catalogue
Remarkable for its extremely dark chocolate-purple leaves and stems. Tall (2m), and so slender that it often needs support. The moderately large flowers are deep orange, and carried high above the foliage. Old catalogues list ‘Australia’ as being quite a different variety, which has apparently been lost.

Rivendell Botanic Garden, List January 2001
Bright red flowers; rich red leaves; tall, thin rhizomes

Bernard Yorke, Australia
Good red, velvet red leaves

French Grown Stock
Height 1.6m. dark bronze foliage. Red flowers.

Podgora Gardens Catalogue, 2004
Pearly apricot shading, rose-red. The dark bronze foliage is ideal for floral art. 120cm.

KAVB International Canna Checklist, September 2004
Karl Sprenger, 1906; flowers yellow, striped and overlaid with red, leaves green, height over 80 cm. Raiser Johnie Johnson. Deep burgundy-black foliage. Large red flowers. (Plant Delights Nursery, Raleigh, North Carolia, USA. 5 Feb 2002)

Claines Canna Collection 2006