Daniel Hooibrenk

Canna 'Daniel Hooibrenk'

Canna 'Daniel Hooibrenk'

(Foliage Group)(Heritage Group)

Origin unknown
Parentage unknown
Height Tall, over 6ft/185cm
Foliage Green
Form Upright
Flower Red
Blooming Outstanding bloomer
Flowering Summer to frosts
Tillering Average
Available Specialist

Canna 'Daniel Hooibrenk' is a tall Foliage Group cultivar; dark green foliage, large, acuminate shaped, acute apex, maroon margin, upright habit; oval main stems, coloured green; oval flower stalks, coloured green; spikes of flowers are erect, self-coloured orange-red, staminodes are narrow, edges irregular, petals yellow, fully self-cleaning, outstanding bloomer, flowers in summer until frosts, blooms open in the early morning; fertile both ways, not true to type, self-pollinating, capsules globose; rhizomes are thick, up to 3 cm in diameter, coloured white and pink; tillering is average.

Canna 'Daniel Hooibrenk' is available from specialist growers.

Daniel Hooibrenk was a noted horticulturist in his time, and his book, "Cultivation and Artificial Fertilization of Cereals and Fruit Trees and Their Application to the Dutch East Indies", created much excitement with his revolutionary ideas and concepts.

This is a Foliage Group cultivar I found growing in a small farm garden near Lyon in France in the early 2000's. It cost me a bottle of Bordeaux red, and the old farmer insisted that I shared it with him... who was I to refuse?

The plant had been in his family for several generations and they grew it because of its attraction to bees and other pollinators. Those old generations of French farmers did nothing for show, and the plant would have had to work hard for its survival that long.

The farmer did not know the proper name for the plant, but the family called it "Daniel le charmeur d'abeilles", translated as "Daniel the bee charmer". My database quickly identified it as Canna 'Daniel Hooibrenk'.

References

Subtropical Gardening - Robinson 1868

Rhizomes large. Stalks strong, green. Leaves large, glaucous-green, and acuminate. Flowers large, bright orange. Freedlowering; fine habit. Height over 6 ft.

George Nicholson, The Illustrated Dictionary of Gardening, 1888.

Flowers bright orange, large, freely produced. Leaves large, glaucous-green, acuminate, with bronze margin. Stalks strong, green. Height 6’.

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