Canarina canariensis is a plant in the Campanulaceae family endemic to the Canary Islands off the North African Atlantic coast, with a desert-like sunny climate year-round. But the higher elevations are yet covered with a relic of tertiary (a geological age classification) forest that acts as an important water trap by condensing water from the clouds. In this moist, cool but absolutely frost-free environment grows this stunning plant.
First introduced into Europe in 1696, this is a beautiful plant for the cool greenhouse, scrambling, rather than climbing, its way up to 10 ft. The annual vegetation starts in August, with tiny purple shoots at first that elongate quickly during autumn and winter, and form a big mass of scrambling, branching stems often more than 2 m/6 feet long with a flower at each tip.
This is a beautiful vine with bluish green attractive arrow-shaped, glaucous leaves, and bearing superbly beautiful, large, bell-shaped flowers, approximately 7cm/3 in long and 5cm/2 in wide. These can be orange to quite deep orangey-red, exquisitely veined in a darker shade. This plant will bloom during winter.
As if the beauty of the flowers were not enough, these are followed by orange or reddish-black, walnut-sized, fleshy berries that are edible. It forms a thick, fleshy, beet-like tuber and is very herbaceous and slightly fleshy, with a marked dormancy during summer.
Hardiness zones :
9 (-5c/25f). Canary Bell Flower is an easily growing perennial for a peaty soil, which should be kept always moist as long as plants are in leaf and let fall drier as soon as plants go dormant from mid summer to early autumn. Start to water again as soon as new growth appears in autumn. Requires a climbing aid and is mainly winter-growing. In habitat it scrambles through scrub, or hangs down cliffs. You should grow it in a large pot containing a fertile soil (a lot of humus), and keep it in the open garden in half-shade during dormancy, but never totally dry. Once it sprouts, tie the shoots and fertilize from time to time. In winter, let it scramble over some structures in a greenhouse where temperatures should always be above freezing, but cool to cold. With increasing temperatures in late spring it goes dormant, and completely sheds its shoots.
| Label |
No |
| Common name |
Canary Bellflower |
| Family |
No |
| Genus |
No |
| Species |
Canarina canariensis |
| Cultivar |
No |
| Therapeutic uses |
No |
| Germination |
Canarina canariensis seeds will usually germinate in 30-180 days, even under good conditions germination may be erratic. Sow seeds about 1mm deep in a well drained seed sowing mix at about 22°C. Do not cover the seeds. Keep the pots always slightly moist from beneath. Place them in a partially shaded spot. In several Canary plants, higher temperatures will slow down or even inhibit germination! Young seedlings are growing rather slowly, as soon as fourth pair of leaves appears they grow rapidly, especially from autumn to spring. Keep them in a sunny place, at a minimum of 7°C in winter.
Canarina is a beautiful plant but can be tricky. Seedlings need a certain tuber size before they flower and this may take several years. Also it is important not to keep them too warm in spring as warmth induces dormancy, and if this happens too early in the season, tuber growth will be poor and it will be prone to rotting. The tuber must not be kept totally dry when dormant. Note that even with watering in summer, the growth will not start; it has a very precise timing for winter growth. This plant is sensitive to frost, even cold air currents when opening the greenhouse door during hard frosts can cause leaf burn on plants growing near the door. |
| Scarification / Stratification |
No |
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