Canna 'The President' (The President Canna Lily) care

Light

Aim for at least 4-6 hours of direct sun on the leaves. Full sun (6 or more hours daily) is essential for the vibrant scarlet blooms and strong, upright growth. In shaded sites flowering is significantly reduced and stems become leggy. If your only bright window faces south, that's perfect for canna 'the president' — same window any aroid would fry on.

Watering

Watering canna 'the president': water every 2-3 days in summer to maintain evenly moist soil. The number that matters isn't the day of the week — it's how dry the top 2-3 cm of the pot feels. A finger in the soil tells you more than a watering app. After every watering, tip the saucer. Consistent watering is important from planting through to late summer. Drip irrigation or soaker hoses work well in beds. In containers, water when the top 2 cm of compost feels dry.

Soil and pot

Canna 'The President' grows best in fertile, humus-rich, well-drained loam. Dig in well-rotted manure or compost before planting. A near-neutral pH of 6.0-7.0 is optimal. Raised beds or mounded soil in heavy clay gardens helps prevent waterlogging around the rhizomes. A pot with a working drainage hole is non-negotiable for this species — even free-draining mix will turn soggy in a closed planter. If you love the look of a decorative pot without a hole, use it as a cachepot around an inner nursery pot you can lift out to water.

Humidity and temperature

Canna 'The President' sits happiest at around 40-65% humidity and 15-30°C (59-86°F). Adapts to average outdoor humidity in temperate climates. Mulching the soil surface conserves moisture and buffers temperature fluctuations at root level. If you keep the room above 15 year-round and avoid placing the plant near a cold draught, a hot radiator, or an air-conditioning vent, you have already handled the two biggest indoor stressors.

Fertilising

Feed canna 'the president' sparingly. Apply a balanced granular fertiliser at planting and supplement with a high-potassium liquid feed every 2-3 weeks from early summer through to late summer. Deadhead regularly to encourage continued flowering. Skip fertiliser entirely on a stressed, recently-repotted, or actively wilting plant — fertiliser salts make damage worse, not better. Wait for a round of healthy new growth before resuming a feeding rhythm.

Common problems

Below are the issues we see most often on canna 'the president' in the Growli community. Each is annotated with the most common cause so you know where to start.

• Canna leaf roller — A very common pest of cannas; larvae roll leaves and feed inside. Check new growth weekly and remove by hand; apply Bt spray at first sign.
• Aphids — Cluster on new growth and flower buds. Treat with a strong water blast or insecticidal soap spray; repeated treatments may be necessary.
• Rust — Orange-brown pustules on leaf undersides in warm, humid weather. Remove and bin affected leaves; improve air circulation.
• Rhizome rot in poor drainage — Standing water at the crown causes rot. Ensure good drainage and never plant into waterlogged ground.
• Virus mosaic — Light and dark green mosaic pattern on leaves, often with distortion. Remove infected plants to prevent aphid-mediated spread.

Companion plants

Canna 'The President' pairs well with Dahlia 'Bishop of Llandaff', Salvia splendens, Zinnia elegans, and Pelargonium. These are species with similar light and water needs, so you can group them in the same room or on the same shelf and water as a batch.

Propagation

Divide rhizomes in spring, with each piece carrying at least one eye. Pot up in a warm position before planting out after the last frost. Alternatively, seeds can be sown after soaking in warm water for 24 hours, though seedlings will not be true to type. Propagation is the cheapest, most satisfying way to expand a collection — and it doubles as insurance against losing a mature plant to an accident. Take a backup cutting once the parent is established and healthy.

Toxicity to pets

Canna 'The President' is mildly toxic to pets. Not individually listed by the ASPCA. The Canna genus is considered to have low toxicity overall; ingestion may cause mild gastrointestinal discomfort in dogs and cats. If you keep cats, dogs, or curious children in the house, weigh placement carefully — a high shelf or a hanging planter is enough for casual safety. For severe ingestion incidents, call your local vet and the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (in the US, 888-426-4435).

Pet-safety status is sourced from the ASPCA Toxic and Non-Toxic Plant List, which catalogues the most-asked-about plants for cats, dogs, and horses.

Canna 'The President' deep-dive guides

Every aspect of canna 'the president' care, each with its own calibrated guide:

• Common canna 'the president' problems & fixes
• Canna 'The President' watering schedule
• Canna 'The President' light requirements
• Best soil mix for canna 'the president'
• Canna 'The President' fertilizing guide
• When to repot canna 'the president'
• How to propagate canna 'the president'
• How to prune canna 'the president'
• What's eating my canna 'the president'?
• Canna 'The President' growth rate & size
• Canna 'The President' cold hardiness
• Canna 'The President' temperature & humidity
• Is canna 'the president' toxic to cats & dogs?
• Is canna 'the president' toxic to cats?
• Is canna 'the president' toxic to dogs?
• All 20 Canna varieties
• Getting canna 'the president' to bloom

Featured in these plant shortlists

Canna 'The President' qualifies for 4 curated Growli shortlists — each one filtered objectively from our structured plant-care library, so the selection is consistent and checkable:

• Best drought-tolerant houseplants — Houseplants that prefer to dry out — forgiving of forgotten watering and ideal for travel or busy weeks.
• Best flowering houseplants — Indoor plants grown for their blooms — selected from the flowering species in Growli’s plant-care library.
• Best houseplants for full sun — Houseplants that want direct sun — the species for a hot south or west-facing windowsill where shade-lovers scorch.
• Best fast-growing houseplants — Houseplants documented as fast or vigorous growers — quick to fill a pot, cover a pole or trail down a shelf.
• Browse all 30 plant shortlists — pet-safe, low-light, drought-tolerant and more

Related guides

Canna 'The President' is also commonly called The President Canna Lily or President Canna.

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• All 11687 plant care guides in the Growli library