Help me identify this plant.

May 5, 2006 3:43 PM

What kind of plant is this?

It's been growing in my flower bed for about three weeks now.

posted by punkfloyd to Home & Garden (14 answers total)

Looks like a canna to me.
posted by fenriq at 3:52 PM on May 5, 2006

It'd help to say where you're located and what the history of the bed is.

My guess is Canna, which doesn't overwinter around here but might where you live. I can't find a good picture of the foliage - people seem to focus on the flowers as you might expect.
posted by TimeFactor at 3:56 PM on May 5, 2006

Oops, sorry, should have re-previewed. Well, there's two votes for canna.
posted by TimeFactor at 3:57 PM on May 5, 2006

It looks like canna, or maybe a ginger plant.
posted by Orrorin at 4:00 PM on May 5, 2006

I was thinking calla lily. Where do you live?
posted by stonefruit at 4:17 PM on May 5, 2006

My guess is Calla Lily too.
posted by RoseovSharon at 4:51 PM on May 5, 2006

North Central Texas. DFW area.
posted by punkfloyd at 4:52 PM on May 5, 2006

Canna was my first thought.
posted by statolith at 5:03 PM on May 5, 2006

You're zone 8, I think. If you'd been in a colder zone we could've eliminated some possibilities. All three plants mentioned (canna, calla, and ginger) (usually) need to be dug up in the fall and replanted in the spring where I am in zone 6. But they all should over-winter where you are. (Note that they'd all have to have been growing in the same spot last fall because all three grow from rhizomes). So unfortunately knowing where you are doesn't help narrow it down. But I'm still sticking with canna.
posted by TimeFactor at 5:23 PM on May 5, 2006

Looks like a canna to me. Hummingbirds love them.
posted by Ostara at 5:54 PM on May 5, 2006

I'm for Canna or ginger.
posted by b33j at 6:19 PM on May 5, 2006

Either way, you're going to have some pretty nice flowers! I love calla lilies and some of the cannas are pretty spectacular.
posted by fenriq at 7:29 PM on May 5, 2006

I live in DFW and have cannas in my backyard. That is definitely what you have. The folaige looks exactly like that when it's growing. Watch out for them taking over your yard. They don't winter well (turn brown and fall over) You will get yellow or red flowers sometime soon. They grow from bulbs, so if you want to move the plants you can. Have fun!
posted by MadamM at 10:06 PM on May 5, 2006

Also watch out for brazilian skippers. If you see leaves that look like they've been sewn shut in a tight little roll, unsew them and clean out the larvae inside.
posted by MadamM at 10:08 PM on May 5, 2006