Thursday, June 3, 2010

Canna Show You a Canna?

I noticed this large canna leaf at school and had to smile. It looked like some kid with a hole puncher had found some way to entertain himself while waiting for his bus. At the time, I  only noticed the one long, straight line of holes. However when  I got back another day with my camera, I noticed there were additional holes in shorter, less tidy lines.

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I like cannas, but I don’t grow cannas anymore. The reason I don’t grow cannas is caterpillars. Cannas seem to be a favorite food and I found it impossible to grow cannas that did not have leaves that looked like lace---and not pretty lace.

When canna leaves are new on the plant, they emerge as a rolled tube.

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The leaf with the straight lines of holes was chewed by a caterpillar at this stage and one good hole unfurled as the long pattern we see.

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