Editing Canna (plant) (section)

===Propagation===
====Sexual propagation====
[[Image:Canna Seeds 01.JPG|thumb|Canna fruit (green) and ripe seed pods]]
[[File:Canna fruits.jpg|thumb|Canna fruits]]
Seeds are produced from [[Plant sexuality|sexual]] reproduction, involving the transfer of [[pollen]] from the [[stamen]] of the pollen parent onto the stigma of the seed parent.<ref name=HMaas/> In the case of ''Canna'', the same plant can usually play the roles of both pollen and seed parents, technically referred to as a [[hermaphrodite]]. However, the cultivars of the Italian group and [[Polyploidy|triploids]] are almost always seed sterile, and their pollen has a low fertility level. [[Mutations]] are almost always totally sterile.<ref name=Khoshoo/>

''Canna'' seeds have a very hard [[seed coat]], which contributes to their [[seed#Seed dormancy|dormancy]]. Germination is facilitated by [[seed#Inducing germination|scarification]] of the seed coat, which can be accomplished by several techniques.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/how-propagate-canna-seed |title=Organic Gardening: How to Propagate Canna by Seed. |access-date=2012-01-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213072933/http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/how-propagate-canna-seed |archive-date=2012-02-13 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

;Pollination
The species are capable of [[self-pollination]], but most cultivars require an outside [[pollinator]]. All cannas produce [[nectar]], so attract nectar-consuming [[insects]], [[bat]]s, and [[hummingbird]]s, that act as the transfer agent, spreading pollen between stamens and stigmas on the same or different flowers.<ref name=Khoshoo/>

;Genetic changes
Since [[genetic recombination]] has occurred, a cultivar grown from seed will have different characteristics from its parent(s), thus should never be given a parent's name. The wild species have evolved in the absence of other ''Canna'' genes and are usually true to type when the parents are of the same species, but a degree of variance still occurs. The species ''C. indica'' is an aggregate species, having many different and extreme forms ranging from the giant to miniature, from large foliage to small foliage, both green and dark foliage, and many differently coloured blooms of red, orange, pink, or yellow, and combinations of those colours.<ref name=Khoshoo/>

====Asexual propagation====
[[Image:Culture in vitro.JPG|thumb|right|200px|''In vitro'' culture of plants in a controlled, sterile environment]]
;Division of plant parts
Outside of a laboratory, the only effective asexual propagation method is rhizome division. This uses material from a single parent, and as no exchange of genetic material occurs, it almost always produces plants that are identical to the parent. After a summer's growth, the horticultural cultivars can be separated into typically four or five separate smaller rhizomes, each with a growing nodal point (growing eye). Without the growing point, which is composed of [[meristem]] material, the rhizome will not grow.<ref name=Khoshoo/>

;Micropropagation
[[Micropropagation]], also known as tissue culture, is the practice of rapidly multiplying stock plant material to produce a large number of progeny plants. Micropropagation uses ''[[in vitro]]'' division of small pieces in a sterile environment, where they first produce proliferations of tissue, which are then separated into small pieces that are treated differently so that they produce roots and new stem tissue. The steps in the process are regulated by different ratios of plant growth regulators. Many commercial organizations have produced cannas this way, and specifically the "Island Series" of cannas was introduced by means of mass-produced plants using this technique. However, cannas have a reputation for being difficult micropropagation candidates.<ref name=Cooke/>

Micropropagation techniques can be employed to disinfest plants of a virus. In the growing tip of a plant, cell division is so rapid that the younger cells may not have had time to be infected with the virus. The rapidly growing region of meristem cells producing the shoot tip is cut off and placed ''in vitro'', with a very high probability of being uncontaminated by virus.
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==See also==
* [[List of Canna species|List of ''Canna'' species]]
* [[List of Canna cultivars|List of ''Canna'' cultivars]]
* [[List of Canna hybridists|List of ''Canna'' hybridists]]
* [[Canna Agriculture Group]]
* [[Canna virus]]
* [[Canna rust]]
* [[Japanese beetle]]
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