Canna seed pods

This is the first year that I've grown cannas, having received a couple of divisions of the hybrid 'Tropicana' in a plant trade earlier this year.

Both plants are still alive and although I've been having trouble keeping them looking good during our recent heat wave and dry spell, one plant has produced seed pods -- which I wasn't expecting.

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Besides being a complete surprise, I found them to be quite interesting and beautiful. They're similar to the castor bean seed pods that I'm familiar with, but softer looking. More gentle. A bit like a Koosh ball.

Although the plant's leaves have faded a bit, they're still quite attractive, especially when backlit:

I debated cutting the seedpods from the plant, to allow it to focus its energy on producing more offsets.

I decided to leave the pods though, and will harvest the seeds once they are dry. I really enjoy growing plants from seed, and am excited to try a new one. It's quite possible that 'Tropicana' produces non-viable seeds though, so I'll do a little more research.

Even if the seeds won't grow, I'm glad I got to see these pods.

I love discoveries like this: beautiful and productive.

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