genevieve schmidt

 Congratulations!

Four winners have been in announced in a Tropicanna cannas giveaway held this month as part of posts by Amy Stewart and Genevieve Schmidt of the wildly popular Garden Rant and North Coast Gardening blogs, respectively.

North Coast Gardening's Genevieve Schmidt (left) and Garden Rant's Amy Stewart (right) pretending to be Tropicanna cannas in the video accompanying their blog posts about the tropical, colorfully foliaged plant.

The winners, drawn at random, are: Michelle Derviss, Roberta Perez, Pat Leuchtman and Nicky of the 'Dirt and Martinis' blog (she didn’t want her last name listed). All these women were very excited to receive their Tropicanna canna rhizomes, and some of the ones in warmer areas have already planted them in pots.

Tropicanna Gold cannas (top) in a container with torenia 'Viva Catalina Blue' (lower left) and heuchera 'Velvet Night' (bottom right).

“I’ve created a subtropical, Balinese-inspired garden in which the Tesselaar cannas are going to be very happy,” says Michelle, a Novato, California gardener and author of the 'Garden Porn' blog. In her blog comment, Michelle even suggested a great, tropical plant combination that's perfect for container gardens or beds: Tropicanna Gold with a brilliant red foliage plant such as phormium or red banana. “Throw in some big-leafed coleus, some alocasias and a few succulents," she added, "and ya all will have a knockout vignette.”

Speaking of knockout vignettes, check out  these pics of Michelle’s home and "Pina Colada Garden," just 20 minutes north of the Golden Gate bridge.

The original Tropicanna cannas (top) in a container with zinnias (lower left) and lysimachia nummularia 'Aurea' (lower right).

“Thank you so much for the beautiful Tropicannas!,” says Roberta, of Monterey Park, California, who mentioned in her blog comment that her Tropicannas were so gorgeous, some jerk up and stole them on her! “I already have some pots with their names on them!" she says. "I will take photos when they are up!”

 Cool!

Nicky, of 'Dirt and Martinis,' hopes to blog about the Tropicannas and their progress on her site. “I grow in an area that gets hammered with snow in the winter,” she says. “So, I'll take great pleasure bringing these beauties indoors when it gets too cold for them.”

Tropicanna Black cannas in a container with salvia farinacea (left) and dichondra 'Silver Falls.'

Pat Leuchtman, a Charlemont, Massachusetts gardener who authors the Commonweeder blog, hasn't ever grown cannas before, “but I’m ready for Tropicanna drama.”

And with winter hanging on by its icy claws in the Northeast, who there wouldn't?

Again – congratulations, ladies! Enjoy your Tropicannas! And don't forget to send pics!

The original Tropicanna cannas contrasting beautifully against an electric-blue garden wall.

Hey! The wildly popular Garden Rant and North Coast Gardening blogs have been hosting a Tropicanna^® cannas giveaway contest this past week, with the contest starting early last Thursday (March 10, 2011) and ending this Wednesday night (March 16, 2011). That means there are only two more days to post a comment and (and perhaps win a Tropicanna variety pack)!

Genevieve Schmidt (left, of North Coast Gardening and Amy Stewart (right, of Garden Rant) pretending to be Tropicanna cannas.

The contest – and Tropicanna cannas – have been extremely popular with the blogs’ followers, with more than 50 glowing comments posted as of today (Monday, March 14, 2011). Winners of the Tropicanna cannas will be announced next week!

The original Tropicanna cannas (left), Tropicanna Gold (middle) and Tropicanna Black (right).

Amy Stewart (of Garden Rant) and Genevieve Schmidt (of North Coast Gardening) also posted a fun video and photos of them planting the tropical, psychedelically foliaged Tropicanna cannas (as rhizomes) at the home of an artist friend who loves bold colors. “I’m a Tropicannaaaaa!" they shouted in the video, pretending to be the plant.

I particularly liked how Schmidt and one of Stewart's followers suggested some great plant combinations using Tropicanna cannas (Schmidt suggested the first three, along with photos in her post on North Coast Gardening):

Combo 1: Tropicanna canna, Alstroemeria ‘The Third Harmonic’, and Uncinia uncinata ‘Red’

Combo 2: Tropicanna Gold, Euphorbia characias, Calluna ‘Beoley Gold’

Combo 3:Tropicanna Black, Helianthemum ‘Henfield Brilliant’, Clianthus puniceus ‘Red’

Combo 4: Tropicanna Gold with a brilliant red foliage plant such as phormium or a red banana

Feeling inspired? You may also want to check out the video "How to Grow Tropicannas in Containers" (produced by Dave Epstein of Growing Wisdom). Or, see this previous post on the contest for some fabulous container garden combinations featuring the original Tropicanna cannas along with the newer Tropicanna Gold and Tropicanna Black (Black is now widely available to the market after being held back for a few years because of propagation issues). And the word on the street is that Tropicanna cannas will be sold in all different container sizes at all different prices this year! Wahoo!

If you're looking for more information on Tropicanna cannas, or other Tesselaar Plants (like the cool, chocolate-leaved Bonfire begonias that are new for 2011), go to Tesselaar's web site or follow Tesselaar on social media (@tesselaarplants on Twitter and Tesselaar International Plants on Facebook).

So that's it. Don't forget to comment on Amy and Gen's posts, and get in on the chance to win some Tropicanna cannas!

Good luck!

The following guest post is by Genevieve Schmidt, the landscaper and garden writer in charge of www.NorthCoastGardening.com, a site dedicated to gardening in the Pacific Northwest. Her own garden is full of hardy, low-care tropicals, and she can't wait for her new Tropicannas to add to the show!

Get  in the zone – the tropical zone, that is – with a Tropicanna^® giveaway!

by Genevieve Schmidt

I’ll admit it: I’m in zonal denial. While my zone 9 growing conditions are envy-inspiring to my cold-climate friends, there are so very many tropicals that I lust after in books, but can’t grow myself. Angel’s trumpet, bird of paradise, bananas …

So when I heard about the Tropicanna line of cannas, with the brilliantly colored foliage and the cheerful tropical blooms, I was sold! The huge leaves look so vibrant and lush next to my other plants, and they bring a jungle-like look to my low-maintenance garden.

(Editors note): Schmidt loves this image of the original Tropicanna canna in front of a blue garden wall.

I’ve long used cannas as a landscaping plant here in zone 9 – they’re even good for commercial landscapes in zones 7-11, because they need little care, have few pests and look beautiful for a long season.

Genevieve Schmidt of NorthCoastGardening.com and Amy Stewart (right) of the Garden Rant blog, planting Tropicanna canna rhizomes in containers. Both gardeners are huge fans of Tropicanna cannas' psychedelically colored foliage.

If you live in a colder clime, you can easily grow them in a pot and bring them inside over the winter. They look great with the “thrillers, fillers and spillers” planting scheme of using one boldly upright thriller (the Tropicanna), adding bushy annuals or flowering perennial fillers for color, and using a trailing plant as a spiller to soften the strong lines of your container.

If you’re as excited about Tropicanna cannas as I am, head on over to North  Coast Gardening and Garden Rant this week and enter for your chance to win one of five mixed sets of Tropicanna rhizomes. You can watch Amy and me plant them in a local artist’s garden, and imagine where you’ll put your Tropicannas.