What is wrong with my cannas?

[DonnaZn2SK]

I started these a few weeks ago and I've noticed that the leaves are speckled, as if they have some sort of virus or disease.

What should I do? Is there a spray for this, or is it normal? Also, in the second picture, you will notice the first leaf is turning brown, is this another symptom of the problem?

[murphy]

Can you over water a Canna...I grow mine in pots placed in buckets of water...and in my pond..so they are in constant water.

[dlb]

I don't know much about Cannas, but I'm getting one, so I googled for Canna diseases. From what I read, you could have mosaic virus. Sorry. Destruction of diseased plant material is usually recommended.

This site happens to have pictures of virus infected leaves on it, besides being good fun. In addition to flowers he has an article there on Canna virus which seems to suggest that the problem is photosynthesis related and will clear up if given enough sun. Maybe I should read that article again. (I did) What he is actually saying is that it will appear to clear up with increased sunlight, but the plant will still be carrying the virus.

Oh, for pictures of virus infected plant material go down to the bottom of the home page.
Dora

http://canna-obsession.blogspot.com/

[DonnaZn2SK]

Dora,

Thanks for the link. It sure looks like the bottom picture with the little spots. I don't have any aphids, but when I opened the bag of cannas to pot them up, a few fruit fly/fungus gnat thingies flew out. Could these be the cause? The plants seem to be growing pretty well, I'm just worried about bringing a virus into the garden.

Also, Murphy and Daisy...thanks for the comments; this is my first time growing cannas, so any suggestions are welcome.

[dlb]

This is speculative of course, I would think if you bought the canna root recently that there is a good chance the root came already infected with the virus. Apparently Florida growers are a major source of cannas in NA and are having significant problems with viral infections. As the article on the site indicated, signs of the disease often disappear with increased light and warmth, but the plant will still be infected. Now if you had other cannas, they could likely become infected through aphids, but they would have had to have feasted on the infected plant first. Sort of like Nile virus and mosquitoes.

Nice photography on that site, isn't there?
Dora