Théodore Année
Encyclopedia
Théodore Année, a wealthy, retired French diplomatic consul in South America, returned to France
in the mid 1840's and settled in rue des Réservoirs, Passy
, Paris
, where he devoted himself to the culture of tropical plants from South America, having brought back with him the taste for plants with beautiful foliage, especially the Canna genus.
At that time in Europe, Canna species were confined to botanical gardens, cultivated in greenhouses, and their custodians hardly dared to expose them to the open air, because of their tropical origins.
It was in 1846, that Année, who had brought back from South America a collection of Canna species seed, trialed a solid mass of Canna in open ground. The main two species which he trialed were Canna indica and C. glauca, (aka C. nepalansis). The manner in which they flourished under the northern temperate climate of Passy exceeded his expectations. They flowered abundantly, which allowed him to try the first artificial insemination made on the Canna genus. He applied pollen from C. glauca on to C. indica; and it is the offspring of this crossing that first flowered for Année in 1848. The resulting F1 hybrid was called Canna 'Annei'.
Monsieur Année then spent the next six years bulking-up the new hybrid until he was ready to introduce it to an amazed Parisian public. The popularity of the plant was such that it was stated that 20,000 tufts of Canna 'Annei' were used in displays in Paris in 1861. He was rapidly joined by many other enthusiasts and professional horticulturists as Canna hybrids enjoyed rapid popularity in France, and later the rest of Europe and North America. Amongst the professionals was the rose breeder Monsieur Pierre-Antoine-Marie Crozy of Avoux & Crozy, La Guillotière, Lyon
, France, who first started hybridizing Cannas in 1862, and who went on to become the greatest of Canna hybridists.
Monsieur Année then spent the next 20 years creating many more cultivars, until retiring to Nice
, in Southern France, in 1866. Fittingly, his last Canna cultivar was named C. 'Prémices de Nice'.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in the mid 1840's and settled in rue des Réservoirs, Passy
Passy
Passy is an area of Paris, France, located in the XVIe arrondissement, on the Right Bank. It is traditionally home to many of the city's wealthiest residents.Passy was formerly a commune...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where he devoted himself to the culture of tropical plants from South America, having brought back with him the taste for plants with beautiful foliage, especially the Canna genus.
Canna innovation
It was in 1846, that Année, who had brought back from South America a collection of Canna species seed, trialed a solid mass of Canna in open ground. The main two species which he trialed were Canna indica and C. glauca, (aka C. nepalansis). The manner in which they flourished under the northern temperate climate of Passy exceeded his expectations. They flowered abundantly, which allowed him to try the first artificial insemination made on the Canna genus. He applied pollen from C. glauca on to C. indica; and it is the offspring of this crossing that first flowered for Année in 1848. The resulting F1 hybrid was called Canna 'Annei'.
Monsieur Année then spent the next six years bulking-up the new hybrid until he was ready to introduce it to an amazed Parisian public. The popularity of the plant was such that it was stated that 20,000 tufts of Canna 'Annei' were used in displays in Paris in 1861. He was rapidly joined by many other enthusiasts and professional horticulturists as Canna hybrids enjoyed rapid popularity in France, and later the rest of Europe and North America. Amongst the professionals was the rose breeder Monsieur Pierre-Antoine-Marie Crozy of Avoux & Crozy, La Guillotière, Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
, France, who first started hybridizing Cannas in 1862, and who went on to become the greatest of Canna hybridists.
Canna cultivation
Monsieur Chaté, the author of Le Canna, stated of Année that he was, "A happy, skilful hybridiser, he operated on a great scale and thus became the creator of all the most beautiful varieties of the floral trade. All the amateurs and horticulturists who occupied themselves with foliage plants visited his garden, which he filled up each year with seedlings of Canna. We (the firm of Chaté et fils) owe him the majority of our successes. It is thanks to his councils and his friendship that we delivered to the trade so great a number of Canna innovations, and which enabled us to write this work."Monsieur Année then spent the next 20 years creating many more cultivars, until retiring to Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
, in Southern France, in 1866. Fittingly, his last Canna cultivar was named C. 'Prémices de Nice'.
See also
- CannaCanna (plant)Canna is a genus of nineteen species of flowering plants. The closest living relations to cannas are the other plant families of the order Zingiberales, that is the gingers, bananas, marantas, heliconias, strelitzias, etc.Canna is the only genus in the family Cannaceae...
- List of Canna cultivars
- List of Canna hybridists
- List of Canna species