Théodore Année was a French horticulturist. He was a wealthy diplomatic consul in South America when he retired to France in the mid-1840s and settled in rue des Réservoirs,

Passy Passy () is an area of Paris, France, located in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th arrondissement, on the Rive Droite, Right Bank. It is adjacent to Auteuil, Paris, Auteuil to the southwest, and Chaillot to the northeast. It is home to many ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. There 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.Chaté, E. (1867) ''Le Canna, son histoire, sa culture''Robinson W. (1879) ''The Subtropical Garden''Percy-Lancaster, S. (1927) ''An Indian Garden''Khoshoo, T.N. & Guha, I. ''Origin and Evolution of Cultivated Cannas''Cooke, Ian. 2001. ''The Gardener's Guide to Growing Canna''R.H.S. Canna Trial 2002

Canna innovation

At that time in Europe, '' Canna'' species (common name cannas) 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. In 1846, Année, who had brought back from South America a collection of ''Canna'' species seed, trialed a solid mass of them in open ground. The main two species he trialed were ''C. indica'' and ''C. glauca'' (or ''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 pollination made on the ''Canna'' genus. He applied pollen from ''C. glauca'' onto ''C. indica'', and the offspring of this crossing first flowered for Année in 1848. The resulting F1 hybrid was called ''Canna'' 'Annei'. 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 cannas was such that 20,000 tufts of 'Annei' were said to be 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 rose breeder Pierre-Antoine-Marie Crozy of Avoux & Crozy, La Guillotière,

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, France, who first started hybridizing cannas in 1862, and who went on to become the greatest of Canna hybridists.

Canna cultivation

Chaté, the author of ''Le Canna'', stated of Année that he was, "A happy, skilful hybridiser, he operated on a great scale, 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. Thanks to his councils and his friendship, we delivered to the trade so great a number of canna innovations, and which enabled us to write this work." Année then spent the next 20 years creating many more cultivars, until retiring to

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionCanna * List of Canna cultivars * List of Canna hybridists * List of Canna species {{DEFAULTSORT:Annee, Theodore 19th-century French diplomats French horticulturists Year of birth missing Year of death missing