Canna seeds require special preparation before planting.
Canna seeds have an extremely hard outer skin. It is necessary to open a tiny hole in the skin to let in moisture so the seed can begin to germinate. The method that works for me is needle-nosed pliers and coarse sand paper. Other methods include pet nail nippers and grinding wheels.
Sand off just enough of the dark skin to expose a tiny spot of white.
Don’t sand off too much. The seed could be damaged by excess grinding.
An empty water bottle makes a good soaking container.
Put your seeds in an empty bottle and add about one or two inches of hot (not boiling) water. Using a bottle with a lid prevents irritating spills. After 24 hours of soaking, the seeds are ready to plant.
Add hot water and soak 24 hours.