I remember overwhelming plant lust when I saw Canna 'Cleopatra' in the garden of Mark & Gaz (of Alternative Eden fame – their plant above and below). That was way back in, oh, 2012. I could have procured one for my very own last summer, when a friend tipped me off to the fact the nursery she works at got them in, but I was in a strange mood at the time and thought I didn't have place for one. Whatever!
This year I specifically asked her to let me know if they got them in – and she did – thanks Anna!
Back when I wrote about the Aeoniums in the mid-sized planter I knew I wasn't living the Grevillea in the large one, and thought perhaps 'Cleo' would be just the thing. Much better than an Ensete ventricosum 'Maurelii' which I almost settled for.
Oh the drama of those leaves! Plant Delights also lists it as "Schizophrenic Canna Lily" saying....
"We couldn't believe our eyes when they fell upon this canna at the Kunming Botanic Garden in China in 1996. Large purple blotches wove their way through the green leaves and into the flower stalks. If the flowers came from the purple side, they were red...from the green side of the leaf, they were yellow...sometimes from both...you get the picture. This unstable and highly variable chimera turned out to be an old but hard-to-find cultivar called Canna 'Cleopatra'. We think it is time for a reintroduction of this fascinating attention-getter. Remove all solid green shoots to maintain the pattern."
This one was worth waiting for...
*swoon*
All material © 2009-2016 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.
Well, this one takes me out of lurking mode! And I must have one for my eclectic garden.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your blog.
Thanks for outing yourself as a lurker, and I'm glad you enjoy the blog.
DeleteWowsers. That is one beautiful plant!
ReplyDeleteRight? I even love it's crazy bi-colored blooms.
DeleteThat was definitely worth carrying a torch for, for so long! Fabulous stripes!
ReplyDeleteAnd to think I passed it up last year...
DeleteI love these! Mine have been more subdued in color so I've moved them this year to see if they get that great variation like yours.
ReplyDeleteAre you thinking the light (or lack of) is playing with the color?
DeleteOooh! For those of us with more room and self-imposed bans on plant buying, you can get a similar effect on a different scale by interplanting regular (common) green and purple forms. That's what I did accidentally this year. :)
ReplyDeleteOh yes, I've got a patch like that too. But trust me, this is better.
Deletewow that is a very stylish cana!
ReplyDeleteYou probably need one!
DeleteDefinitely queen of the nile (or container or garden for that matter). She's beautiful, graceful and apparently unpredictable!
ReplyDeleteThat unpredictable part is both a blessing and a curse...
DeleteRan to the nursery this morning for mulch and looked through the sale section. Bought three, bagged Cleopatra tubers for $1 each. They felt firm, so I figured "why not?"
DeleteNice work! I'll be curious to hear how they grow. I have a friend who planted tubers and has gotten nothing but green leaves so far.
DeleteIt's a gorgeous thing! I'm not surprised you discovered a place for it - just that it took you so long.
ReplyDeleteAh, you know me well.
DeleteIn my experience, if a plant is named for Cleopatra, it's a must-have.
ReplyDeleteWell now you've got me wondering what others I should look into owning.
DeleteThere's Eremurus 'Cleopatra', just to get you started.
DeleteWow. I'd deprive quite a few other plants of water to keep this one happy. Another addition to my wish list.
ReplyDeleteWhen are you going to come up here for a plant shopping excursion?
DeleteI'm glad you finally gave in and got one, yay! How could anyone resist those patterned leaves?
ReplyDeleteOur still doing fine although slow to come up due to our cooler summers. One of them became pure purple funny enough, from Cleopatra to Australia!
Hmm, I don't know if I would appreciate that color change. Although I suppose it's inevitable that something like that will happen.
DeleteThat's lovely, and looks perfect in your garden.
ReplyDeleteThanks Hoov!
DeleteThat's one cool canna! "...thought I didn't have place for one." What are you saying? It sounds like some sort of foreign language. I understand the individual words but when you string them together like that, it's very confusing.
ReplyDeleteI know, I think I was possessed.
DeleteMy Cleopatra turned green. Do you know if the pups have a chance of eventually turning back to black or with the black stripe? I am on year #2 and they are still green. I live in an area where it snows so every year they start new shoots. I'm wondering if my canna just revered to green permanently.
ReplyDeleteI can't help you, mine died so I never got to see what it's babies would look like.
Delete