Canna x generalis 'Cleopatra'

Schizophrenic Canna Lily

This plant is not currently for sale. This is an archive page preserved for informational use.

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Item #: 2399

Zones: 7b to 10b

Dormancy: Winter

Height: 50" tall

Culture: Sun to Part Sun

Origin: Hybrid

Pot Size: 3 qt. (2.8 L)


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 form on the purple leaf side, they are red and from the green side of the leaf, they are 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 shoots to maintain the pattern.