Black cleopatra

long story made short while i was in a garden center I spotted a canna who was on the side , completely black , I though it was an australis , but as I was going closer the color and the shape was different from the australis , as I read the label was saying Canna Cleopatra , so I`ve asked the owner if it was wrongly labled or what .....what she told me was that the canna was a cleopatra and it was on the side because it was black rathen then bicolor ... the story sound nice but the canna look different for shape and color , even if the flower look like the cleopatra flower.



the pictures it`s not clear but the leaves are completely black/purple

strange enough has even produced seeds



color against an australis



and against a cleopatra

 

I belive it`s one them tropicanna black , if it is should not produce any seeds as well , wonder what will I get out of them ???? are they sterile ?

 

A few years ago I took a rhizome cutting from my Cleopatra it had no variegation just the dark leaves, this is it,


I presume its lost the green parts of the chimaera that it is/was, anyway its the only bit of Cleopatra I still have.

 

and yes that was the flower , the form is the same as yours , I just wondering about the seeds ...are they sterile?

 

Often the pods contain no seeds, a bit like hybrid passionflowers, big pod full of air.

 

I would guess yes but you can always give them a go sal.
If you haven't got space or time I'll have a go for you

 

Much nicer than the chimera if you ask me................

 

John if you want to keep the variegation, always make sure the shoot has both colours of leaf, but I assume you have guessed that.
One good reason to only divide in spring once a couple of new leaves have formed.

 

Ok the more pictures I see and the more I`m confused ...the pictures I`ve posted are not great , but the colore and the structure are completely different from the cleopatra , my canna is actually much more darker and not like a deep red but tend more to a blue/black

 

My Cleopatra through up some variegated leaves, they have bi-coloured [Red/Yellow] flowers, and also some [complete shoots with] pure red and pure green leaves, and they have single coloured flowers (Red and Yellow respectively, from memory). I thought that was what it was supposed to do??

 

I dont think so Kristen,
From my experience if you propagate the single colour, it loses it variegation.

 

I expect that is right. Sorry, I was referring to the individual stems in the clump I have. Some variegated, some red leaved, some green leaves, and each with the expected flower colour.