Canna Tropicanna Black Question and Results

I have recently received a couple of inquiries regarding the plant that’s called canna Tropicanna Black. My correspondence from this canna question is as follows.

Question about Tropicanna Black from Rhonda

My q involves a Canna I purchased recently as 'Tropicanna Black', from an auction site. It showed very interesting leaf colour of dark plum/burgundy with lighter red/cherise & a stunning red bloom.

Do you know if this Canna is correctly named or would you have seen it? Mine is growing ok & showing very interesting leaf colours .. basic darker plum/burgundy with flashes of greens, cherise, red/pinks & others that are not yet disernable as the growth is still young. I am taking pics as it grows. Would you also know of how many cultivars were in the 'Tropicanna' range? I am familiar with 'Tropicanna'(Phasion) & Tropicanna Gold only.

TY for any help on this q, much appreciated! Rhonda.


Question about Tropicanna Black from Peter

Hi, We were recommended to you by Bernard as we are looking for the Canna Tropicanna 'Black', however Bernard suggests it may be an old variety with a new name? Do you have this species, or know of who might have this one. If it is as Bernard suggests, would you be able to provide the old name?

Kind regards, Peter

My Answer

yes I have this canna Tropicanna Black, a friend bought me a pot a couple of years back, for me it grows to a height of 1.6 meters tall with broad foliage colored dark a brown/ burgundy tone, from a distance it does appear black, older foliage progress through to a dark green tone, flowers are a scarlet red with some finer overlaid blotching of scarlet seen over the flowering season and they are large and floppy like most of the Italian or orchid flowering types, what I have of the plant Tropicana Black is a non seed bearing cultivar.

I have had this on trial for two years planted along side five other close resembling varieties which consisted of two plants from different sources called canna Feuerzauber, canna Australia, canna Prince of Burgundy and canna Red King Humbert which we know is a sport, the plant I placed on trial was a sport I removed myself from Yellow King Humbert.

All the cannas mentioned above excluding canna Australia appeared identical in foliage colors and margins on both old and new growth, leaf structure, stem colourings and form/structure, height, branching form and numbers and surprisingly enough all their flowers buds and petals behaved the same, they all showed some finer overlaid blotching of scarlet and have a notch at the base of the labellum and all were not seed producers.

Plants were planted in a row with equal full sun and equally mulched and watered to get them going. The end result shows that canna Tropicanna Black, both strain's of Feuerzauber and Prince of Burgundy all appear identical to the sport Red King Humbert in all above ground growth activity, will have to dig and compare rhizome growth and colouring for a final result, which will probably result in some name changing and updating, confusing isn’t it, it must be remembered it’s all too easy to find a different plant or sport and to put a different name on it whilst thinking it is a new cultivar. I don’t get to the shops much and from what I know yes Tropicanna –Phasion, Tropicanna Gold and the recent Tropicanna Black are the only three in this series.

Regards Raelene

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