‘Kartuz Giant’

Details

(Understanding this section)

Full name	Tradescantia pallida ‘Kartuz Giant’.
Name status	Accepted, the valid name for a unique plant. Established with a description by Plant Delights (2006, p. 37). Also known as: ‘Biltmore Bimbo’, an invalid name. ‘Biltmore Estate’, an invalid name. ‘Godzilla’, an invalid name. ‘Big Bertha’, an invalid name. ‘Mega Bertha’, an invalid name. ‘Giant Purple Heart’, an invalid name. ‘Giant’, an invalid name used for multiple other cultivars.
Origins	Sourced in 2004 from Mike Kartuz in California, USA, by Plant Delights (2005). An old patent seems to show an identical plant (Barstow, 1962). But it is not named, and so cannot be definitively linked to the plant known today.
Classification	The species Tradescantia pallida is sometimes labelled with its botanical synonyms Setcreasea pallida and Setcreasea purpurea.
Legal protection	None.
Availability	Available from some nurseries and specialists.

Description

Preserved in a herbarium specimen (“Tradecantia pallida ‘Kartuz Giant'”, 2023).

Described with reference to the RHS Colour Chart (6th Edition; 2019 reprint).

Species	Tradecantia pallida.
Growth habit	Fairly upright at first, long stems eventually starting to sprawl. In intense light it will stay compact and upright for longer, whereas in moderate light it will trail more easily.
Foliage	Stems are hairless, 4-8mm thick, with internodes 2-5cm long. In moderate light the stems are moderate olive green (147A) and tend to be longer, in intense light they are dark purplish grey (N187A) and generally shorter. Leaves are broad ovals, 9-13cm long and 4-7cm wide. In moderate light the upper surfaces are dark greyish green (N189A), the undersides dark purplish grey (N187A), and the sheaths moderate yellow green (N148A). In intense light the upper surfaces are dark purplish grey (N187A), the undersides dark purple (79A), and the sheaths moderate reddish purple (N79D). The leaves generally have scattered hairs on the upper and lower surfaces, with the amount very variable.
Flowers	Pale purple (N75B), typical for the species.

References

Barstow, G. B. (1962, August 7). Setcreasea purpurea [US plant patent PP2,160]. United States Patent and Trademark Office. Internet Archive link.

Plant Delights. (2005). On-Line Catalog. Internet Archive link.

Plant Delights Nursery, Inc. (2006). The Day, The Gardeners Cried: 2006 Fall Sales Catalog and Plant Owner’s Manual.

Tradescantia pallida ‘Kartuz Giant’. (2023). [Herbarium specimen, barcode WSY0155551]. RHS Wisley Herbarium.