‘Kartuz Giant’ • Tradescantia Hub

Details

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.

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

Species	Tradecantia pallida.
Growth habit	Upright at first, long stems eventually sprawling and trailing.
Foliage	Leaves are very wide ovals, often slightly pleated near the base, variably hairy. Leaves and stems are bright purple.
Flowers	Pale purple (N75B), typical for the species.

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.