Probably the most unique of the new cannas is C. Stuttgart'. This foliage canna was found by Bob Hayes of the Brooklyn Botanic garden in a botanical garden in Stuttgart Germany. This canna has dusty green leaves with giant blotches of white in each leaf. Because this canna has so much white, it will only prosper in light shade. The small butterscotch flowers pale in comparison to the striking foliage.
Elephant ears are another plant that have just begun to be recognized as potentially hardy.
Botanically, some experts classify all of the colocasia that I mention under C. esculenta, but their habits are so different that I keep them under the more commonly recognized names. With a stoloniferous habit, C. Illustris' soon made a sizeable patch in a rich moist setting. My next elephant ear was Colocasia fontanesii. This 7' giant held 3' long leaves atop wonderful jet black stems. Each leaf was a glossy metallic green black.