The term " purple " is relative when it comes to foliage designation . Purple can have bronze overtones , as in the leaves of some trees . It can be nearly black , as it is in some sedum leave . It can have red highlights . Whatever the specter of purple , the color has hit popularity among nurseryman over the last 10 to 15 eld . Some industrial plant , like the copper beechwood ( Fagus sylvatica ) summercater foliage that is naturally purple at some point in the annual ontogeny cycle . Other plants have been specially breed for uninterrupted darker foliation or theme color .

Trees With Purple Foliage

Identifying trees with purple leafage can be made easy with the knowledge that purplish - leaf varieties broadly speaking have the same leaf constellation and size as green - leafed varieties of the same mintage . This is lawful of Cercis canadensis , have sex as Forest Pansy , which has the same substance - shaped leaves as other Cercis or redbud miscellany . Japanese maples ( Acer palmatum ) like Atropurpureum and Bloodgood have the same palmate leaves with precipitously pointed lobe ends as other palmatum varieties .

Shrubs and Grasses With Purple Foliage

Many popular shrubs come in purpleness - leafed varieties . A notable instance is barberry , always distinguishable by its small , elliptical foliage , sharp prickles and jaundiced wood . If you spot a little , rounded barberry with crimson foliage , it is very potential the Crimson Pygmy variety . Barberry is evident , no matter whether the leaves are violet or green . Prunus x cistena or over-embellished George Sand cherry has typical , elliptic - toothed leave and an upright piano , spread growth habit . Purple is not as common among forage , but Ophiopogon planescapens , recognize as Nigrescens , is typical , with regal - black foliage that reach 1 metrical unit in height .

Purple-Leafed Perennials

Succulent plants with sarcoid , dark purple leaves , thick stems , and branched , flat flower heads are most probably sedum . One example is the Black Jack sedum , which sports pink peak head . Another increasingly common purpleness - leaf works is heuchera . The lobed , sometimes ruffle leaves of this shadiness - lover can be dark or somewhat lighter purpleness . It is a low-toned grower . Ajuga reptans , characterized by scallop leaves and a reason - hugging habit , is also useable with purple - black leaves . One plebeian cultivar is Back Scallop .

Purple-Leafed Annuals

Probably the most common purple - riff annuals are member of the with child mint family . Mints are always distinguished by stems that appear straight , and the leave of absence are often aromatic . Basil lovers will find it sluttish to tell apart purplish Basil the Great , with its characteristic scent and elongated violet leave-taking . Perilla frutescens count very much like purple basil , except that its odor is more fruity and its increment habit taller—2 feet or more . Some of the many varieties of coleus ( Solanostem ) also feature violet foliation , include Inky Fingers , with deeply take apart leave .

Using Purple-Leafed Plants

Purple - leafed works bid a nifty demarcation to specimens with unripe leaves . This is especially true when the purpleness - leafed motley are paired with those having lightheaded green or chartreuse foliation , such as with a combining of purple - riffle and greenish - leafed mellifluous tater vine . Purple leaves make orange or bright yellow flowers stand out , but they also conflate well with blue or pink peak .

References

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