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| I have redesigned my backyard garden, moving and adding numerous plants. Need a suggestion for a purple foliage shrub that will max out at 5 or 6 feet. Needs to be child friendly, so no barberry. Will get almost full sun, some late afternoon shade. Amended soil. Little too far south for ninebark to do well. I have loropetulum other places, so I'd like something different. Bloom doesn't really matter. I'm mainly looking for foliage. Will have evergreen background and perennials in front.Thanks.
persongardener |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| How about Weigela Wine and Roses? |
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- Posted by donnabaskets 7b-8 MS (My Page) on Mon, Nov 16, 09 at 19:55
| I love purple foliaged plants too. They can be difficult here in the south since so many that will survive our climate bleach out to brownish green in the summer. I have to tell you that, next only to purple berberis, loropetalum is the best of the bunch I have tried. Purple Diamond is supposed to top out at four feet, but my 2 year old shows every sign of getting larger even in shade. I have Rubys that I have to prune monthly to keep them at four feet. The advantage to that is the pruning keeps fresh bright purple foliage coming all summer. Purple Pixie is supposed to be much smaller than Purple Diamond. I planted several this year in hopes that this will finally be the one to grow that stays lowish. The first, planted in early spring gets afternoon shade and maintained its purple color throughout the summer far better than any other I have grown. I really like its mounding/weeping form too. Too soon for a final opinion though. Other purple foliaged plants I have had good luck with: Red Sensation Cordyline holds its dusty purple color extremely well and has been winter hardy for me in outside POTS for three years. Of course, it's been at least that long since we had a true zone 7 winter. Still, pots are supposed to be even colder than the ground. They definitely provide better winter drainage than the ground, so that has to be factored in. I am going to try one in the ground next year. I can also note that they are very nearly evergreen. They don't start to have dead leaves until about a month before spring begins. If it lives through the winter, it's a real winner. Sangria Crinum holds its color better than the larger loropetalums, though it still greens out some in full sun. And, of course its blooms are a plus too. I saw Eucomis Sparkling Burgundy a few years ago in the Atlanta Botanical Garden. It was stunning and held its color as well as the Crinum. I have read that it puts on fresh purple foliage after it blooms. If you're willing to go larger, Forest Pansy Redbud holds its color as well as, or better than, loropetalums in full sun. It does better than them in afternoon shade. There are a number of Purple Flowering Plum Trees around our city. They definitely get the top mark for holding their deep purple color for the entire season. I have stayed away from them, though, since Plums are so doggone susceptible to borers. |
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| Physocarpus 'Summer Wine' seems to hold its foliage color well. 'Diablo' too which is darker and larger. I have yet to find the right location for Weigela Wine and Roses for good foliage color. It seems to have just a tinge of color. |
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- Posted by persongardener (My Page) on Tue, Nov 17, 09 at 11:34
| Thanks for the good ideas. The spot is too small for Forest Pansy, given that I am already adding several small trees. My 'Wine & Roses' weigela in the front of my house never gets over 2-3 feet tall and is really faded by late summer. Maybe I'll check out the loropetalum that supposedly stay small. I have to prune my Ruby's several times a year also. Actually, cordyline is a great idea. I'll also check out the smaller Physocarpus. The Diablo's that I've seen are bigger than I want. Had a blast working out the design, but now it is time to install it all. Whew. |
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| Not sure if you are looking for a hedge or specimen tree (or both), but cultivars of Acer palmatum (atropurpureum among others), are known for their purple color. Mine is currently scarlet red--the color the leaves take before falling off. Gorgeous tree! |
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- Posted by nckvilledudes 7a (My Page) on Wed, Nov 18, 09 at 6:10
| Why not a purple smoke bush? You can always keep it to the desired height by trimming or coppicing. Have Eucomis Sparkling Burgundy and it looses its purple color in my zone 7a NC garden in the heat of the summer and is more of a muddy green color most of the season. It is a gorgeous color in the spring but the rest of the season it is definitely not purple. There is another species of eucomis that is supposed to be better at retaining its purple leaf color in the heat of the summer- believe the name is eucomis comosa 'Oakhurst'. Ditto for Forest Pansy redbud. Even planted one where it got afternoon shade and it still greened out when the air temps. got high. |
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- Posted by steve1young Long Island (Z-6b) (My Page) on Tue, Nov 24, 09 at 17:43
| Hello PersonGardener, I wish that we could trade situations! You mentioned that Ninebark (Physocarpus) won't do well in your location and unfortunately, Loropetulum won't do well in my location. I wasn't very familiar with it until this thread encouraged me to look it up. Fantastic! Especially the one that DonnaBaskets mentioned ... Purple Diamonds. Wow! So now that I'm totally envious of your ability to grow Loropetulum, let me tell you how my Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Summer Wine/Seward’ looked this fall ... gorgeous bright shining purple coloring, especially dramatic infront of a Forsythia x intermedia ‘Fiesta’. Sweet! You know, one thing I thought of for you is Weigela ‘Shining Sensation’. It's a bit different than 'Wine and Roses'. The foliage has a really interesting sheen to it ... almost as though it was just sprayed with a fine mist of water. Well, best of luck to you! Steve |
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| How about a Nandina? I've grown one for years called Plum Passion. It has the narrow fernish leaves that appeal to me the most. Greens up a bit in the summer but then changes color in the fall. Nice if you can grow Nandina in your area. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Nandina Plum Passion
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| Purple leaf sandcherry shrub is nice. I have one I grow as a shrub form, I trim the top down after it blooms in the spring, so it gets full at the base. The others I'm growing as a row of multi stemmed trees along a fenceline, topping out at maybe 6 feet in height. There is the shrub cultivar and the tree cultivar, all of mine are the shrub cultivar. Smokebush is nice, too. We have 'Grace' - the smokey plumes are stunning. It has a very open, airy form to it. |
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