Ornamental Trees and Shrubs with reddish purple foliage

[gata montes]

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Reddish purple foliage without a doubt, looks best in Autumn, when even non gardeners find the magnificent sight of wine reds and crimson colored foliage a totally irresistible sight.

In reality reddish purples, wine reds and claret colored foliage can look striking at any time of the year.

They can look a bit dull and boring in dark shady spots, but when planted in a bright sunny spot, they will give you a stunning year round display, that changes color with the seasons, particularly when planted next to silver, gold or variegated foliage and are the perfect foil for just about any color, for example yellows, lime greens, pinks, purple blues, white and even red.

This is a color range I really like, as it always brings such life and character to the garden, and depending on what you choose to plant it with, can give you, such a stunning display that no one can resist looking it.

There are so many small trees and shrubs in this color range, that there is something for every taste, but the following are just some of my favorites

The color range of Small Japanese Acers is enormous, but ' Crimson Queen ' pictured above, is definitely one of my firm favorites, as it looks beautiful all year round.

Cotinus ' Grace ' with its translucent ruby red foliage looks stunning in all lights and looks particularly striking when planted with Aucuba Japonica and Phormium ' Yellow Wave '

Gleditzia Tricanthos ' Ruby Lace ' is my absolute favorite and a real stunner, with beautiful lacy like foliage that changes color throughout the seasons, culminating with a truly spectacular wine colored autumn display.

This is the color of the young foliage of Gleditzia ' Ruby Lace ' in Spring.


There are as I said, many, many varieties of reddish purple leaved trees and shrubs, so please, inspire others by posting your favorite ones with or without a picture

 

[claudine]

In general, I love dark colors, I love red and I love autumn, so I find all of these trees and shrubs beautiful and I wouldn't mind having them in my garden I think that they would look very unique here. My favorite is Crimson Queen.
I also really like Red Filigree Lace Maple:

Here is a close-up:

 

[gata montes]

What lovely pics Claudine, a stunning color and particularly like the close up of the leaves, it really shows the color and intricate lacy foliage at its best.
Would love to have a Small Japanese Acer in my garden too, but the soil here is much too alkaline for them, and even if I put one in a container, it would only just be fine in the depths of winter, and unfortunately wouldn't manage to survive the scorching hot summers that we have here.

 

[gata montes]

Thought I'd add a few more reddish purple favorites, including some dwarf varieties for those who love this color but have limited space or like container gardening

Euonymus Alatus otherwise known as The Burning Bush, has magnificent translucent translucent wine red foliage, and can be grown either as a large shrub or manicured into a small tree

Euonymus Alatus Compacta is the dwarf variety and this particular one called ' Little Moses ' is well worth looking out for.

Nandina Domestica has an enormous amount of variety to choose from in terms of both color and size. Nandina looks stunning all year round, and can also be grown as a shrub or small tree, and the dwarf varieties look spectacular in containers.

Nandina Domestica Compacta as there are so many choices in terms of color, it is difficult to choose one that I like more than another but 'magical sunrise' is a good all round choice.

Nandina Domestica is also known as ' Heavenly or Sacred Bamboo ' , but don't let the name bamboo fool you into thinking , that this plant is related to the Bamboo family, because it is not.

The name ' Heavenly or Sacred Bamboo ' was given to this plant by the Japanese and Chinese, who often plant this shrub at the entrance to their homes - so that if domestic trouble arises within the home, the matter can duly be explained to the shrub and hence the matter sorts itself out
Puts a whole new emphasis on why we talk to our plants, don't you think.

 

[claudine]

'Little Moses' is so beautiful! I have a soft spot for dwarf varietes and all miniature plants
Recently, I fell in love with Purple Leaf Plum. Here is a picture of it:

This is how it looks like when it's in bloom:

It's gorgeous, isn't it?

 

[blueiris]

The purple leaf plum is breathtaking, Claudine! I love the delicate pink blossoms against the rusty red foliage! I wonder if it's too hot for it here in Florida? I think I will add something in this color range to my yard this year. Great pics, everyone!

 

[claudine]

The purple leaf plum is breathtaking, Claudine! I love the delicate pink blossoms against the rusty red foliage! I wonder if it's too hot for it here in Florida? I think I will add something in this color range to my yard this year. Great pics, everyone!

I'm not an expert, but I'm afraid that Purple leaf plum trees don't tolerate hotter climates. In Florida, it's probably too hot for them I know that they like areas with full sun though. In full shade, their leaves may turn green.

 

[blueiris]

I was afraid of that. Well, I hadn't thought of this pretty rust color before, but I know I have seen this color in the area. As the season progresses, (we are still in full summer now) I will keep looking around my neighborhood to identify rust/red plants that can tolerate our heat. Maybe I could plant something with pink blossoms at their base to get the pretty contrast.

 

[gata montes]

Claudine.
Yes, I can see why you fell in love with the Purple Leaf Plum, as it offers the best of both worlds, beautiful foliage color and beautiful flowers. Yes 'Little Moses' is a plant I really as well, infact like you, anything in this color range, is always hard to resist.

blueiris.
I have to agree with Claudine to a degree, in that reddish purple plants don't always tolerate very hot climates, but there are a few that do, providing you plant them, where they will receive some shade at the hottest part of the day, which is normally in the afternoon.
As you mentioned that you, also like this foliage color and live in Florida where your temperatures are very similar to mine, thought that you might find it useful to know that, in temperatures that often exceed 40 degrees centigrade, I have successfully grown three of the shrubs mentioned here, Cotinus Grace, Nandina Domestica and Euonymus Alatus using this method, so don't give up hope of having this beautiful color in your garden yet.

As you liked Claudines Purple Leaf Plum so much, you will be pleased to know, that there is just one variety that is known to grow very successfully in your area, and that is

Prunus Cistena or Purple Leaf Sand Cherry with a choice of either pink or white blossoms, so hopefully you too will be able to enjoy looking at this beautiful tree.

 

[blueiris]

Claudine.
Yes, I can see why you fell in love with the Purple Leaf Plum, as it offers the best of both worlds, beautiful foliage color and beautiful flowers. Yes 'Little Moses' is a plant I really as well, infact like you, anything in this color range, is always hard to resist.

blueiris.
I have to agree with Claudine to a degree, in that reddish purple plants don't always tolerate very hot climates, but there are a few that do, providing you plant them, where they will receive some shade at the hottest part of the day, which is normally in the afternoon.
As you mentioned that you, also like this foliage color and live in Florida where your temperatures are very similar to mine, thought that you might find it useful to know that, in temperatures that often exceed 40 degrees centigrade, I have successfully grown three of the shrubs mentioned here, Cotinus Grace, Nandina Domestica and Euonymus Alatus using this method, so don't give up hope of having this beautiful color in your garden yet.

As you liked Claudines Purple Leaf Plum so much, you will be pleased to know, that there is just one variety that is known to grow very successfully in your area, and that is

View attachment 1106

Prunus Cistena or Purple Leaf Sand Cherry with a choice of either pink or white blossoms, so hopefully you too will be able to enjoy looking at this beautiful tree.

What useful information, Gata Montes! I will look into the Purple Leaf Sand Cherry. I believe I have seen those before, somewhere around here. I do have several spots that get shade as the day progresses, including just outside my bedroom window! Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

 

[Gina145]

Another shrub with red leaves is barberry. According to their care instructions they're very easy to look after as their requirement of both water and fertilizer is minimal. They are full of thorns though!

 

[gata montes]

Barberry or Berberis shrubs as Gina145 mentioned, are one of those ideal low maintenance shrubs, with such an enormous range of colors and variety, that there is one to suit almost any situation.

If you are not familiar with Berberis, they are sharp and prickly and can be used as hedges, as an accent plant in flower borders and even look good in containers.

They may be a bit vicious if you get a touch too close but they come in some truly amazing colors such as

Crimson Pygmy

Royal Burgundy

Cherry Bomb

There are many, many more Berberis to choose from, and if you have a particular one that you like, then please post a picture.

 

[claudine]

I love the Crimson Pygmy Berberis in the first picture, it looks beautiful! I like its color, it's almost violet
This is a nice variety too, Berberis 'Fireball':

I like that some of the leaves are green, it looks very fresh and unique.

 

[gata montes]

Claudine - They are a little too prickly for me, but I love all the amazing colors Berberis comes in.

There are so many choices in this color range that it makes it very difficult to have a favorite, I can honestly say there isn't one I don't like. Like you I think ' fireball ' and 'crimson pygmy ' are very pretty, but my real favorite would be 'cherry bomb'

 

[claudine]

This is a nice picture, because thanks to it, you can compare three different verities of Berberis:

I think that Rose Glow looks especially beautiful: