The ornamental grasses are the only plants saving me from total despair -- or are they? Upon closer observation, the plants that are really saving me from total embarrassment are the colored foliage shrubs and trees. The same foliage that took a back seat to all the colorful bloomers earlier in the season, now seems to be putting on the show -- I’ve just failed to see and appreciate them.
I think all good gardeners strive to have something in bloom during every week of the growing season, but it doesn’t always work that way or at least not as spectacularly as we would like. A good garden has lots of plants with interesting foliage in it to carry it through some of the awkward weeks (months?) such as late summer or early fall.
The great thing about burgundy-foliage plants is that they fit into any garden, no matter what the style or color scheme. Gold and silver-foliage plants are great too, but they’ll have to wait until a future article! The following are a few of my favorite burgundy foliage shrubs in my own garden and here at Olbrich.
The common smokebush (Cotinus coggygria) is a fantastic under-utilized shrub that has awesome foliage -- both in color and form. Leaf color of the species is green but most of the available cultivars are bronze to deep burgundy. They also have wonderfully curious “smoky” flowers and seed heads to boot!
At Olbrich we like to incorporate different smokebush cultivars into mixed perennial borders where we cut them back hard each spring. This hard pruning obviously keeps them smaller, but also forces lots of lush, colorful new growth. Removing the older growth prevents them from flowering however, but the exuberantly colored foliage is well worth the sacrifice.
Smokebushes are not fussy growers as long as you plant them in a well-drained soil in full sun. They are very drought-tolerant and are extremely fast growers. I planted a gallon-sized container in my garden two years ago and it now stands 15’ tall and 4-5’ wide -- that is after I cut it to the ground this past spring!
There are many cultivars in the trade but the following three are the best and most commonly available at area garden centers and nurseries.
‘Nordine’ is the hardiest selection available, so if you want flowers, this is the one to plant. It sports reddish-purple foliage which fades a bit during the summer, but turns brilliant orange-yellow in autumn.
‘Royal Purple’ and ‘Velvet Cloak’ are less hardy and may die-back to the ground or snow line in winter, but this isn’t a problem if you plan on cutting them to the ground in spring anyway. ‘Royal Purple’ has the darkest foliage of all -- maroon-red when emerging, turning dark purple to almost black in summer and red-purple in fall. ‘Velvet Cloak’ maintains a dark purple appearance throughout the season and shines reddish-purple in fall.
The next shrub grown primarily for its colored foliage is Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii). Berberis, like Cotinus, thrive under tough conditions -- dry, impoverished soils in full sun or part shade. They don’t like full shade or extremely wet conditions however.
Two burgundy-foliage barberries planted in several garden areas at Olbrich are crimson pygmy Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii ‘Crimson Pygmy’) and redleaf Japanese barberry (B. thunbergii ‘Atropurpurea’).
‘Crimson Pygmy’ is a diminutive grower only reaching about 2’ tall and 3-4’ wide. This dense growing selection produces deep maroon leaves when grown in full sun. It fits in well towards the front of a perennial border and can be mixed and matched with almost any color of flower. We like to let a trailing perennial or two ramble in or amongst it like the mauve-flowered poppymallow (Callirhoe involucrata) or the pink-flowered red fox spike speedwell (Veronica spicata ‘Rotfuchs’)
The barberry cultivar ‘Atropurpurea’ has dark purple foliage like ‘Crimson Pygmy’ but gets much taller at maturity, reaching about 6’ tall and wide. Try growing the small-flowered scarlet clematis cultivar ‘Duchess of Albany’ (Clematis texensis ‘Duchess of Albany’) through it -- it’s a knockout combination!
If you’re looking for something with a little more pizzazz give ‘Rose Glow’ Japanese barberry a try. The new growth emerges rose-pink splotched with reddish purple. The older foliage turns deep maroon and makes a great background for the new “glowing” leaves. The plant grows to about 5-6’ tall and wide and also benefits from a small-flowered clematis rambling through it -- rose-colored possibly?
Old-fashioned weigela (Weigela florida) is often thought of as a single season interest plant, being only showy in flower, which is often true. But we’ve been impressed with a new cultivar that just hit the market, called ‘Alexandra’, better known by its trademark name of Wine & Roses.
Wine & Roses, offers beautiful rosy flowers and gorgeous glossy, deep burgundy foliage throughout the growing season. The plant will perform best in full sun or part shade in a well-drained soil and grows 4-5’ tall and wide. You may have to search a bit to find this one, but it will be worth the effort!
Well, I’ve just scratched the surface of great colored-foliaged shrubs for the garden. Now’s the time of year to come out to Olbrich Botanical Gardens or the Longenecker Horticultural Gardens here in Madison to check out these and other possibilities for your own garden!