How about purple basil? The height would be about the same...

Cool! I'll take a look at it. Thanks.

Dark purple, the bees go crazy for the flower stalks and not only fragrant, but edible! :-D

oh great now I want purple basil!

Sounds so pretty!

Karen

I found a nice pic on the web:
green & purple basil

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I am sowing some, I hope they make it. So pretty.

Burgandy amaranthus has nice purple leaves. I like the purple basil idea too. Also, some Perilla has purple leaves, or would some nice coleus work for ya?

Amy

They are tender and like warmth.

Oh, also thought of some Purple Magesty Millet, or some of the ornamental peppers may work.
Amy

alternanthera. It comes in several colors. It's an annual, but can be rooted very easily like coleus. It comes in purple, red, and chartreuse. Grows 2-3' tall like the four oclocks.

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I've had Perilla....reseeds like mad!

Have you looked at coleus Palisandra? That will make a nice contrast with limelight 4s.

The link is to pVick's photo of the coleus.

Lynda

Here is a link that might be useful: Coleus

Coleus 'Palisandra' is listed as a shade/part shade plant. Four O'clocks prefer full sun. Here in the south, they like a little afternoon shade.

Basil can be grown in full sun. Alternanthera is a full sun annual too.

I forgot I have red velvet coleus. I went to Walmart but they didn't have purple basil, just the green. And yes, the purple basil is gorgeous!!!

Tom,

That alternanthera is also gorgeous!!! :)

Lysimachia firecracker, if you have room for some spreading. The deer do some pruning for me.

Chris

I love alternanthera and grow it every year - plus the perilla is purple too - I love them both

carrie

carrie, do you have seeds :P

If carrie doesn't, I will this fall. LOL.

Here's where you can get them. Best color is in full sun.

Swallowtail.

How about sweet potato vine - yeah, it's technically a trailing/vining plant, but supported, it could be a mounder. There are several varieties with burgundy leaves.

Or, depending on how big you want the plant to be, there are lots of amaranthus you could use.

There are also some varieties of celosia with burgundy leaves.

PV

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Amaranthus caudatus 'Velvet Curtains' is a great looking maroon/burgundy leaf plant.

Sharon

Crazy...those amaranthus behind the zinnia - great display. Now I have to have Amaranthus caudatus 'Velvet Curtains' ! Must. Just gotta. Really. *sob*
Kris (who really just gotta learn self-control...)

Self-control? What is this new behavior of which you speak? Honestly, does anyone here have an understanding as to what this is?

Nancy Drew
(who doesn't have a clue...)

Kiddo, I'll send you seeds of the giant red amaranthus I've got growing this fall. It's supposed to reach over 6' tall. Not sure where I'm going to plant those. They really don't tie in with anything else I have.

that amaranthus-zinnia combo really is pretty!

Yeah, they're very pretty. Please dig the plants and ship them to me! Hahaha! :) just kidding.

But yeah, they're pretty.

Pvick, yes, I am thinking of sweet potato vine as well. I contacted the nursery and they told me that they're only going to have it by the end of May. :(

Neil, did your Limelight 4 o'clocks grow the "lime" foliage as shown on package and/or seed vendor sites?

My Limelight have same color foliage as other 4 O'clocks I planted and I'm wondering if they have to get to a certain size before they show their lime color.

Plants are almost 2' tall and no sign of that "limelight" color I was looking forward to.

Just wanted to see if yours have lime colored foliage since I'm having trouble finding anything on "search" with foliage information.

Thanks a bunch.

Leslie

nope, lime color is prominent even on small seedlings. I have noticed that my own seeds give about 75-85% of lime ones and few shows as plain green ones.

Hi Leslie,

My 4 o'clocks did produce the lime color but not as bright as my sweet potato vine. I still love it because it's so drought tolerant. It has never showed any drooping even at the hottest temp.

I also noticed lately that some newer leaves are showing random green spots.

Here they are near the window well. I think, I took the picture around 7pm. The color is more lighter in person. I'll take another picture tomorrow but closer. You can use the petunia leaves as the reference color for green.
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I was thinking Amaranthus 'Intense Purple'. You can get it to grow much shorter (as short as you want actually) and bushier if it's cut back a few times to a few more depending on what outcome you're looking for. Beware though it re-seeds like crazy, but is easy to pull or hoe. In my case I need to use a hoe mostly in places where it re-seeds to the point of being a carpet! When I get a reasonable smaller patch after hoeing then I can thin it out easier by hand. You can also dig up and transplant to different locations easy when they are still seedlings.
To collect seed, I just cut off the flower plumes and toss into paper bags and shake. Dump some in a large bowl and winnow the chaff out. Seeds are also edible in hot cereals, in making breads as seed or ground into flour :)
Here are some pics showing them growing at different final heights of my choosing:
Growing here at about 3' tall...tjey looks shorter in the picture than they actually were...
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...about 2 to 2.5 tall:
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...and finally I had these ones growing with Profusion Zinnia's at about 12" tall!
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Very nice Vera!

Here is an update. I planted purple ruffles basil the same time as the four o'clocks. The height is only 6". I'm happy that it's got deep purple color. Love it! But height is low.

Leslie, as promised, I took pictures of 4 o'clocks. I have a seedling close to the sweet potato vine. You know what, their color is almos the same. I also have a variegated 4 o'clock lime color that I will post later. :)

I have purple ruffle basil and it is mostly green and not ruffled. I think I got some dud seeds. it smells and looks nice and has some purple specs but is mostly green :(

Karen

Karen, I'll take a pic of my ruffle basil. I only had 20% germination. 2 direct sowed were deep purple. The other seedlings in pots are green.

Leslie,

Here are my 4 o'clock limelights. I did my best so that you can see how consistent the color is.

This one was recently transplanted to ground. The one on top surrounded by rocks is sweet potato vine. The seedlings that you see in the middle and on top left are 4 o'clocks.
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v1rtu0s1ty
those 4 o'clocks look really good with the petunia's. I also have some of those limelight ones. all look like yours (though maybe not as big) no blooms yet but I did get some blooms about a month ago on a purple 4 o'clock. it was so pretty and is still going strong (i posted a pic of it in my newbie blooms post)

The purple basil was frustrating. I have it in my urns for some other color and just some of the new leaves are purple and not ruffled at all. Oh well, still smells real good.

Karen