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Conifers/Evergreens with Red, Purple, Orange Foliage

14 years ago

I'm looking for conifers/evergreens with red, purple, and/or orange foliage. I want to extend color in the garden through the winter months. I've got gold and yellow foliage. Blue-green is all over the place. I can cover red and purple in other times of the year with Japanese Maples, Euonymus, purple and bronze leaved plums, etc. But during the winter?

I'd love to see a good, solid discussion on this.

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Comments (9)

noki
14 years ago
Cryptomeria ... some types are suppossed to show purple color such as 'Elegans'. You should be able to grow this group pretty well.

Platycladus orientalis ... some types can be bronze orange-ish, some can be kinda burgundy at times, like 'Morgan'

Chamaecyparis thyoides 'Red Star' ... does turn kinda reddish purple. Practically native to your area.

Thuja occidentalis 'Congabe' "Fire Chief" ... turns kinda rusty colored at the tips with bronze underneath, better than 'Rheingold'

Microbiotia, the "Siberian Arb". I've seen it turn a nice dull purple, but other plants I've seen just turn more dull bronze

a few other of those little fuzzy boring small shrubs are suppossed to turn kinda purplish. Think one is called something like Heatherbun.

not sure what else you could choose from.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years ago
Chamaecyparis thyoides 'Heather Bun' turns purple in winter.. no idea if zone appropriate for you ...

almost all the thuja turn colors ... from their plain green .... like Thuja orientalis `Morgan'

and plain microbiata ...

listen .. the best way to figure it all out.. is to find a local.. labeled arboretum.. and visit it in winter... and see what grows locally.. and has interesting winter color ... sometimes you just have to turn off the computer.. and go outside.. makes for a most enjoyable afternoon ...

good luck

ken
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Perilla will do well in a hot climate. So will amaranthus. Both attract grasshoppers, so remember - you've been told! Both are pretty, however, and both can become weeds if you don't stop them self-seeding. You could try purple sage - tinges of purple, very pretty. Also look for ornamental kales (which are edible). Very nice as a border. Herb Robert has interesting foliage, can be green with red stems, or rusty red. Certain species of Rosella (members of the Hibiscus family) have purple foliage. Look for Bugle, a colourful ground cover. Beetroot leaves often take on a purple colour. Try varieties of lettuce - you can get reddish-brown ones and purple ones which are very attractive. Plant some garlic chives or onion chives - both have purple flowers. Catnip also has prolific purple flowers. You might not want to restrict yourself to red or purple. Other colours can give a great contrast to just green. Have you thought of something like a golden oregano? The colour is stunning amongst a lot of greenery. Like any oregano, it will spread if you don't watch it, but I've never found it too dreadfully aggressive. Take a look at Ginger Mint - striking variegated yellow/green leaves. For colour in my all-herb garden, I've got nasturtiums and chillies. Those chillies are great for colour - you get green, yellow, orange and red all at once, and in my subtropical climate they fruit all year round. You get get varieties with deep purple leaves. The nasturtiums of course have brilliant colours - I get deep red, orange, yellow. You can train nasturtium up a trellis for a great splash of colour. Also think of silver plants, like Santolina, Lambs Ears, or wormwood, or a curry plant.
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gardener365
14 years ago
Juniperus horizontalis 'Monber' 'Icee BlueÂ®' is another. During winter it's a good light-purple and as the plant ages, the tips as well, become purple. It makes a great border plant trimmed in a circular/arch shape where dry soils persist.

Dax
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
14 years ago
The first list is pretty good :-) Cryptomeria japonica 'Elegans' is known to have great/unique winter foliage color:
{{gwi:851275}}

as does Microbiota decussata:
{{gwi:851276}}

They are not conifers and may be tougher to grow in your climate, but a number of heathers (Calluna vulgaris) change color in winter - Calluna vulgaris 'Wickwar Flame' and 'Firefly' turn brick red but various others will offer shades of gold, bronze, orange or salmon. And they are a nice accompaniment to conifers in areas where they grow well.
midtn
14 years ago
Already listed
Platycladus orientalis 'Morgan'
Chamaecyparis thyoides 'Red Star'
Both of these are real nice.

I would add Juniperus horizontalis 'Motherlode'. I get reds, oranges and purple on mine when it gets cold. Nice plant.

Non-conifer....

Some deciduous shrubs like Hydrangea quercifolia and Itea virginica turn beautiful red and hold their leafs very late. Up until Christmas most times in my area.

I have also had some success with Erica darleyensis. Pink, red and purple flowers in Jan/Feb.

Camellias are another option.

Winter Garden Glory by Bloom is a good book BTW.
arceesmith
14 years ago
One of my current favs is Juniperus communis 'Kalebab.' I love the form of this one. It's green in the summer and orange in winter. I believe the colder the winter the more intense the orange color.

Follow the link to a couple photos.

Here is a link that might be useful: 'Kalebab' photos
tunilla
14 years ago
Thanks for the tip, mid. Just found & ordered a copy on Amazon for 0.59 Euros ( approx. $ 1.-). There are more to be had.
John, some of the Chamaecyparis pisifera cv's turn purple in winter.Unfortunately, in my experience anyway, they tend to be juvenile foliage types, wich over here
suffer a lot during the hottest part of summer.
My spring-planted 'Morgan' is just beginning to take on an appearance as described above; get one soon! And a Crypto. japonica 'Vilmoriniana' is still green, but should take on a Burgundy colour very soon.
Winter isn't so bad after all ... T.
dcsteg
14 years ago
Chamaecyparis thyoides 'Red Star'

A tough one...very unstable. Not one to stake your life savings on. Just when it's at its best...wam bam...it croaks. Summer 07...next Spring it was toast..that's its nature.
{{gwi:851277}}

Dave
john_hosie
Original Author
14 years ago
Wow. Some great stuff here.

Visiting an arboretum in winter is a great idea. The National Arboretum is a few miles away. That will be a great starting point.

I've seen pix of Cryptomeria japonica 'Elegans' on eBay. But the ones posted here look much more real. That could be a very nice addition here. But it looks like it gets pretty big and grows pretty fast. I found that Iseli has a Cryptomeria Japonica 'Elegans Nana' that is dwarf and globe shaped. That might be a good smaller variety. And I have a local nursery in Boyds, MD, Susanna Farms, that buys a lot from them. So I will ask them about getting some in spring. Iseli has a bunch of other varieties of Cryptomeria Japonica that are smaller. Great suggestion.

Platycladus orientalis Morgan looks like a great one, too - though bronze rather than purple. The pix I saw look also like they're fairly small.

Chamaecyparis thyoides 'Red Star' seems to have mixed blessings. Found a thread on it from 2007 where people didn't care for it because it tends to splay...

Juniperus communis 'Kalebab' looks nice. My only concern is that sometime my wife may decide it is dying (no matter what I say) and cut it down while I'm at work.

Juniperus horizontalis 'Mother lode' looks good. Gold and blue-grey during the summer, and gold/bronze/purple in the winter.

Calluna vulgaris 'Wickwar Flame' and 'Firefly'? I never thought of heather as an evergreen. But if it is, I guess I'll have to start giving more of them a second look.

Finally, the Chamaecyparis thyoides 'Heather Bun' look like they're worth a look.

Thanks all for the suggestions. Up until now, I've been kind of limited to trying to find Picea Abies 'Rubra Spicata'.

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