Meet the New Foliage Plant on the Block

Move over coleus—the genus also offers a feast for the eyes

Here ’s some exciting news for nurseryman : Alternantheras ( Alternantheraspp . and cvs . ) , a chemical group of coloured and fast - growing tropical plants , are bit by bit making their way into nurseries . Like coleus ( Solenostemon scutellarioidescvs . ) , Persian shield ( Strobilanthes dyerianus ) , and other popular supply ship foliation plants used as warm - season annuals , alternantheras contribute tantalizing foliage colors — shades of yellow , lily-white , red , pink , and even orangish — from the moment they ’re planted in late springiness until fall hoar polish off their season . I ’ve been straightaway to bosom their colorful presence , because their laid - back modus vivendi foregather the demands of my tenacious gardening time of year .

Besides being beautiful , alternantheras are well-off to rise . intermediate garden ground of moderate fertility produces excellent results . Though they do n’t endure utmost drouth very well , alternantheras require no more H2O than do most hardy perennials . They suffer no pest or disease problems that I ’ve seen , except for the occasional event of leaf putrefaction when too crowded or foliage topographic point while overwinter in a cool , damp greenhouse . They make salient container specimens but are also at domicile in the most stylish of assorted borders . Best of all , genus Alternanthera thrive in full sunlight without want SPF 50 sunscreen , while also adapting to half - day light . Typically , brighter visible light equals brighter tone in plants , but long periods of ternary - dactyl temperatures may actually dull alternanthera ’s colors for a time , so deliberate a little mid - day shade for gardens in the Deep South . The only affair an genus Alternanthera wo n’t do is fly high in dull shade — fair enough , I presuppose , for an otherwise concordant garden guest . Five selection in special have leaven to be reliable growers through my hot , humid summers and long , glorious fall .

Try This Bold Weaver

The large genus Alternanthera I ’ve grow isA. dentata‘Rubiginosa ’ ( syn . ‘ Marco Polo ’ ) . It can grow to 18 to 30 inches in peak and generally grow panoptic than tall . ‘ Rubiginosa ’ definitely deserve to be called bloodleaf , one of its common names , for the entire plant life , leave of absence and stem likewise , is colour the rich possible Burgundy wine . Another of its common gens , Christmas trefoil , ponder its winter bloom clip , though you may enjoy the papery ivory blossoms only if you ’ve brought the industrial plant indoors for wintertime . The flowers resemble those of clover or annual globe amaranth ( Gomphrena globosa ) and are enthusiastic ego - sower .

The branches of ‘ Rubiginosa ’ reach out , not up , as they meander through neighboring plant , creating a unified whole . Its enticing deep - burgundy chromaticity can convey the trombone ’s anchoring profoundness to flutelike pastel composing , a impregnable bass beat to silver ’s brighter cadency , and a low , rumbling baritone saxophone note to sporty orange tree and golds . One moulding compounding I particularly love joins ‘ Rubiginosa ’ with a deep - pinkish yarrow ( Achillea millefolium‘Montrose Rose ’ , USDA Zones 3–9 ) and the whitened silver - impart works I ’ve ever acquire , Centaurea gymnocarpa‘Colchester White ’ ( Zones 7–9 ) . In containers , I ’ve been dazzle by ‘ Rubiginosa ’ thread its way through wine - coloredSalvia vanhouttii(Zones 9–10 ) and the ruffled firestorm leaves of flaming - blood-red - and - yellow ‘ El Brighto ’ coleus ( S. scutellarioides‘El Brighto ’ , Zones 9–11 ) .

Create Carpets of Foliage

A. ficoidea‘Red Threads ’ ( syn . ‘ Red Fine Leaf ’ ) and ‘ Golden togs ’ ( syn . ‘ Yellow Fine Leaf ’ ) are two slender - leaved selections that caught my eye several years ago and have remained among my favorites ever since . While ‘ Rubiginosa ’ wanders , both of these cultivar stay put , forming a textured rug in shades of deep burgundy ( ‘ Red Threads ’ ) and banana - yellow laced with green ( ‘ Golden yarn ’ ) . A single plant makes a heap about 8 in magniloquent and 14 inches wide .

Though these selections bloom off and on all class , you may never point out . The small , pale flower button are hold in the leaf axils , where they are nearly identical from the foliage unless you ’re paying close care .

I use ‘ Red Threads ’ and ‘ Golden screw thread ’ at the base of taller plants in the border to furnish vibrant color sound reflection or contrast . ‘ Red Threads ’ take care adorable with ruby - red ‘ Little Wine Cup ’ daylily ( Hemerocallis‘Little Wine Cup ’ , Zones 3–10 ) , while ‘ Golden Threads ’ gives off promising sparks among sultry over-embellished - impale veronica ( Veronica spicatacvs . , Zones 3–8 ) or mealycup sage ( Salvia farinaceaand cvs . , Zones 8–10 ) .

If you have extra distance , aggregated planting of either form will meld into undulating sweeps of shimmer color . Or take a tip from Victorian gardener and make lively knot - gardens , interweave agate line of bolshie and gold into intricate normal . In containers , allow them to trail over the side and coalesce their ticklish forms with broader - textured familiar . you may also expend the “ screw thread sis ” to mate or contrast with any of the many coleus selection , or to accompany fancy - leaved geraniums likePelargonium‘Vancouver Centennial ’ .

Bringing the color indoors

Once you ’ve fallen for alternantheras , what do you do when frost threatens them ? Take cutting , of course .

Tip cuttings 2 to 3 inches retentive ascendent easy . I use small-grained rooting internal secretion on mine , though it may not be necessary , and puzzle them in a blend of soilless pot mix and guts . I ’ve also heard of cuttings being rooted in H2O , but I have n’t tried it myself . I ’ve found thatA. ficoideaselections root fairly well even if they ’re in flower , but it ’s best to take cutting ofA. dentata‘Rubiginosa ’ before it record its wintertime bloom round in late autumn . come of ‘ Rubiginosa ’ are quick to collect by late winter , and they pullulate easily , offering another method acting of producing plants that are true to color .

Do you know that extension rule of always sticking to the intimately - variegate cuttings ? transgress the dominion with white wisp . The whitest pieces will root , but six months later you ’ll still have a 2 - inch - improbable works that conk out to get any big . Root the least - variegated stems — they make vigorous plants that afterward develop showy clean shoots .

Potted industrial plant do best when kept for the wintertime in a warm sunporch or in a greenhouse above 45 ° F at night . irrigate them when necessary but not to excess . Feed softly until your last leap hoar date , when it ’s secure to put alternantheras back out into the garden .

They Make Great Companions

I am quick to admit that I favour blistering colors to cool , so perhaps that ’s why I took an contiguous liking to parrot folio ( A. ficoidea‘Bettzichiana ’ , syn . A. bettzichiana ) , also known as Joseph ’s coating and calico plant . How could I not adore this petite 12 - column inch - marvellous plant whose column inch - long , cupped leave-taking gasconade shade of orange , salmon , live pink , chocolate , and deep fleeceable ?

Parrot leaf ’s radical colors provide me to cut open with creative thinking and choose as wild - looking fellow traveler . industrial plant likeAcalypha wilkesiana‘Obovata ’ ( zone 10–11 ) , with its bent - dog , chocolate leaves border in hot coral , and ‘ Neon ’ coleus ( S. scutellarioides‘Neon ’ , Zones 9–11 ) , a spicy fiddling number done up in spicy pink and orangish , are a perfect lucifer . Since all three plant life are crank , this trio can attend either in an overt space in my border or in a summertime container .

I also like parrot leaf at the base of peachy daylily , especially those like ‘ King ’s Grant ’ ( Hemerocallis‘King ’s Grant ’ , Zones 3–10 ) , which change from peach to Salmon River - pink as the day advance . Search your own garden — I secure you ’ll find plenty of plants that can reverberate with one of the hues in parrot leaf ’s colorful pattern .

While parrot leaf take form a minor mound , my other favoriteA. ficoideaselection , ‘ Sessilis Alba ’ , rockets flat up . It ’s so different from the other alternantheras that the first time I examine it I think I was looking at a 30 - in - tall columnar bush — a very snowy bush . It was so pale , in fact , that I was baffle at its vigor .

‘ Sessilis Alba ’ , nicknamed lily-white wisp and white calico plant for its sheer delicacy , produces many albino branches , as well as plenty of bloodless - and - immature variegated I , from which it photosynthesizes . Though it looks as pale as a Goth little girl , even the milky leaves never burn in full sun . Its welcome in white gardens is secure , but I prefer bloodless wisp with a spatter of fire - engine - redVerbena‘Red Blaze ’ lapping at its ankles .

Whether you choose for a mass planting or a single star specimen , the clear , crisp colors and exciting texture of alternantheras make them remarkable new additions to summer gardens . Let ’s give these festive south - of - the - border tropicals a hearty welcome .

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