Plants with purple leaves will add color, texture, and variety to your garden throughout the growing season and beyond, even when not in bloom. While flowers are wonderful in their own right, they can be fleeting, so it's always a good idea to include plants with colorful foliage to bridge any color gaps. These 15 plants with purple leaves range from the reddish end of the color spectrum to dark, almost black hues of purple. Choose several to create a striking color echo throughout your garden.
Ajuga
Also known as bugleweed (Ajuga reptans), this low-growing, slow-spreading perennial provides excellent coverage just about anywhere in the garden, from full sun to part shade. Various varieties offer a range of foliage color but one of the most purple is 'Black Scallop' (shown here). Its deep purple, almost chocolate-colored leaves contrast nicely with its violet flowers in spring and early summer.
Growing Conditions: full sun to part shade and average soil
Size: 6 inches tall by 1 foot wide
Zones: 4-9
Alternanthera
Alternanthera comes in a variety of colors, including purple such as the variety 'Purple Prince'. It will thrive in sunny to shady conditions and only grows to a couple of feet tall and wide. White blooms are typically produced in spring on landscape plants. 'Purple Prince' also makes an excellent container plant.
Growing Conditions: full sun to part shade and average soil
Size: 2 feet tall and wide
Zones: 9+ or anywhere as an annual
Begonia
There are few plants that match the colors of begonias. With their rich and vibrant reds, pinks, whites, silvers, purples, and greens, these plants offer some of the most beautiful leaves available to home gardeners. Some types such as rex begonias are exceptionally gorgeous. Pictured above is 'Shadow King', a rex begonia with deep reds, purples, silvers, and green all thrown together.
Growing Conditions: part shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: 10 inches tall
Zones: 10+ or anywhere as an annual
Coleus
Coleus (Plectranthus spp.) are known for their fantastic kaleidoscope of colors from reds and yellows, to oranges and purples. But for many varieties, excessive flowering and untidy growth lead to somewhat unsightly plants by mid-season. Improved newer varieties like 'ColorBlaze Newly Noir' will keep your container and bedding plants looking healthy and full throughout the season with very little upkeep.
Growing Conditions: full sun to part shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: 3 feet tall
Zones: 10+ or anywhere as an annual
Coral Bells
Many types of coral bells (Heuchera spp.) offer colorful leaves and have the ability to thrive in full sun to full shade conditions. For example, the Dolce line of coral bells offers a vibrant range of colors, including purple (such as 'Dolce Blackcurrant' shown here). And while foliage colors may look less bright in shade, newer varieties like 'Northern Exposure Purple' have new genetics that help achieve plenty of color even in dim shade and under extreme climate conditions.
Growing Conditions: full sun to full shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: 1 foot tall
Zones: 3-9
Elephant's Ear
Few plants bring a tropical look to the garden like elephant's ear (Colocasia esculenta), also called taro. Purple elephant's ears really up the ante with their moody hues. Plant these beauties in containers or the garden, then lift at the end of the season and store in cool, dry locations until the following growing season for many years of enjoyment. One popular dark purple variety is 'Black Magic' (shown here).
Growing Conditions: full sun and constantly moist to wet soil
Size: 5 feet tall by 6 feet wide
Zones: 8+ or anywhere as an annual
Fringe Flower
Fringe flowers (Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum) bloom profusely with very little maintenance and are rarely bothered by diseases. Varieties such as 'Plum Delight' produce a small bush with purple evergreen leaves that are sure to draw attention from people and pollinators alike.
Growing Conditions: full sun to part shade with good moisture and drainage.
Size: 5 feet tall and wide
Zones: 7-9
Japanese Maple
Japanese maples (Acer palmatum) are known for their wonderful foliage colors from spring to fall and come in a wide variety of shades from deep purple to blood red. Typically grown in cooler climates with ample moisture, these beauties are the ideal specimen tree. For those in colder climates, newer selections like 'Velvet Viking' are worth considering. Japanese maple answers the call for a hardier specimen that will do well both in the ground or a protected location in a container.
Growing Conditions: full sun to part shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: 3 to 25 feet tall by 3 to 25 feet wide
Zones: 5-9
Ninebark
Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) is a hardy, floriferous native shrub that blooms in early summer and has attractive bark to boot. For the best purple color, choose varieties like 'Diabolo' with leaves in stunning shades of plum. While this plant can handle some shade, give it plenty of light for the deepest purple leaves and compact growth.
Growing Conditions: full sun to part shade and average soil
Size: 10 tall by 8 feet wide
Zones: 2-8
Purple Basil
For a purple so dark it’s almost black, try growing purple basils (Ocimum basilicum). Varieties like 'Amethyst Improved' are perfect for growing in containers and this Italian type basil is incredibly dark, fast growing, and produces pretty purple flowers.
Growing Conditions: full sun and moist, well-drained soil
Size: 2 feet tall
Zones: Annual
Purple Fountain Grass
For adding height and texture to your containers, one of the best purple choices is purple fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum'). This quick-growing ornamental grass produces long, strap-like, dark purple leaves topped by fluffy flower spikes about mid season.
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade with moderate water
Size: 4-5 feet tall
Zones: 9-11
Purple Heart
Going by several names, this purple-leafed tender perennial plant is often used as an annual in colder climates and a well-behaved groundcover in warmer climates. Known for their vibrant color and ease of care, purple heart plants (Tradescantia pallida 'Purpurea') do best in full sun. They'll eventually produce small three-petalled flowers, rising just above the foliage. Purple hearts easily take root from cuttings and make great houseplants.
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade with moderate water
Size: 8 inches tall
Zones: 9-11
Shamrock
Forever a classic, oxalis (Oxalis triangularis) is cherished by gardeners for their beautiful deep purple leaves, dainty blooms, and ease of care. Plant oxalis in the ground as an annual or lift in fall and store tubers for winter in colder climates. As container plants, oxalis can handle full sun if given plenty of moisture and will quickly fill their space, producing a fluffy mound of purple leaves.
Growing Conditions: full sun to part shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: 8 inches tall
Zones: 6-10 or anywhere as an annual
Smoke Tree
Both the smoke tree (Cotinus coggyria) and the American smoke three (Cotinus obovatus) are known for their stunning fall color, but there are also purple-leaved varieties of each that offer eye-catching color during the growing season. For example, 'Royal Purple' (shown here) holds its reddish purple color well through summer's heat. It's a bit hardier than the species, thriving in Zones 4-10.
Growing Conditions: full sun to part shade and average soil
Size: 15 feet tall by 10 feet wide
Zones: 5-9
Sweet Potato Vine
Sweet potato vines (Ipomoea batatas) are a container garden favorite. 'Blackie' (shown here) is a popular purple-leaved variety that makes a gorgeous contrast with lighter-colored leaves and flowers. A newer variety called 'Treasure Island' even combines beautiful purple leaves with the edibleness of garden variety sweet potatoes into one exceptional plant.
Growing Conditions: full sun and moist, well-drained soil
Size: 1 foot tall, trailing to 5 feet
Zones: 10+ or anywhere as an annual