Gold Coast Gardener

January 8, 2006

By Gene Joyner, Extension Agent
Palm Beach County Cooperative Extension Service

There are certain areas in the landscape where sometimes you may not want flowers, but you’d prefer not to have everything with just various shades of green either. There are many types of plants that have colorful foliage and these can be used effectively in the landscape to brighten it up without having to have an actual flower present.

Many landscape shrubs and even some trees come in forms that have white and green or yellow and green marbled foliage. These are commonly referred to as variegated plants and this variegation adds a lot of color in the landscape. Some of these plants are used for hedges or maintained as isolated single specimens.

Some types of colorful plants have been used for a long time in the landscape; a good example would be the croton. Crotons come in hundreds of colors and have leaves often with two or three colors intermixed in a single leaf. These grow slowly but can reach heights of upwards of 20 feet at maturity. Another common plant with colorful foliage, the copper leaf, also can reach heights of nearly 20 feet. These two varieties of plants are types available through most retail nurseries and are easy to grow with few pests or problems.

Some types of foliage plants are variegated, too, and have splashes of yellow, white, or other colors in the leaves which adds to their attractiveness. These make excellent potted specimens or they can be put out in semi-shaded areas in the landscape. Make sure with many of these foliage plants that they are not exposed to freezing temperatures since often times that will do serious damage.

Even some of the vines used in the landscapes have colorful foliage. A good example would be confederate jasmine which comes in a type with leaves that are half yellow, half white and the sky vine or Thunbergia which has a type with white marbling in the leaves. Bougainvillea, another popular vine, also is available in several marbled or variegated forms so you have beautiful foliage combined with a beautiful flower.

Ground covers or low growing plants also have types that have variegated or marbled foliage. A good example would be Liriope which comes in a beautiful yellow and green marbled or striped form and there are many ornamental grasses, too, that have red or striped foliage depending on the variety.

If you’re really interested in adding color to your landscape without having to have flowers, most local nurseries and garden centers have a good assortment of plants with colorful foliage. Remember to grow these in the appropriate areas though and always ask for care instructions if it’s a plant that you’re not real familiar with.

If you have questions about plants with colorful foliage, you can get some free advice from the Palm Beach County Extension Service. Dial 233-1750 in the north and central county area or 276-1260 in the south county area.