Weekly Garden Tip

November 26, 2006

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

This time of year most people’s attention is captivated by the beautiful flowers and bedding plants seen at local retail nurseries and garden centers and this is the season for putting those in the landscape. Some people though like to use the colorful foliage in addition to colorful flowers and we do have a number of plants that will provide beautiful foliage which is year round rather than seasonal like many of your bedding plants.

Most of the colorful foliage plants are shrubs or small trees, but many people miss fall color which they get up north. We do have a few tropical plants though that do have leaves that change color, one being the tropical almond which has leaves that turn a bright red in late fall and also native trees such as red maple, which will give brief fall color.

Smaller non native plants with colorful foliage that are perennial favorites include things like croton, copper leaf and, of course, you can get leaf color with many types of variegated plants such as variegated pittosporum, variegated arboricola and you can also get color from plants such as silver buttonwood which is a nice native tree and Texas sage which has silvery gray foliage.

Most area nurseries and garden centers have an abundance of plants with striking colored foliage. Some are well suited for growing in containers in a screen room or pool area, while others are typically used in outside landscaping.

If you want to see examples of colorful foliage plants, visit the Mounts Botanical Garden at 531 North Military Trail in West Palm Beach halfway between Belvedere Road and Southern Boulevard. The 14 acre garden has a number of planted areas with colorful foliage plants for you to enjoy.

Also if you have questions about specific plants the Palm Beach County Extension office can provide tips on how to care for these plants in your landscape. Dial weekdays 233-1750 in the north and central county area or 276-1260 in the south county area.

The Extension office can also provide printed information on caring for most of the plants used in our area and if you have questions about maintenance such as pruning, fertilizing, or pest control they can answer those questions as well.