13 Colorful Plants with Purple and Green Leaves
Plants with purple-green leaves, like coleus and certain types of basil, provide a stunning visual contrast that can elevate garden designs or indoor decor. Their vibrant leaves make them excellent focal points or complementary plants in any arrangement.
Incorporate plants with purple-green leaves into your gardening or indoor decor for an instant splash of color and texture. Enhance your space with these striking botanicals.
13 Plants with Purple and Green Leaves to Beautify Your Garden
A world of color awaits with these 13 plants that feature purple and green leaves. They offer a unique aesthetic appeal to any setting, indoors or out.
Persian Shield (Strobilanthese Dyerianus)
Bright purple stripes and a shiny, silvery sheen make Persian shield an eye-catching plant. This shrub originally comes from Myanmar and has been loved since the Victorian era for its stunning leaves.
In the right spots, delicate pastel purple flowers add even more charm to this tropical beauty. Growing well in warm and humid areas allows it to reach heights of five feet with a width of three feet outdoors.
When kept indoors or in cooler places, it stays smaller as a houseplant. For those who want vivid colors outside, choosing partially shaded areas with dappled sunlight works best.
Indoor plants thrive under bright but indirect light for vibrant hues too.
Oyster Plant (Tradescantia Spathacea)
Known for its striking appearance, the oyster plant features long leaves that shine in dark green on top and display a rich purple underneath. This attractive houseplant can thrive both indoors and outdoors, making it a versatile choice.
Caring for an oyster plant is simple; watering it just once every week or two keeps it happy. Bright, indirect sunlight works best when it's placed inside your home.
Outdoors, these resilient plants enjoy the shade provided by taller trees while showing off their colorful foliage in lush clumps from a central rosette shape. Often called boat lily or Moses-in-the-cradle, this herbaceous perennial brings beauty with little effort needed to keep it healthy and vibrant.
Ornamental Cabbage (Brassica Oleracea)
Ornamental cabbage brings a splash of color and unique texture to your garden. With its ruffled leaves forming rosettes, it resembles a beautiful flower more than a vegetable.
When temperatures drop below fifty degrees Fahrenheit, the colors become even more vibrant and eye-catching. Placing these plants in sunny spots alongside bright fall flowers like pansies and chrysanthemums creates an exciting visual display for the winter months.
Although technically edible, ornamental cabbage has a bitter taste compared to regular cabbage cultivated for food. Its charm lies in enhancing outdoor landscapes rather than serving as a culinary ingredient.
This cool-season plant thrives as either an annual or biennial addition to gardens everywhere.
Coleus (Coleus Scutellarioides)
Brightly-colored leaves define coleus, a tropical evergreen plant. This easy-to-recognize perennial shows off various shapes and patterns in its foliage, with vibrant green, maroon, and purple hues standing out consistently.
People appreciate coleus for its all-season color; unlike flowers that bloom briefly, this plant stays lively throughout the year. Gardeners love using it to add visual flair to their outdoor spaces.
Growing swiftly outdoors means you enjoy a full display within just one season. Lifespan differs based on location; outside it lasts about a year while inside it can thrive for three to four years as long as conditions are right.
Keeping pets in mind is important since coleus can be toxic to cats and dogs; placing it outdoors might be best if furry friends roam around your home.
Wandering Jew (Tradescantia Zebrina)
A vibrant touch can be added to your garden or home with tradescantia zebrina. Its deep purple and olive green stripes resemble a zebra's distinctive coat, making it a lovely addition as groundcover or in hanging pots.
Known by several names like silver inch plant, wandering spiderwort, and variegated spiderwort, this evergreen perennial brings charm wherever it grows. Many people once called it Wandering Jew; however, the name has shifted to Wandering Dude due to its negative history.
Caring for tradescantia zebrina is simple across its various types. This plant thrives in partial to full shade and enjoys average to high humidity levels.
Keeping the soil moist will keep the plant healthy but avoid overwatering for best results.
Purple Velvet Plant (Gynura Aurantiaca)
Known as a purple passion plant, the purple velvet plant stands out with its unique appearance. Dark green stems and leaves showcase soft, fine purple hairs that create a rich and luxurious look.
This eye-catching foliage often steals the show from its disc-shaped flowers, which bloom in bright colors like red, orange, and yellow but have an unpleasant smell. Many choose to trim these blooms soon after they appear.
Originally from Southeast Asia, this woody evergreen thrives best in warm tropical climates. Most of the United States cannot support it outdoors except for areas like Florida and Hawaii.
As a houseplant, it requires little care while delivering great beauty to your space. Placing your purple passion plant in medium to bright light enhances its color beautifully; just keep the soil moist without letting it become soggy to avoid root rot.
Prayer Plant (Maranta Leuconeura)
Flowers take a back seat when it comes to maranta leuconeura. This tropical plant impresses with its large, beautifully patterned leaves that come in various shades of green and feature striking purple veins.
During the day, those lovely leaves lie flat, but at night they fold together like hands in prayer. That's how this plant got its common name: prayer plant.
Thriving best in settings similar to tropical rainforests, these plants require bright indirect sunlight and well-drained soil while enjoying ample humidity. Whether placed outdoors as ground cover or kept indoors as a houseplant, this perennial captures attention effortlessly.
Ti Plant (Cordyline Fruticosa)
A rich burst of color brings life to any space with the ti plant. This evergreen flowering beauty, often called a palm lily or cabbage, belongs to the asparagus family and looks much like a small palm tree.
Many people love ti plants for their broad leaves that brighten up homes and gardens. In various cultures, these plants serve as food sources and play important roles in traditional medicine.
Finding the right spot for your ti plant is essential whether it grows indoors or outdoors. Bright but indirect sunlight works best; this balance keeps those vibrant colors shining bright without fading or browning from too much sun exposure.
With proper care, you can enjoy this stunning addition to your surroundings year-round!
Rex Begonia (Begonia Rex-cultorum)
The rex begonia stands out with its stunning leaves rather than flowers. With over five hundred types to choose from, each one boasts a unique design.
Newer varieties, like the Fireworks rex begonia, grab attention with their dark green leaves enhanced by rich purple and shiny silver accents. This plant thrives both indoors and in outdoor containers.
For vibrant colors that last longer, place it in bright but indirect sunlight while rotating it regularly for even light exposure on all sides. Keeping the soil moist is key; however, avoid giving too much water to prevent soggy roots.
Caring for this beautiful plant brings joy and color into any space.
Waffle Plant (Hemigraphis Alternata)
Purple waffle plants, often called red ivy, make a lovely addition to gardens and containers. Their striking leaves show off a grayish-green top with dark purple underneath, featuring a unique ridged pattern.
This plant is an excellent choice for those new to plant care because it thrives with minimal effort. Keeping it in partial sun outdoors or bright indirect light indoors helps ensure its longevity.
Watering lightly keeps the soil moist without hassle. Adding slow-releasing fertilizer a few times each year allows this tropical perennial to truly flourish while purifying your air beautifully.
Enjoy the ease of caring for this charming houseplant!
Calathea (Calathea Roseopicta)
A calathea plant stands out with its beautiful, striped leaves that come in different shades of green. This remarkable plant belongs to the Marantaceae family, sharing some features with the prayer plant.
Unlike the prayer plant, calathea leaves do not fold up at night. Caring for a calathea requires attention and dedication.
The soil should always feel damp but never soggy, while indirect sunlight is best for growth. Frequent misting helps maintain its love for humidity and keeps it healthy.
Investing time in this stunning houseplant truly pays off when you see how vibrant it can be.
Iron Cross Houseplant (Oxalis Tetraphylla)
This plant adds charm to any space, whether indoors or outside. Oxalis tetraphylla often catches your eye in flower shops, especially around St.
Patrick's Day. Many people know it as four-leaved wood-sorrel or lucky clover due to its resemblance to real shamrocks.
It offers a playful touch with its unique leaf clusters that bring joy and color wherever placed.
Caring for this herbaceous perennial is simple; bright indirect light helps it thrive best.
Keeping the soil moist and loose ensures healthy growth too. Previously called the iron cross plant, that name has faded away because of negative history linked to the symbol.
Jobs Beard (Sempervivum Heuffelii)
Sempervivum heuffelii, once called jovibarba heuffelii, thrives in tough environments. Known as hen-and-chickens, this succulent features a mother plant surrounded by smaller offsets resembling baby chicks.
Thick, fleshy leaves form beautiful rosettes at the base of the plant. Showy flowers bloom only once before they fade away because sempervivum is semelparous.
Caring for these resilient plants requires minimal effort; overwatering poses the greatest threat to their health. They can easily survive in rocky soil and under bright sunlight with proper attention and care.
Enjoy watching your sempervivum flourish! This evergreen succulent brings unique beauty to any space with its charming presence.
How to Look After Purple and Green Plants Properly?
Best Lighting for Colorful Plants
Every plant needs energy to grow, which they get from a process called photosynthesis. This process turns light, along with oxygen and water, into food for the plant.
Different plants need different amounts of light. Some thrive in bright, direct sunlight, while others grow better in softer, indirect light.
Too little light can slow a plant's growth, but too much can dry it out. When choosing plants with purple and green leaves, it's smart to look up how much light they need and place them in your home where they'll get just the right amount.
How Often to Water Your Plants
Just like they need light, plants also need water for photosynthesis, which helps them absorb nutrients from the soil and create glucose. Each type of plant needs a different amount of water.
For instance, spider plants need a lot of water and can dry out if they don't get enough, while succulents need less and can get root rot if they're watered too much. It's important to find out the specific water needs of your indoor and outdoor plants to keep them healthy.
Best Food for Healthy Plants
Fertilizer is a material, either natural or made by people, that helps plants grow when added to soil. It's packed with key nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.
Just as too many vitamins can be harmful to us, using too much fertilizer can hurt plants. It's most effective to apply fertilizer every two weeks or once a month from early spring to late summer.
However, you shouldn't use it on plants that grow in low light since they don't need as many nutrients.