Want to add a touch of vermillion to your home and garden? It’s easy! Grow these Plants with Red Foliage and Flowers!
Nothing like a dash of passionate red to instantly liven up your space with warmth and freshness! You can grow these plants to create a contrast and accentuate their beauty among other plants of usual green foliage. And the best part, almost all of them can be grown in pots as well.
Plants With Red Foliage and Flower
1. Coleus
Botanical Name: Solenostemon scutellarioides
USDA Zones: 9-11, *can be grown everywhere as an annual
Coleus is known for its versatile leaves, which come in a striking array of colors, including green, purple, pink, orange, yellow, and various shades of red. Also called “painted nettle,” but do you know it also produces tiny red, blue, or white flowers (depending on the variety)? These are often pinched to allow its coveted leaves to flourish.
Caution: Coleus ingestion can be toxic to dogs, cats, and horses.
2. Copperleaf Plant
Botanical Name: Acalypha wilkesiana ‘Red’
USDA Zones: 10, 11
Copperleaf is an amazing hedge plant in warm parts of the world. It is known for its 4-8 inches heart-shaped leaves displaying hues of copper brown to deep red or you can say maroon. The reason why it is in our list of plants with red foliage and flowers is its red or burgundy blooms.
Also called Jacob’s Coat or “match-me-if-you-can,” this tropical, evergreen ornamental shrub requires full sun for its colors to pop and well-drained, moist soil.
3. Red Leaf Japanese Maple
Botanical Name: Acer palmatum ‘Atropurpureum’
USDA Zones: 5-9
The Red Leaf Japanese Maple is a slow-growing tree cherished for its dramatic reddish-purple leaves and exotic appearance. Native to Asia, this deciduous small tree has an average height of 20 feet, which makes it possible to grow it in a container.
The deeply lobed foliage is purplish through summer and turns bright red in autumn, with small red flowers appearing in spring, adding to its seasonal appeal.
4. Ti Plant
Botanical Name: Cordyline fruticosa
Cordyline is a tropical evergreen known for its broad, colorful leaves. It is popularly grown indoors, in semi-indoor settings, and on entrances in favorable climates. Depending on the variant, its foliage can display various colors, including deep red, pink, purple, and green.
With maturity, the plants may produce long panicles of slightly scented red, yellow, or white flowers. Despite its common nickname “good luck plant,” this stunner is poisonous to both humans and pets if ingested, making it better suited for the outdoors.
5. Red-Leafed Canna
Botanical Name: Canna
When it comes to architectural plants, canna is one of them, and why not? It has marvelous banana-like leaves, and it grows flowers of many colors. Depending on the cultivar, this perennial also boasts deep, dark red, brown, and purple foliage that are thin and almost translucent, allowing light to gently permeate through it.
These moisture-loving, year-round tropical bloomers produce a range of red flowers that starkly contrast with their colorful and variegated leaves, making them true showstoppers in any garden!
6. Red Leaf Begonia
Botanical Name: Begonia x benariensis
This hybrid wax begonia is an all-season tender perennial in warm, frost-free climates; everywhere else, it’s grown as an annual for its glossy, dark, copper-bronze leaves. Throughout the growing season, the plant produces crowded clusters of showy, daisy-like, vibrant red flowers that are self-cleaning and edible.
You can add these flowers to your drinks, salads, and dips and if you have a bright windowsill, overwinter it indoors for the next season.
7. Cranberry Hibiscus
Botanical Name: Hibiscus acetosella
A member of the hardy hibiscus perennial group, this subshrub boasts crimson foliage with deep-cut, jagged-edged leaves similar to the Japanese Maple, so if you live in a hot climate, this is one shrub you should grow to create interest in your garden.
Also called the African rosemallow, pastel burgundy blooms with dark centers emerge from its red foliage. This self-pollinating edible is tougher and more resilient than the tropical hibiscus and is replete with antioxidants and a host of nutrients if you decide to eat its leaves and roots.
8. Purple Basil
Botanical Name: Ocimum basilicum var. purpurascens
A rising star in the basil world, this long-lasting perennial earns its reddish-purple foliage from the abundance of anthocyanins, a water-soluble flavonoid, in its plant cells. Also rich in vitamins A, C, and calcium, this ornamental edible produces branching clusters of white, pink, and purple flowers.
If you decide to grow it in a pot, select a 10 inches container and provide full sun, just like other basil varieties.
9. Coral Bells
Botanical Name: Heuchera ‘Cherry Cola’
Heuchera has large, lobed, and rounded leaves that appear in a stunning variety of colors, including silver, green, black, purple, and chartreuse. Due to that, this herbaceous shade perennial is popularly used in landscape beds and container gardens in the shade along with hostas.
Bell-shaped flowers in hues of red, pink, and white appear on long stems, emerging from its patterned, ruffled foliage typically in warmer months of summer.
