Tree options go beyond the green-leafed classics

If you’ve spent a lot of time around College Station, you’re probably going to love this report. Most nurserymen will refer to the plants we’re going to list as "purple," but they actually come closer to being maroon.

Forest Pansy redbud

This is one of our finest options. It does well in sun or part-sun, and its new growth in the spring is deep, rich purple/maroon. The color holds better in some afternoon shade. In full sun, the leaves will shift into more of a deep burgundy-green, once it begins to turn hot in early June. Forest Pansy’s flowers are deep burgundy, a perfect complement to the emerging spring foliage. This tree’s growth resembles that of any other redbud in that it is rounded to spreading, to 25 feet tall and 30 feet wide.

Japanese maples

These are outstanding landscaping trees, so long as you know their needs and expectations. They’re native to cool, moist parts of Japan. As such, they’re not especially pleased with our hot and dry Texas summers. Luckily, gardeners before us discovered that Japanese maples would actually do very well here, if they’re grown in moist, shaded environments. They’re the ideal "under-story" trees, that is, trees that are used to growing beneath the canopies of larger shade trees. Dogwoods, redbuds and our native Mexican plums are also in that camp.

If you decide that you need a Japanese maple in your life, you’ll find many choices in local garden centers. Talk to your nurseryman. Take photos of possible settings, and ask plenty of questions regarding each type’s mature height and spread.

There are several hundred selections of Japanese maples in reference books, some with red/purple leaves, others with green. The variety Bloodgood is one of the most common. It grows to 12 to 15 feet tall and wide, and it holds its purple color better into the heat than almost any other selection. Fall color is brilliant red. Crimson Queen has highly lobed leaves that give it a frilly, fernlike appearance. It’s not as good about holding its color through the summer. The leaves take on more of a bronzy-green tone by the fall, so this is a good time to compare them. Fall color is scarlet-red. It grows to 8 or 10 feet tall and perhaps slightly wider.

Purple plums

They don’t rate as highly as the two previous trees. Their life expectancy in North Texas gardens probably averages 5 or 6 years. They’re notoriously weak-rooted, and they’re subject to peach tree borers and cotton root rot. The borers alone probably account for 75 percent of the losses of this attractive, small accent tree. Still, if you want a showy little accent for a sunny spot in your landscape, this could be the one. Just know going in that you may have to replace it every few years.

Several varieties of purple plums are common in North Texas nurseries. Thundercloud and Krauter Vesuvius are similar, growing to 15 to 20 feet tall and wide. Both have light pink flowers just before the leaves emerge each spring. Their leaves are dark purple/maroon, and they hold that color quite well through the summer. The variety Allred not only produces large, reddish-purple leaves but also bears an edible red fruit. However, if you’re counting on harvesting its fruit regularly, you’ll have to plan on following the regular peach and plum spray schedule.

Purple smoketree is actually a large shrub that grows to 10 to 15 feet tall and wide (about the same size as a tree-form yaupon holly). Its new spring growth is an attractive reddish-purple, and in late spring, the plants are topped by wispy purple/tan floral sprays that look like drifts of smoke from a distance. References list many cultivars of this heirloom Northern plant, but few specimens exist in North Texas. It’s subject to a small species of borers, and mature plants often die away one branch at a time. Nonetheless, it’s a pretty and unusual garden accent.

Purple-leafed plants are compelling in the nursery, and they can be just as appealing once you get them home. Your biggest challenge will be using them in the best possible locations. They’re dominant in their surroundings, so keep them toned down by using them in front of deep evergreen foliage. Don’t use other variegated plants near them, especially those that have yellow or white striping. Moderation is the key to using these plants successfully.

Neil Sperry publishes Gardens magazine and hosts the Texas Gardening radio show from 8 to 11 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays on KRLD/1080 AM. Reach him during those hours at 214-787-1080.

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