Plants are mostly known for their green leaves. It is an obvious fact but the truth is that not all of them are completely green. Some of them are red, purple, yellow, or blue. The variance in their color makes them unique and more eye-catching. This is why plants with red-colored leaves are high in demand.
Today we will discuss some popular and attractive plants with Red leaves. My favorites are Crotons, Coleus, and many red succulents.
Check out my Previous post: Beautiful Plants That Attract Butterflies and Bees
Significance of Plants with Red Leaves
Obviously bright Red color adds a vibrant look to the garden view. The unique eye-catching red color foliage of these plants is always a point of attraction.
It looks beautiful and gives your garden a unique look. Still, there is another aspect or significance of these beautiful red plants.
Red leaves symbolize the feeling of intense love and passion. It symbolizes the fierceness of nature and creates a sense of attraction.
Some people like the color some don’t. But trust me no one can ignore your garden with any of these red color plants.
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Common Plants with Red Leaves
Crotons are the first plant that comes to my mind when talking about red leaves. Other than these, new Rose leaves are also Red or pinkish in color. But It is not true red. In fact, Rose leaves turn green on maturing. A similar change occurs with Mango, Guava, and some other plants.
Beetroot, Amaranth, and Kale are other very popular and common plants with Red leaves. Red cabbage is another beautiful variant in this list. Most of these plants have permanent red color leaves.
Plants with bright colorful and red leaves are mostly decorative foliage plants. Usually, they are not grown for their flowers. The bright red foliage is the main attraction of such plants.
Interestingly, not all of them are grown only for foliage decoration. They are beautiful yet some of them are actually edible. Beetroot, Kale, Spinach, and Amaranth are some edible plants with beautiful red leaves.
Names of Plants with Red Colored Leaves
There are 100,s or maybe 1000,s of plant-available worldwide with red leaves. It is nearly impossible to know all of them. Still, I have tried to list some common and beautiful plants varieties with red leaves. You can also grow some of these in your garden.
Also read: 60 Beautiful White Flowers to grow this Summer
35 Beautiful Plants with Red Leaves
- Phormium Tenax ‘Amazing Red’- New Zealand Flax
- Phormium Tenax ‘Rubrum’-New Zealand Flax
- Aeonium arboreum atropurpureum ‘Zwartkop’-Aeonium
- Beetroot ‘Bull’s blood’ -Beetroot
- Salvia lyrata -Bronze Lyre-leaf Sage
- Ajuga reptans ‘Catlin’s Giant’ -Carpet Bugle
- Loropetalum Chinese ‘Purple Majesty’-Chinese Fringe Flower
- Heuchera micrantha -Coral Bells
- Heuchera micrantha var. diversifolia ‘Palace Purple’-Coral Bells
- Prunus cerasifera ‘Purple Pony’ -Dwarf Flowering Plum
- Salvia officinalis ‘Purpurea’ -Garden Sage
- Haloragis “Wellington Bronze” -Haloragis
- Hibiscus eetveldeanus ‘Red Shield’ -Hibiscus
- Imperata C. Rubra ‘Red Baron’-Japanese Blood Grass
- Acer palmatum ‘Burgundy Lace’,-Japanese Maple
- Acer palmatum dissectum atropurpureum ‘Garnet’-Japanese Maple
- Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Coppertina’ -Ninebark
- Penstemon ‘Husker Red Strain’ -Penstemon
- Sedum hylotelephium ‘Lynda Windsor’-Purple Autumn Stonecrop
- Pennisetum setaceum ‘Rubrum’-Purple fountain grass
- Cotinus coggygria-Purple Smoke Bush
- Berberis thunbergii ‘Atropurpurea Crimson Pygmy’ -Red leafed Barberry
- Oxalis deppei ‘Iron Cross’-Shamrock
- Oxalis triangularis -Shamrock
- Albizia julibrissin ‘Summer Chocolate’ -Silk Tree
- Antirrhinum ‘Black Prince’-Snapdragon
- Tradescantia ‘Purple Sabre’ -Spiderwort
- Beta vulgaris -Swiss Chard
- Some varieties of Radishes, and Chilies
- Salvia plants
- Red Alternanthera
- Dracaena Red Ruby
- Coleus
- Croton
- Angel Wings
Are the Red color leaves helpful for plants?
It’s interesting though- Why do plants need red leaves if the green ones are good for photosynthesis. Is it a flaw in nature or maybe something interesting going on with these plants?
It is a fact that green leaves contain lots of chlorophyll that enable the plant to conduct photosynthesis. It is an essential life process for any plant. But red leaves don’t mean that there is no chlorophyll. It is present but in a low amount.
Even the plants with red leaves do photosynthesis just like any other green plant. Only the pigments make the difference in the color of the leaves.
And… Yes, The red Color has some significant advantages for the plant. This is why nature continues this anomaly as a dominant trait in several plant species.
Useless characteristics are always discarded in nature.
The bright red color helps the plant to attract pollinators and other natural agents. Especially humans and big animals are attracted toward red color for their own sake maybe for food or so.
Final words
Interestingly the contrast of green foliage adds glory to the red color leaves. Plant with different color leaves stands unique among green plants. This is the main reason for their popularity. The uniqueness of such a plant creates a sense of unique identity among other gardeners.
Sometimes the edible aspect of these plants makes them more important for gardeners. The red color also indicates the presence of some essential minerals.
Overall, there are 1000’s or even more plants with red leaves. Some of them have permanent red leaves while others may have a tint of redness. Some plants like Mango, Guava, and many other big fruit trees have unique red or purple young leaves. These leaves turn green on maturing.
Do you like plants with red color leaves, Do you have one in your garden? Yes, then please let us know your experience. Wanna buy some then check out my favourit Plants on Amazon.
I’ll be back with another interesting topic. till then keep reading keep gardening!
