?Shrubs with Beautiful Leaves

Even the most exotic flowers can be made to look more beautiful if the foliage of the surrounding plants has been planned to show them off. Shrubs grown for their foliage are as much a part of the garden as flower beds or lawns. They can give depth and perspective to a garden and render less noticeable the lack of color when flowering plants are not at their best.

Foliage shrubs need just as much care and attention as those which are grown principally for their flowers. In the dry season, when their foliage makes such a welcome contribution to the colors in the garden, they should be well looked after. Mulching is most important. Many of them, such as the crotons, will lose their leaves if they are not mulched heavily and watered. Some of the rich colors in the leaves can be enhanced if an application of fertilizer is given at the beginning of the rains.

Just as with the flowering types, plantings should be planned so that the best color combinations and shapes are brought together, and that those with finely cut leaves are set against shrubs which have a different leaf form.

Many of the shrubs which are described grow very large, and these should naturally only be considered for background purposes, but there are others which grow to no more than 3 feet, and these can be used either as individual spot plants entirely on their own, or in the lawn, or as part of a group of flowering shrubs.

ACALYPHA HISPIDA (Euphorbiaceae), syn. A. Sanderi – `Red Hot Cats’ Tails’ :

A large-branching shrub. Grows to a height of so feet but can be kept lower if pruned. It has large, bright green leaves and long red catkin-like flowers; the latter are sometimes as much as 20 inches long. This is a very showy shrub and the flowers last for a long time. Excellent when grown as a spot plant or in a group. Cuttings strike easily and will flower in the first year. Grows in sun or shade, but the colors are richer when grown in the sun. Is very prone to mealy bug attack.

A. TORTA : An erect shrub which rarely grows to more than 5 feet. The dark

blotched olive-green leaves are curiously contorted. Not the most exciting species, but of use when planted with other darker-leaved types. Can be grown from cuttings.

A. WILKESIANA : A very handsome shrub. Leaves are grceny-bronze,

splashed with red and crimson, It is erect in habit and branches well, but as it gets older it looks rather bare at the bottom and should therefore be planted behind smaller subjects so that this bareness can be hidden. The variety macropYlla has larger and darker leaves and looks particularly well if planted against shrubs such as Tizevetia, or others with light green leaves. Grows to a height of so feet. Prone to attack from the mealy bug. There is another variety, marginata, which is sometimes named as a separate species. This is the largest of those named; it grows to a height of 20 feet and can attain a width of 12 feet. Olive green leaves with cream margins shaded to rosy carmine. Excellent as a background. If well manured, it will make an effective screen in two years.

CODIAEUM VARIEGATUM var. pictum (Euphorbiaceae) – Commonly known as Crotons: This species has a remarkably fine range of colors and color combinations. There are four main leaf shapes – linear, lance-shaped, oval and lobed. Those with linear leaves are either flat or contorted with margins either crisped or normal. The color range includes practically everything from pale yellow to dark purple in many pleasing combinations. Some forms are very large. The variety ‘Baron Rothschild’, with oval leaves, grows to a height of 20 feet. Many of the varieties with linear leaves will almost reach this height, but they grow much more slowly. A collection of the different forms can give a most pleasing effect, particularly if height is taken into account when they are planted. All types will grow in full sun, but if a long dry season is experienced they need quite a bit of care as they lose their leaves very easily. If this is to be avoided, watering and mulching are essential. All types grow readily from cuttings, and some set seed which is viable. Attacks by mites during the dry season will also cause leaf drop.

CORDYLINE TERMIICALIS (Liliaceae) – Often called Dracaena ternzinalis: This plant branches very little and its leaves are bunched in crowded terminal heads. It is a very variable species of which there are many beautiful varieties. It varies also in height; some will reach to 1 2 feet, but on the whole they are around 3 to 5 feet. The long, oval leaves are basically green, with red, crimson or yellow markings. If the plants are grown in a shaded position, the colors will be more vivid. In some of the varieties the old leaves have more vivid coloring than the young.