It surprises me that I haven't featured
Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey' as my favorite plant of the week since I began participating in the meme sponsored by Loree of
danger garden. I now have this shrub in 3 separate beds in my garden. I found that I've featured it in no fewer than 5 foliage follow-up posts. Most recently, in responding to a query presented by Hoover Boo of
Piece of Eden, I identified it as my best new plant of 2013. So why hasn't it shuffled to the top of the deck when it came to identifying a favorite plant? Maybe it's that it isn't a plant that jumps up and demands to be noticed. It doesn't flower. It's growth is steady but not dramatic. It's relatively short in stature. However, it's undeniably a beautiful foliage plant.
New leaves are a yellow green color and older leaves are a wonderful burgundy.
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| The bright leaf color dominates in this young plant |
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| Darker burgundy colors becomes more evident as the plant matures |
I think it looks particularly good surrounded by plants with uniformly bright green foliage.
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| Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey' accompanied by an aggressive peppermint pelargonium |
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| Back side of same Coprosma |
This
Coprosma (aka mirror plant) was introduced by a New Zealand grower. I initially picked it up because I was amused by its name but the variety is correctly identified as 'Plum HussEy,' not 'Plum Hussy.' Still, it's a compact shrub that struts her stuff, albeit in a somewhat subtle fashion.
It develops the strongest burgundy color in full sun and it's hardy to 15 degrees (Fahrenheit). Most sources say it grows to be 2-3 feet tall and wide (or 1.2 x 1.2m), although, in my dry garden (where it was largely ignored for several months), it grew taller but skinnier. It responds well to tip pruning to promote outward growth and it's reportedly wind and salt tolerant.
Please
go to Loree's danger garden to view her favorite plant of the week and to link to other gardeners' selections.
