Re: purple plants

Hi Margaret

Interesting question indeed.  In my experience, the purple foliage plants you are describing are as drought tolerant as the green or silver leaved versions.  Silver-leaved drought tolerance is a rule of thumb, clue perhaps, but not an absolute.  

And from the aesthetic perspective, those purple leaves are a lovely balance to the silver ones!

Nan


On May 24, 2009, at 2:43 AM, Margaret A Healey wrote:

There seems to be a fashion here at the moment for clones with dark 'purple' foliage. Lots of eucalypts, agonis, leptospermum and others are appearing on the market with dark coloured foliage. Having been brought up on the mantra that silver leaves indicates drought tolerance, does any one know what the practical (rather than aesthetic) effect is of having 'purple' leaves in a Mediterranean garden?
 
Margaret Healey
Victoria Australia

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