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One of the “Top Ten Plants” at Daves Garden is Purple Heart (Purple Queen, Tradescantia pallida aka Setcreasea pallida or purpurea). A lanky ground cover with succulent leaves, it is very commonly grown in warmer climates (zones 8a-11), either purposely planted or springing up on it’s own. This plant is mostly grown for uniquely colored foliage that ranges from purple to reddish purple to green/purple depending on the conditions where it’s grown. To my eye, most Purple Heart is reddish or warm purple but you may see it differently as color perception varies somewhat. The foliage is made more complex by a grayish/blue dusky sheen. Despite its unusual color, Purple Heart is easy to mix into the landscape creating both vivid and subtle combinations of colors.
Red is also close to reddish purple on the color wheel.I have seen bright red flowered hibiscus and fire spike (Odontonema strictum) paired with Purple Heart in my neighborhood.For me however, this combo doesn't work possibly because the nearby bright red brings out the red undertones in Purple Heart and reminds me of, well, liver. When using a theoretical color scheme, personal taste still comes into play.One way to test a potential color combo is to get a pot of healthy plant and set it next to a possible companion and see if you like it. I like to assemble test groups of potted plants together at the nursery before I buy.
If two pure colors are a bit much next to each other, maybe a toned down version of one will work.Each color on the wheel also comes with tints, tones and shades made by mixing white, grey or black respectively with the color.Tints, tones and shades are often less intense than the pure version of the color.Pink is a tint of red (red + white) that works quite well with Purple Heart.In fact, nature has picked pink flowers as a highlight for it’s red-purple foliage.The more intense pink flowers of four o’clock (Mirabilis jalapa), coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) and Sunshine Mimosa (Mimosa strigillosa) (pictured) also sparkle when next to Purple Heart.Of course the classic, “just go ahead and try to kill us” parking lot combination is with Madagascar Periwinkle, (Vinca or Catharanthus roseus)Burgundy and rusts are shaded reds that works well adjacent to Purple Heart.Knot weed (Persicaria microcephala 'Red Dragon') and burgandy accented versions of coleus or canna pair nicely with Purple Heart.
Complementary colors are opposite the color wheel and paired together can make a bold statement.Across the color wheel from reddish purple is chartreuse. Chartreuse is quite bright and can easily be overwhelming however, it can brighten a shady spot in the garden.Several vigorous chartreuse ground covers are available to duke it out with Purple Heart including Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia)and sweet potato vine (Ipomoea batatas ˜Margarita) (pictured). Chartreuse coleus varieties are a better-behaved option.
I have always loved the combination of Purple Heart and orange flowers.A triadic color scheme is the theoretical explanation. This color scheme uses a triad of colors equidistant the color wheel; in this case; red-purple, marigold (Orange/yellow) and aqua (blue/green).My favorite spot in the garden this spring contained Diascia barberae 'Flying Colors Coral' and Purple Heart.Marigolds, Crossandra infundibuliformis (pictured) Gaillardia aristata 'Oranges and Lemons'€™ and Gazania krebsiana‘Tanager’ might also be attractive orange flowered choices.Coleus also has some orange leaved varieties.
Certain foliage plants can be used for the aqua note including various agaves,Ajuga reptans 'Burgundy Glow' (pictured below), junipers, the blue phase of saw palmetto (Sereno repens), cuban oregano (Plectranthus amboinicus 'Wedgewood') and fescues. Blue Daze (Evolvulus glomeratus) which has green/blue foliage and small blue flowers is another option. Many plants with grey/green foliage have a dusty, muted quality that compliments the muted grey/blue sheen on Purple Heart’s leaves.
Color is never the only issue when combining plants.The new neighbors also need to have similar soil and water requirements.An aggressive companion can easily overrun a delicate little plant.Purple Heart should either be trimmed back regularly or be grown adjacent to plants that can hold their own. It spreads vigorously, self-seeds and is considered invasive by some.Check your State’s invasive plants list before choosing for your garden.Purple heart is not too choosey about location and can be in full sun to part shade, acid or alkaline soil.In fact, South of a freeze, it is as tough as nails.It's a good candidate to the sidewalk strip so, why not pull out that struggling grass and experiment with color?
About Sarah Barksdale
I spent my childhood in the backyard, looking under stones and climbing trees. My long student and young professional years passed by in cities where I studied science and medicine. Latter, I became reacquainted with the backyard, having moved to the suburbs to raise small children. After a master gardening class and many experiments (some failures, some sucesses), I have a yard full of ..well..plants. Most of my gardening efforts revolve around attracting wildlife, designing with ornamental perennials and native plants and, most recently, producing vegetables.
Posted by sholmes47 (from Huntsville, AL) on August 15, 2008 at 11:20 AM:
I live in zone 7 N. Alabama, my neighbor has this plant growing in her yard, she said it comes from seed, I would dearly love to know what it is, and what zones it will grow in.
Thank You
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Posted by sholmes47 (from Huntsville, AL) on August 15, 2008 at 11:24 AM:
This is another shot of this beautiful flower.
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Subject: Creeping Jenny
Posted by worduser (from Modesto, CA) on October 17, 2007 at 1:04 AM:
I recently moved to a mobile park village, most of the homes have some kinds of rock cover, some atractive, some unpleasant, and hard to keep your footage, lava rock. I love plants, started to grow conainers, with different kinds of varieties I was not too familiar with, I face east, lighting is early morning sun to afternoon shade, perfect for my orchids of 32 yrs, under my overhang, cymbydium, and a gardenia plant of also 32 yrs. in a container.
I happened upon a plant ground cover, never having seen it before, called "Creeping Jenny" stuck in a few in the front strip between my sidewalk, next to street, into the lava area, and behold, magic. I know this plant is invasive, but it can go where ever it pleases, it can cover all the horrible lava rock it likes, don't mind at all, also have it hanging in many of my containers, just keep it trimmed back from any colorful plants in the center, it looks beautiful, also have aguga sp? mixed in with it, works fine, they seem to grow well together so far. Love your site, Worduser--
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Posted by barksy (from Atlantic Beach, FL) on October 26, 2007 at 6:18 PM:
Creeping Jenny has never gotten out of hand for me. I have had it in North Florida where it dies back in the summer and Philadelphia, where it dies back in the winter. Several "invasive" plants work great in harsh, unsightly areas where I really want everything covered. Good luck with your gardening. Sarah
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Subject: So now I know the real name.
Posted by scottsmom (from Bath, PA) on October 15, 2007 at 11:30 AM:
My grandma always had a pot of these. I still have them. We grew them in a hanging basket. She was very religious and had only one name for them. Moses in the bulrushes. The idea was that the little part where the flower was was the boat and the small flower inside was the baby moses. I looked online using this name and always came up with the biblical story. Thanks to you, I now know what it is. I think I'll continue to bring in in for the winter since zone 6 winters are too hard on these juicy stems.
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Posted by KyWoods (from Melbourne, KY) on October 15, 2007 at 4:28 PM:
I remember hearing it called that, too, scottsmom! I forgot about it 'til you mentioned it. Funny how some plants develop so many different names! I agree, they'll be better off indoors for the winter.
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Posted by City_Sylvia (from Dallas, TX) on October 15, 2007 at 8:59 PM:
Scottsman, my Mom always called it Moses in Boat too. its supposed to be a religeous plant ... the little flower in the middle represented Moses ... for 66 years, I have known it to be called that. In Miami it was everywhere and around Easter time ... the little pink flower appeared representing Moses.
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Posted by barksy (from Atlantic Beach, FL) on October 26, 2007 at 6:20 PM:
That's so cute. You can tell the administrator about these other common names for plants. It's helpful for somebody Googling for an ID. It's an option within the plant files menu.
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Posted by City_Sylvia (from Dallas, TX) on October 26, 2007 at 9:08 PM:
I wonder how did the name Moses in a Boat came about ... too many people, from all over the states call it that for it not to mean anything.
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Posted by barksy (from Atlantic Beach, FL) on October 26, 2007 at 9:16 PM:
It looks like the top two leaves are a boat cradling the pink flower. Have to use some imagination to get there but it works.
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Posted by City_Sylvia (from Dallas, TX) on October 27, 2007 at 11:05 PM:
I am taking a whole pot of it to the Roundup tommorrow. Barksy you must see a lot of it in Florida. I grew up in Miami (before it became a crime scene. lol) and it was everywhere.
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Posted by barksy (from Atlantic Beach, FL) on October 28, 2007 at 3:17 PM:
Definitely a lot of it here. It really likes the area! I am about to move to Albuquerque NM and am curious to see if it will make it through the winter there.
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Posted by KyWoods (from Melbourne, KY) on October 28, 2007 at 3:26 PM:
I was surprised to see a bed of it in full bloom in this area just last week--tempted to stop and ask for cuttings.....LOL
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Posted by City_Sylvia (from Dallas, TX) on October 31, 2007 at 11:54 PM:
KYwoods why ask for a cutting? just break off a piece, Lord knows they should not mine, the way it rambles all over the place. I can send you some if you want it.
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Posted by KyWoods (from Melbourne, KY) on November 1, 2007 at 12:20 AM:
Thanks, that's sweet of you, but I'll wait until spring.
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Subject: My favorite passalong!
Posted by podster (from Deep East Texas, TX) on October 12, 2007 at 7:30 AM:
I enjoyed this article thoroughly... I was given a start of purple heart years ago. I love it. Of course in this area it will freeze down and come back from roots. It is tucked in with contained beds of ivy. Interplanted with white Ruellia. Tucked in pots with red (yes, red) Salvia and yellow esperanza. Even the lime green of foxtail fern. It is one of those that hasn't met a color it doesn't like and I haven't met a purple heart I don't love. Thanks for the enjoyable and informative article. pod
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Posted by sugarweed (from Jacksonville, FL) on October 12, 2007 at 3:12 PM:
I enjoyed the article too.
;)
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Posted by Dea (from Frederick, MD) on October 12, 2007 at 6:20 PM:
It's such a lovey plant - grown in our gardens in containers and yes, the color goes with everything surrounding it!
Thanks for a great article.
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Posted by KyWoods (from Melbourne, KY) on October 12, 2007 at 6:41 PM:
Brings back sweet childhood memories, as my grandmother used to grow these in her garden in New Orleans. Thanks!
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Posted by Islandshari (from Kwajalein
(Marshall Islands)) on October 12, 2007 at 6:48 PM:
I have some that I really don't like by itself, so I planted it amongst my ee's and in with some lemon balm...and with other green foliage around the garden. Like it much better that way. You're right it gives a splash of color amongst the green and can be suprisingly pretty. Very nice article!
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Posted by JaxFlaGardener (from Jacksonville, FL) on October 12, 2007 at 11:11 PM:
One of the most interesting "lawns" I've ever seen was an entire front yard of Purple Queen out near our beaches area. The Purple Queen lawn had the advantage that I would certainly appreciate, too, that it never needed to be mowed!
Great article! I had Purple Queen growing with ornamental kale last year. I really liked those dusty purples and greens together.
Jeremy
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Posted by darlindeb (from Claremore, OK) on October 12, 2007 at 11:45 PM:
I'd like to see more articles like this one. I like to see combinations that people put together. I'm also interested in trying to echo tones around the garden. I was looking for things that would echo my purple oxalis and purple heart might work.
I'd enjoy seeing articles about the nine other plants that are favorites at Dave's garden.
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Posted by podster (from Deep East Texas, TX) on October 13, 2007 at 7:09 AM:
Jeremy, the ornamental kale sounds wonderful with this purple heart! May have to try that this winter.
Darlindeb ~ I agree, I would like to see more of the combinations and also more on the favorites too.
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Posted by girlgroupgirl (from Atlanta, GA) on October 15, 2007 at 1:57 PM:
Awesome article, and I love the photos. This plant features prominently in my garden which is based on the foliage colors of lime green and purple.
What a cool "outer space" plant!
girlgroupgirl
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Posted by cedar18 (from Lula (North east), GA) on October 15, 2007 at 2:26 PM:
What a great and informative article with excellent combination ideas. I am trying purple heart for the first time this year and loved it with Achillea "Coronation Gold" and Verbena "Homestead Purple."
I'm new to Dave's Garden, this was my first newsletter and my first post. I'm impressed and looking forward to sharing more gardening info.
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Posted by podster (from Deep East Texas, TX) on October 15, 2007 at 2:36 PM:
Cedar18 ~ we are glad to have you join in! I do hope to see you around the forums and wonder perhaps if you have a photo of your combination? It sounds delightful! I would love to see it... pod
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Posted by barksy (from Atlantic Beach, FL) on October 26, 2007 at 6:16 PM:
Belated thanks for your kind works regarding my article. So glad you all enjoyed it!!
