Purple Leaf Trees

I am looking for a tree to add to my back yard. My wife wants a "Japanese Maple", but I am not sure that is what she really wants. We have seen a number of trees in the area that keep their dark red/purple leafs all season long. We would like a tree that would eventually grow to 20 to 30' with a spread of around 15 to 20'.

Seems like a lot of the Japanese Maples do not get that big. Are there some types that do? I was looking at a local nursery and they had Purple Leaf Plum trees (Prunus cerasifera 'Thundercloud') for a good price. They looked like exactly what we want, but I searched around and it seems these trees have a fairly short life and some other drawbacks. Are there other trees in this size that keep their dark red/purple leafs?

BTW, the area would be full sun (evening shade), zone 7, average moisture and clay soil.

While searching around I saw Acer platanoides `Crimson King` that looked promising.

thanks,
Brent

I think the Crimson King Maple grows to a fairly large height. Leaves are supposed to be red all the time. Neighbors have one, about 25' tall, but doesn't seem to have a wide spread for shade.

I'd vote against the Purple Leaf Plums, too. We have two, and they have not been well-tended over the years (they came with the house, which we bought four years ago.) In addition to being prone to some diseases, they also throw off fruit which is edible, but not particularly good, and tends to drop and rot on the ground. (I've been traipsing back and forth under them for the past few days, and the smell is enough to make me want to fire up the chain saw...)

Jap. Maples can be a bit temperamental, to say the least, especially for the first few years.

What about a Cotinus coggygria (Purple Smoke Bush/Tree) such as 'Royal Purple', 'Pendulus' or 'Velvet Cloak'? Here are some pictures of 'Royal Purple' http://plantsdatabase.com/go/56257/index.html They're not to everyone's liking, but they've been on my "want one" list for a looong time.

'Forest Pansy' Redbud is a fabulous color in early spring (although it does turn to a more humdrum green later in the season: http://plantsdatabase.com/go/31646/index.html

Another possibility is Aesculus pavia (Red Buckeye) - small tree (10-20 feet), has red flowers in the spring and a nice burgundy color in the fall: http://plantsdatabase.com/go/1336/index.html - it does have a "litter problem" with nuts dropping in the fall ;o)

What about this one? The only name I've heard for it is Beech tree. Has very nice burgandy/purple leaves, much the same color as the purple plum but no mess. You can see how tall it is in comparison to the house.

Hmmm…cannot say that I have ever heard of a purple Beech treed, but searching around I found it listed as Fagus sylvatica Atropurpurea. Sounds like it can be kept as a shrub or let to grow to 100+ feet. Yours looks like it has a massive trunk. Seems like most sites listing it for sale were in the UK.

That Crimson King Maple may be just what I am looking for. Sounds like it has the dense shade and shallow root system common with other maples, bummer.

- Brent

Another one is the Royal Red maple..
I have a fairly young one..beautiful colour leaves that I think look a little redder than my Crimson King.

Thanks for the ID Brent, this is the house that we are moving to in OR, so it was not something that I had planted myself. The lady we are getting the house from seems to be very proud of the fact that it's a Beech tree and says it's the only one that she knows of in the whole OR state. I don't know about that, but it is really pretty. :O)

Nice link to a wide assortment of tree images....many of them purple/red

http://www.imagecels.com/Plants/pts2_thumbs.html

Gonna have to order one of the tri-color beechs...purdy :-)

This message was edited Jul 1, 2004 12:00 PM

I have a Prunus Thundercloud that has been there since I moved here 9 years ago. I planted it to creat shade near my shade house, which it has done very well. the only problem I have with it is that when the wind blows hard which it does here a lot, some leaves always blow off.

Terry maybe i have different specie that yours, mine has nice pink blooms early spring, never sets any fruit. It is now about 25 feet tall and probably 15 feet wide. Donna

Do you think of a Burgundy Redbud? I think it reaches about 20 or so feet.

As a new member and catching up on some of the threads, you may have already found your tree, but thought I'd add a few comments. We're located in the Shenandoah Valley (Zone 6a) and have the 'Thundercloud' growing in our yard. One is over 10 yrs old and absolutely gorgeous in the spring, holding its deep color throughout the summer heat. We liked it so much we planted another last year on the side of our property. Fortunately they are planted a good distance from the house so the 'mess' doesn't bother us. We also have a 'Forest Pansy' redbud, and added another last year because of its color. The loss of its color through the summer months doesn't bother me because it's so beautiful in the spring. We also have three beeches, Fagus sylvatica 'Atropurpurea', the weeping 'Atropurpurea' and the 'Tricolor', all of which do very well in our summer heat. As for the 'Crimson King', I've wanted one ever since living in Maine where they are everywhere, however they reportedly do not do well in Virginia because of the southern heat and humidity. We also have a Betula pendula 'Purpurea' (Weeping Birch) which hopefully one day will become a beautiful tree if the moles would just leave it alone! One more suggestion I have for you is Corylus avellana 'Fusco-rubra' (European Filbert) similar to Corylus maxima 'Purpurea'. We purchased ours in Michigan two years ago and planted it in our front yard, full sun and heavy clay soil. Coarse textured leaves, has a unique 'corky' bark, and produces edible filberts which are quite tasty! Hope this information was helpful and you're successful in finding the right tree for your garden.

rcn48, thanks a bunch for the input. I hope to pull the trigger in the next month or so. I do think that a purple leafed tree would look nice in that spot. Right now I am thinking about either the 'Forest Pansy' Redbud or a Japanese Maple such as 'Bloodgood'.

- Brent

Brent, you won't be disappointed with the 'Forest Pansy' I assure you :) It's a fairly rapid grower, much more so than the Japanese maple, at least in our experience in this heavy clay soil. Good luck!

I like the beech trees.

Flowering plum tend to be weak. So are redbud unless pruned on a regimen. Norway maple is okay - I just planted a 'Crimson Sentry' in front of our house to block the sun. Real close too - about 5 feet. Good thing I know how to prune trees.

Here's a tri-color beech. And I like the purple beech too.