Black magic
Add a little drama to your garden or indoor plant selection with these striking dark-leafed beauties, writes DERYN THORPE
Add drama and contrast to the garden with intriguing dark-leafed plants
Plants with black foliage can make a beautiful addition to the garden or indoor plant collection. They add a moody mystique, especially when combined with silver, gold and lime-green foliage. They’re not true black – that’s a rare colour in the plant world, despite the best efforts of plant breeders. Most ‘black’ plants are actually a dark plum, deep purple or dense brown, with the depth of colour varying, depending on soil pH, the amount of sunlight they receive, the temperature and the season.
The best way to use these plants is judiciously; too much black can make the garden look sombre and gloomy, so always incorporate some lighter elements into the design. They look best growing in full sun, as they blend too much into the background in shady spots.
Indoors, black plants can make a leafy impact when they are added to mixed containers to provide contrast, or used as punctuation in bright rooms. The dark side has never held so much allure!
BLACK CANNA LILY Canna ‘Tropicanna Black’
For structural balance, it’s hard to go past this beauty. Burgundy-black, lance-shaped leaves are topped by tall stems with scarlet blossoms that age to orange. Plants flower from summer to autumn in cool areas, and spring to autumn in warm climates. They grow best in full sun in well-drained, moist soil. Plants die down in drought, but the tubers reshoot when moisture is available.
1.8m 80cm
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BLACK ROSE Aeonium ‘Schwarzkopf ’
This striking succulent is ideal for pots, with stalks topped by rosettes of glossy, purple-black foliage that contrasts with bright yellow flowers in winter. It’s darkest when grown in full sun but the foliage can burn in extreme heat. While plants survive light frost, this may also cause damage to the foliage. The plants are usually sold as single stems but they branch and become bushy when established. Picked stems look dazzling in floral arrangements and can last up to six weeks in a waterless vase. ‘Schwarzkopf’ is a selected form of A. arboreum ‘Atropurpureum’. Other dark cultivars include the dwarf ‘Short Black’.
90cm 1.2m
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DARK DAHLIA Dahlia ‘Bishop of Llandaff ’
Bright red daisy flowers are set off by dark purple foliage on this low-growing cultivar, which doesn’t need staking. Plant tubers in winter or spring after frosts have passed. In heavy soil, dig up tubers when plants die down, and replant in spring. The tubers can stay in the ground in frost–free sandy soil for years. Also look for ‘Yellow Hammer’, with buttercup-yellow flowers that intensify to peach in summer sun.
60–90cm 60cm
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BLACK WEEPING PEPPERMINT Agonis flexuosa ‘After Dark’
Characterised by narrow, tapered leaves, which have a peppermint aroma when crushed, the foliage of this evergreen tree emerges bright red and matures to a dark burgundy. It needs a frost-free spot with free-draining soil and protection from hot winds. Tiny white flowers with dark red centres appear from spring to summer. ‘Burgundy’ is good for hot, dry areas as it suffers less leaf burn than ‘After Dark’ (also known as ‘Jervis Bay After Dark’).
4–6m 3–5m
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BURGUNDY CABBAGE TREE Cordyline australis ‘Burgundy Spire’
Unlike most cordylines, this plant’s deep burgundy-chocolate leaves clothe the stem right down to the base. For the best colour, grow it in a spot with full sun, and give it space to create an architectural statement that is both wind and drought tolerant.
4m 1m
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BUGLEWEED Ajuga reptans ‘Black Scallop’
This dark-foliaged plant is a groundcover that forms mat-like carpets of glossy, purplish-bronze leaves with ruffled margins. It has a dense spreading habit and produces short spikes of deep blue flowers in spring and summer. Plants are frost-hardy and need a soil rich in organic matter with adequate summer moisture. They prefer growing in a spot that receives dappled light.
20cm 30cm
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BLACK MONDO GRASS Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’
Often used as an edging plant for impact in contemporary-style gardens, this is a slow-growing, evergreen, grass-like plant with purplish-black, arching leaves. When it’s grown in good conditions, it spreads to form a carpet of foliage colour. From late spring to early summer, short stems appear with racemes or flower clusters of pink bell-like flowers. These are then followed by bluish-black berries.
5cm 20cm
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ELEPHANT’S EAR Colocasia esculenta ‘Black Magic’
The heart-shaped, purple-black leaves of this ornamental taro make it a crowd pleaser, but it needs constant moisture. Most gardeners grow it in a pond, with the pot submerged up to 15cm deep. It can also thrive in a pot that’s standing in a saucer of water. Plants come from the tropics and prefer filtered sun and protection from frost and strong winds. Supply regular nutrients as they’re greedy plants that grow bigger if kept well fed.
1–1.8m 1–1.8m
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COFFEE BUSH Breynia cernua ‘Ironstone Range’
Deep burgundy-copper leaves are held horizontally on cascading branches on this Queensland native, which can be pruned to any shape or height. A winter deciduous plant in cool areas, it can grow in full sun to shade, but it prefers semi-shade in hot climates. Small red berries attract birds.
1.5–2m 1–1.5m
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BLACK ZZ PLANT Zamioculcas ‘Raven’
One of the ‘it’ plants for modern decors, this sold out when released in Australia last year. It has purple-black, feather-like leaves with chubby stems, and thrives in a well-lit spot with free-draining soil. Don’t overwater as it stores water in its roots and rhizomes. The green leaves age to black.
60cm 60cm
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