Copperleaf (Acalypha wilkesiana)
Foliage in copper, red, and bronze that outcolors most flowers.
A shrub grown for wild coppery, pink, and cream leaves, not flowers.
Why it works here
Copperleaf earns its spot with foliage, not flowers. The leaves come in mottled copper, bronze, red, pink, and cream, so it reads like a flowering shrub year-round without ever really flowering. It grows fast, takes hard pruning, and makes a great informal hedge or a color anchor in a mixed bed. In our warmth it can get large, which is a feature if you want quick screening.
Care
Water regularly while it establishes and during dry stretches, then let it dry slightly between waterings. Feed with compost and a balanced organic fertilizer a couple times through the warm season to keep the leaf color rich. Mulch to hold moisture and keep roots cool. Prune anytime in the warm months to shape it or hold its size, and it responds by branching out fuller. It grows fast, so plan on shaping it more than once a year.
Common problems
Cold damage is the real caveat: temperatures near or below freezing burn it back, and a hard freeze can knock it to the ground, though it usually resprouts from the base in spring. Mealybugs, scale, and mites can appear, especially on stressed plants; knock them back with a strong water spray or an organically listed horticultural oil, and keep the plant healthy so it shrugs pests off. Leaf color fades in too much shade, so move it to more sun if the colors go dull.
Common questions
Will it come back if it freezes?
Usually yes. A hard freeze can brown the whole plant or cut it to the ground, but an established copperleaf normally resprouts from the roots once it warms up. Wait until spring growth starts before you decide what to cut.
Does it flower?
Barely. It makes small, stringy catkin flowers that are easy to miss. You grow this one for the leaves, which is the whole point.
How do I keep it from getting huge?
Prune it. It takes hard cuts well and branches back fuller, so shape it two or three times over the warm season to hold it at whatever height you want.
Interested in a copperleaf (acalypha wilkesiana) in your landscape?
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