Plants with purple leaves and red flowers combine 2 shades that sit close together on the color wheel, which is part of why breeders have found it easier to pair them reliably than the more visually distant combination of purple leaves with true blue or yellow blooms. Both colors typically trace back to related anthocyanin pigments, meaning a plant already genetically inclined toward producing dark, saturated foliage often has an easier path toward producing similarly saturated red flowers as well.
That said, “red” gets used loosely in the plant trade, and several widely marketed purple-and-red combinations are more accurately described as rosy-pink or magenta once compared side by side with a genuinely scarlet bloom like a cardinal flower. This list sticks to combinations with a real claim to red, while noting where a plant leans closer to deep pink or crimson instead.
These plants span native North American wetlands, tropical garden perennials, and widely planted landscape shrubs, with growth habits ranging from towering trees to low groundcovers. What follows covers 21 plants known for purple leaves and red flowers, along with where each one grows and the data behind its coloring.
Coral Bells ‘Fire Chief’
Coral bells ‘Fire Chief’ is a cultivar of a plant native to North America, displaying deep purple-black foliage topped with tall, wiry stalks of small, bright red flowers in late spring. A mature clump typically reaches 8 to 12 inches tall.
It grows as a garden perennial throughout temperate regions of the United States, tolerating both sun and partial shade.
Coral Bells ‘Cherry Cola’
Coral bells ‘Cherry Cola’ is a cultivar displaying rich burgundy-purple leaves with a metallic sheen, topped with spikes of coral-red flowers in late spring. A mature clump typically reaches 8 to 10 inches tall.
It grows as a garden perennial throughout temperate regions of the United States.
Canna ‘Australia’
Canna ‘Australia’ is a cultivar of a plant native to South America, displaying broad, glossy, near-black purple leaves topped with bright red flowers throughout summer. A mature plant can reach 5 to 6 feet tall.
It grows as a warm-season garden perennial or annual throughout temperate regions of the United States.
Canna ‘Black Knight’
Canna ‘Black Knight’ is a cultivar displaying deep purple-black foliage topped with large, deep red flowers throughout the growing season. A mature plant can reach 4 to 5 feet tall.
It grows as a warm-season garden perennial or annual throughout temperate regions of the United States.
Canna ‘Red King Humbert’
Canna ‘Red King Humbert’ is a historic cultivar displaying bronze-purple leaves topped with vivid orange-red flowers throughout summer. A mature plant can reach 5 to 6 feet tall, among the taller canna cultivars commonly grown.
It grows as a warm-season garden perennial or annual throughout temperate regions of the United States.
Dahlia ‘Bishop of Llandaff’
Dahlia ‘Bishop of Llandaff’ is a well-known heirloom cultivar combining deep bronze-purple, finely cut foliage with bright scarlet-red single flowers. A mature plant typically reaches 3 to 4 feet tall, blooming from midsummer through the first frost.
It grows as a warm-season garden tuber throughout temperate regions of the United States.
Dahlia ‘Bednall Beauty’
Dahlia ‘Bednall Beauty’ closely resembles ‘Bishop of Llandaff’ in its dark bronze-purple foliage and red flowers, distinguished by fully double blooms rather than single, open flowers. A mature plant typically reaches 1.5 to 2 feet tall, more compact than many other dark-leaved dahlia cultivars.
It grows as a warm-season garden tuber throughout temperate regions of the United States.
Loropetalum ‘Ever Red’
Loropetalum ‘Ever Red’ is a cultivar of a shrub native to China and Japan, and according to the North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, it has a compact habit with burgundy leaves and vivid red flowers, distinguishing it from most other loropetalum cultivars, which tend toward pink rather than true red blooms. According to Clemson Cooperative Extension, the species overall is cultivated from the foothills to the coast, with red-leaved, red-flowering forms first introduced from Japan and China in the 1980s.
It grows as a landscape shrub throughout the southeastern United States.
Cardinal Flower ‘Black Truffle’
Cardinal flower ‘Black Truffle’ is a cultivar of a wildflower native to most of North America, and according to the North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, the species has been selected as North Carolina’s Wildflower of the Year multiple times for its scarlet-red blooms. This particular cultivar combines that same brilliant red flower spike with dark, near-black purple foliage rather than the plain green leaves typical of the wild species. A mature plant typically reaches 2 to 3 feet tall.
It grows as a garden perennial throughout much of the United States, favoring consistently moist to wet soil in sun to partial shade.
Amaranthus ‘Velvet Curtains’
Amaranthus ‘Velvet Curtains’ is a cultivar derived from species native to the Americas, displaying dark, near-black purple foliage topped with dramatic, drooping clusters of deep crimson-red flower spikes. A mature plant can reach 4 to 5 feet tall.
It grows as a garden annual throughout temperate regions of the United States.
Hopi Red Dye Amaranth
Hopi Red Dye amaranth is a heritage cultivar derived from species native to the Americas, developing deep red-purple foliage and matching deep red flower heads by late summer. A mature plant can reach 4 to 6 feet tall, historically used by the Hopi people to color foods and textiles.
It grows as a garden annual throughout temperate regions of the United States.
Kalanchoe Blossfeldiana
Kalanchoe blossfeldiana, in certain purple-leaved cultivars, is native to Madagascar, displaying deep bronze-purple, glossy leaves topped with dense clusters of bright red, long-lasting flowers. A mature plant typically stays compact, reaching 6 to 12 inches tall.
It grows as a popular flowering houseplant worldwide, commonly sold as a seasonal gift plant.
Japanese Maple ‘Bloodgood’
Japanese maple ‘Bloodgood’ is native to Japan, China, and Korea, and according to Oregon State University’s Landscape Plants database, it’s one of the most popular purple-leaf or “redleaf” Japanese maple cultivars available. Its small spring flowers appear in a deep red-purple shade that closely matches the foliage, though they’re far less showy than the leaf color itself. A mature tree typically reaches 15 to 20 feet tall.
It grows as a landscape specimen tree throughout temperate regions of the United States.
Weigela ‘Wine and Roses’
Weigela ‘Wine and Roses’ is a cultivar of a shrub native to eastern Asia, displaying deep burgundy-purple leaves topped with rosy-red, trumpet-shaped flowers in late spring. A mature shrub typically reaches 4 to 5 feet tall.
It grows as a landscape shrub throughout temperate regions of the United States.
Fuchsia ‘Firecracker’
Fuchsia ‘Firecracker’ is a variegated cultivar of a plant native to South America, displaying leaves marked with bronze-purple, pink, and cream tones, topped with pendant red-orange flowers throughout summer. A mature plant typically reaches 1 to 2 feet tall.
It grows as a container and hanging basket plant throughout temperate regions of the United States, favoring partial shade.
Persicaria ‘Red Dragon’
Persicaria ‘Red Dragon’ is a cultivar of a plant native to Asia, displaying deep purple-maroon leaves marked with a distinctive silver chevron pattern, topped with small spikes of red-pink flowers in late summer. A mature plant typically reaches 2 to 3 feet tall.
It grows as a garden perennial throughout temperate regions of the United States, tolerating both sun and partial shade.
Dragon Wing Begonia
Dragon Wing begonia, in its bronze-leaf red-flowering form, is a hybrid derived from species native to South America, displaying glossy, bronze-purple, wing-shaped leaves topped with clusters of bright red flowers throughout the growing season. A mature plant typically reaches 1 to 2 feet tall.
It grows as a warm-season garden annual throughout temperate regions of the United States, tolerating both sun and shade.
Purple Fountain Grass
Purple fountain grass, particularly the cultivar ‘Rubrum,’ is a variegated form of a grass native to East Africa, displaying arching, burgundy-purple leaf blades topped with fuzzy, reddish-pink seed plumes in late summer. A mature plant typically reaches 3 to 4 feet tall.
It grows as a garden annual throughout temperate regions of the United States and as a perennial in frost-free climates.
Purple Castor Bean ‘Carmencita’
Purple castor bean ‘Carmencita’ is a cultivar of a plant native to eastern Africa, displaying large, deeply lobed, dark red-purple leaves alongside flower spikes featuring prominent reddish female flowers. A mature plant can reach 6 to 8 feet tall in a single growing season. Its seeds contain ricin, one of the most potent natural toxins known, and should never be handled by children.
It grows as a dramatic warm-season garden annual throughout temperate regions of the United States.
Siam Ruby Banana
Siam Ruby banana is a cultivar of a plant native to Southeast Asia, displaying broad leaves striped in burgundy-purple and green, with the plant’s typical banana inflorescence emerging in shades of deep reddish-purple. A mature plant can reach 6 to 8 feet tall in a single growing season in temperate climates.
It grows as a dramatic warm-season garden annual or container plant throughout temperate regions of the United States.
Red-Centered Neoregelia
Red-centered neoregelia is a bromeliad hybrid derived from species native to Brazil, displaying a rosette of bronze-purple leaves that flush a vivid red at the center as the plant approaches its single blooming cycle. A mature rosette typically reaches 1 to 2 feet across.
It’s grown as a houseplant and warm-climate landscape plant throughout the United States, favoring bright light to develop its strongest red center.
Further References
- Garden Canna — North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox — Includes ‘Black Knight’, which has smoky purple foliage and red flowers.
- Hibiscus acetosella — Wisconsin Horticulture — Covers cultivars such as ‘Panama Bronze’ and ‘Red Shield’, which combine purple or burgundy foliage with red to reddish flowers.
- Weigela florida — North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox — Provides information on purple- and burgundy-leaved weigelas and red-flowering cultivars such as ‘Red Prince’ and ‘Minuet’.
- Common Crape Myrtle — North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox — Includes cultivars with dark purple foliage and red flowers, including Black Diamond® Red Hot™.
- Begonias Are Good Landscape Choices — Mississippi State University Extension — Useful for begonias with colorful foliage and abundant flowers, including varieties featuring purple-toned leaves and red blooms.