The Color Purple: A Garden Favorite

Design and InstallationGarden Caregarden TriviaIndoor plantsPlant Health Care
Written By Peter Morris

Green

Most leaves look green, but many are red, brown, purple, yellow, and orange! What's up with that ! 

Green

The green comes from the vast amount of the pigment chlorophyll (used in photosynthesis) inside the cells. From sunlight, it absorbs many wavelengths (think rainbow) except one - GREEN !  It reflects that wavelength and that is why we see leaves green!

The color spectrum

Orange and Red

Leaf color in plants is mostly about pigments and how they react to light. Carotene (orange and yellow crystals) inside the cell help it with its daily processes.

A full sun loving red leaf maple

Another sun lover Hens and Chicks !

The combinations of which substances present in the leaves and the quantities they are present in give us the wide range of colors and tones. All that green red, yellow and orange makes for a great color palette.

Fall leaves have lost their green chlorophyll and what you see are the orange pigments

Purple

There are also some that work as a sun block to protect the inside of the cells from the intense sun – these are called anthocyanins - and they are a a reddish to blueish purple. 

Full sun loving purple leaf basil

The purple leaf coloration tends to be an adaptation to full sun. It is the plants way of staying in the sunny environment while protecting the delicate cells and chlorophyll inside from the harmful UV radiation.

The reddish sheath covering a new leaf in Ficus decora protects it from the UV light

Haven't you noticed a red leaf plant that is put into shade eventually all its leaves are green and it has lost the bright red and purples. That is because in a lower light situation the leaves don't need protection and thus the pigments are not produced.

A red maple placed in shade will quickly start to loose its color and turn green

Variegated

The lack of color in a leaf (variegation) simply means those cells have little to no chlorophyll (or none we can distinguish) and we see it white or pale yellow against the green.

Variegated leaves have little to no chlorophyll -  most want to be in full sun

Dark pink variegation is rare

Pink coloration in the tips of newly growing leaves protects them from the UV radiation

For a multi colored garden - Call Plant Specialists TODAY !

Our Design Team can help you plant the rainbow !

Don't delay – the sooner the better !

GREENING NEW YORK FOR OVER 52 YEARS !

Article written by our Staff Horticulturist, Peter B Morris, BSc, MSc, MBA

All photographs used with permission from @SHUTTERSTOCK      

Peter Morris

Peter was born and raised on a beautiful green island in the midst of a tropical rainforest. He was introduced into the world of plants at the age of six when his grandmother, an avid Spanish gardener herself, asked him to help her grow seeds for her pepper garden. He was hooked! By the time he was a teen, he had his own rose and orchid collection numbering in the hundreds. Botany was in his blood, and that is what he set out to study.

His passion brought him to NY in the late seventies to further his education. His tenacity allowed him to work full time at Plant Specialists while he completed a MS in Plant Biology. As a manager at the time he felt unsatisfied with his knowledge of business and business processes. Peter felt compelled to learn, so he then pursued and completed an MBA in Quality Management within a few short years.

Peter’s other passion is teaching. His natural ability is quickly consumed by our staff in all subjects in Botany, Horticulture, and Landscaping. He created an immense reference library of more than 3,500 plants providing an invaluable resource for our staff.

Peter’s breadth of knowledge and wisdom allows him to effectively diagnose the needs of plants. Sometimes just by walking into a garden he can create a prescription that fixes even the hardest issue. He is our Staff Botanist, Diagnostician, and all around Mentor. Recently, he has put his immense knowledge and skills into developing a new department that focuses on Plant Healthcare. As he puts it, “Magic through Science”. The PHC staff that surround him have avidly consumed his teachings. Substantially developing their own plant wisdom, many have taken on difficult plant health issues with spectacular results.

Plant Healthcare has been an instant success with customers! The proper treatment of insects and diseases including Organic methods has made pest control a necessity for every plant. Correcting hormonal imbalances caused by planting in containers or refurbishing soils leached of nutrients by irrigation systems are big challenges PHC has become quite comfortable addressing. The scientific approach to the complex demands of keeping plants healthy in our harsh city environment has made many a customer say WOW!

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