Cottonwood Hibiscus Hibiscus tiliaceus Rubra

The burgundy cottonwood carries large leathery heart-shaped leaves in deep wine to near-black, with a dull red reverse, and it holds that colour all year because it never drops its foliage. Grown well it reads as a solid block of dark colour against green, which is the whole reason it goes in. Yellow flowers with a maroon throat open through the warm months and deepen to orange by evening. It grows fast into a broad, often multi-trunked tree used for screening, shade and contrast.

Keeping the leaves dark

Plant it in warm frost-free gardens from northern New South Wales up. It takes full sun to part shade and moderate water, handles coastal conditions including salt wind and sandy soil, and grows quickly enough to screen a fence line within a couple of seasons. The failure mode is specific to this form, and it is colour. In a shaded position, or under a canopy, new leaves come through a muddy bronze-green instead of burgundy, and the plant loses the one thing that separates it from the ordinary green cottonwood. If dark foliage is the effect you are after, it has to go in the sunniest position available. Keep the water steady through its first summers so growth stays continuous, since a plant that checks and restarts throws a patchy mix of leaf sizes. Two other points. The wood is as soft as the species, so keep long branches shortened and the plant clear of roofs, and frost rules out cold inland sites entirely.

Where the dark leaf actually helps

Against the green cottonwood, the difference is colour and habit rather than category. Both make broad shade and avenue trees on a warm coastal block, but the green form leads with one or two dominant trunks and lifts on its own, while rubra breaks low and stays bushy unless you train a leader up, and it is most often planted as a colour block or a dark backdrop where the foliage sets off pale trunks and bright leaves. It pairs well with the grey stems and huge green paddles of giant bird of paradise, a common subtropical courtyard combination. Both sit in tropical plants.

Cutting for colour and structure

Prune in early spring as growth resumes. Because the darkest colour sits in the new leaves, a moderate annual cut that keeps the plant pushing fresh growth gives a better result than leaving it to run, and it also keeps those soft limbs short enough to hold together in a storm. In a screening role, cut twice through the warm months rather than once, which keeps a higher proportion of new dark foliage on show. Shorten branches back to a side shoot rather than shearing the outside of the plant, and remove any stems that revert to plain green. Feed in spring with a complete fertiliser, and avoid heavy nitrogen late in the season.

Choosing a size

This plant is available in 10 sizes, from 140mm up to 400L, priced from $22.95 to $2749.00 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. The smaller pots hold younger plants that cost less each and establish quickly, which suits hedges, screens and mass planting where the plant count adds up. The larger sizes carry several more years of growth on the farm and give height and presence straight away, which is what you want for a single feature position or a screen that cannot wait. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to when to plant in Australia.