The lack of understanding about the origins and attributes of the many different kinds of purpleleaf plums is amazing -- some people think they are Japanese flowering cherries. Among widely cultivated, familiar ornamental trees (weeping willows, for example), few groups match purpleleaf plums for incomplete documentation. Why, with the trees so common, is the collective knowledge of them so meager? Maybe the unwieldy, large number of different clones accounts chiefly for the poor documentation concerning them, despite their prominence in our environment.

Explanation

Most specialized works begin with a review of the existing literature on the subject, but no previous attempt has singled out and described the various kinds of purpleleaf plums. Of the many books, articles, catalogs, and references I examined, the largest number of different cultivars (cultivated varieties) mentioned in any one source was only 20 (Cochran 1962), followed by 16 (Dirr 1990), and 14 (Krüssman 1978). The present volume, which includes 50 cultivars, is the first comprehensive treatment of ornamental plums.

Seattle, my home, has thousands of flowering plums -- possibly more per capita than any city. Writing a comprehensive guidebook to the city's trees, I was forced to take a close look at these "dark trees." Many and confused are the purpleleaved cultivars of the Cherry Plum. Books and nurseries alike present contradictory descriptions and origins of the various kinds. The most prominent names are 'Pissardii', 'Thundercloud', 'Blireiana', 'Newport', 'Vesuvius', and so forth. Despite the perplexing disagreement in sources, I tried to distinguish at least the common varieties and to cite locally planted examples of each. I sought to learn what anyone serious about ornamental trees should know -- how to describe the salient differences between well-known landscape cultivars. In retrospect, it was fortunate that I lived on the western coast of North America, because at least 20 cultivars originated in this region. But my simple study snowballed and become something unto its own, far over and beyond the original scope of the Seattle tree guidebook, which included 19 different cultivars. I was firmly enamored of plums.

The result of my labor is contained in the present volume, which provides a detailed, complete account of ornamental plum trees. It is understandably biased towards North America, because I live here and most of the cultivars originated here. The flowering dates given, of course, are for the Northern Hemisphere; in the Southern Hemisphere, the trees bloom in August or September instead of in February or March.

Scope

Purpleleaf plum cultivars range from bushes to trees over 40 feet (12 m) tall, the latter perfectly capable of serving as shade trees for average-sized houses. Although a few are grown for fruit, most cultivars are appreciated almost exclusively for their dark foliage or bright flowers. As a group, the clan contributes the most prominent purplish cast to our landscapes, challenged in this respect only in a few areas by dark-leaved maples, beeches, and crab-apples. There are dozens of normally green trees whose cultivars sport purple leaves:

ACACIA (Acacia Baileyana 'Purpurea')

ALMOND (Prunus dulcis 'Colbrunni')

APPLE, Crab (Malus spp. and hybridsnumerous cultivars, two of the darkest being 'Purple Wave' and 'Royalty')

BEECH, European (Fagus sylvatica f. purpureaabout a dozen cultivars, including 'Ansorgei', 'Brocklesby', 'Dawyck Purple', 'Purple Fountain', 'Purpurea Pendula', 'Purpurea Tricolor', 'Red Obelisk', 'Riversii', 'Rohanii', 'Spaethiana', 'Swat Magret')

BIRCH, Gray (Betula populifolia 'Purpurea')

BIRCH, Silver or White (Betula pendula 'Purple Rain', 'Purple Splendor', 'Purpurea', 'Scarlet Glory')

CATALPA, Hybrid (Catalpa x erubescens 'Purpurea')

CHERRY, Bird (Prunus Padus 'Berg', 'Colorata', 'Purple Queen', 'Purpurea', 'Wandell')

CHERRY, Choke (Prunus virginiana 'Canada Red', 'Mini Schubert', 'Schubert', 'Schubert Copper')

CHERRY, Sato-zakura group (some Prunus serrulata hybrids such as 'Royal Burgundy')

CHESTNUT, European (Castanea sativa 'Purpurea')

DOGWOOD, Flowering (Cornus florida 'Purple Glory', 'Redleaf')

DRACÆNA (Cordyline australis 'Atropurpurea', 'Purple Tower')

ELDER, Black (Sambucus nigra f. porphyrophylla)

ELM (Ulmus 'Purpurea')

FILBERT, Giant (Corylus maxima 'Fortin', 'Purpurea', 'Rote Zeller')

HAZEL (Corylus Avellana 'Fusco-rubra', 'Purple Avelon')

HOP-BUSH or Ake-Ake (Dodonæa vicosa 'Purpurea')

HORNBEAM, European (Carpinus Betulus 'Purpurea')

LOCUST, Black (Robinia Pseudoacacia 'Purpurea')

LOCUST, Honey (Gleditsia triacanthos 'Ruby Lace')

MAPLE, Coliseum (Acer cappadocicum 'Rubrum')

MAPLE, Horned (Acer diabolicum f. purpurascens)

MAPLE, English (Acer campestre 'Schwerini')

MAPLE, Japanese (Acer palmatummany cultivars)

MAPLE, Norway (Acer platanoides 'Crimson King', 'Crimson Sentry', 'Deborah', 'Faassen's Black', 'Goldworth Purple', 'Purple Heart', 'Reitenbachii', 'Royal Crimson', 'Royal Redleaf', 'Schwedleri')

MAPLE, Sycamore (Acer Pseudoplatanus 'Atropurpureum' or 'Spaethii')

OAK, Durmast (Quercus petræa 'Purpurea', 'Rubicunda')

OAK, English (Quercus robur f. purpurascensseveral clones)

ORCHID-TREE (Bauhinia variegata 'Purpurea')

OSMANTHUS (Osmanthus heterophyllus 'Purpureus')

PEACH (Prunus Persica 'Bloodleaf', 'Foliis Rubris', 'Hiawatha', 'Kingston Redleaf', 'Rancho Redleaf', 'Royal Redleaf', 'Rutgers Redleaf')

PITTOSPORUM (Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Purpureum')

PSEUDOPANAX (Pseudopanax Lessonii x Pseudopanax discolor 'Purpurea', 'Sabre')

REDBUD (Cercis canadensis 'Forest Pansy')

SMOKE TREE, European (Cotinus Coggygria 'Foliis Purpureis', 'Nordine Red', 'Notcutt's Variety', 'Royal Purple', 'Velvet Cloak')

SPINDLETREE, European (Euonymus europæus 'Atropurpurea')

WALNUT, Black (Juglans nigra 'Purpurea')

Note that no wild tree population is purple; every cultivated purpleleaf tree originated as a sport of a greenleaved tree. The above list is the most complete tabulation of purpleleaf trees and large shrubs to be found. Purplish variants of crab-apple trees alone number in the dozens. It has proved impossible to verify all the listed names due to the introduction of the same cultivar by various nurseries under names of their own devising, a common horticultural problem. So some of the names are surely synonyms or otherwise incorrect.

With many varieties the foliage is dark in spring, then gradually becomes murky green. Thus, the very propriety of calling these trees "purple" is open to question. Many writers correctly note that the foliage can be colored bronzy, brown, reddish, maroon or garnet, and so forth. For simplicity's sake, and in deference to custom, this volume adopts the imperfect but adequate word "purple."

It is no mere coincidence that the plums, crab-apples, beech, and some maples have the most purpleleaved cultivars, and that there are no purpleleaf pines. The genetics of pigmentation and of plant reproduction from seed, as well as the degree of human influence, together determine why some plants frequently "sport" color variations, while other plants almost never do. Chapter 8 elaborates upon this information. Appendix 3 is an account of purpleleaf Prunus other than plums.

With this book readers will become aware of the surprising variety of plums, and will learn which are best for special landscape roles. They will know much more about those cultivars common to their region, and may be tempted to acquire other appealing cultivars. Also, readers will appreciate better (and perhaps be amazed at) how haphazard record-keeping of ornamental tree cultivars truly is. When we examine closely the history of ornamental trees, we find (as in the history of most human understanding) so few pieces of the puzzle that we must use a great deal of guesswork to complete the picture. Then we sit back to behold the work, knowing uneasily how feebly its foundations in verity are rooted. Such is life!

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