Plant Library

Other Names:  Joseph's Coat, Parrot Leaf

Description:

This spectacular ground cover plant is perfect as a landscape edging plant, and is perfect for basing containers, tolerates partial shade, but most vivid color is produced in full sun

Ornamental Features

Brazilian Red Hots Alternanthera features showy balls of white flowers rising above the foliage in early fall. Its attractive pointy leaves emerge olive green in spring, turning fuchsia in color with distinctive hot pink edges the rest of the year.

Landscape Attributes

Brazilian Red Hots Alternanthera is a dense herbaceous annual with a ground-hugging habit of growth. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and should not require much pruning, except when necessary, such as to remove dieback. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Brazilian Red Hots Alternanthera is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Groundcover
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Brazilian Red Hots Alternanthera will grow to be about 12 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 10 inches. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. Although it's not a true annual, this plant can be expected to behave as an annual in our climate if left outdoors over the winter, usually needing replacement the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Brazilian Red Hots Alternanthera is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its spreading habit of growth, it is ideally suited for use as a 'spiller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the edges where it can spill gracefully over the pot. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.