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Tall drought-tolerant plants with dark foliage?

NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
in Plants
I am looking for a couple of dark shrubs or tall - 1.5-2m - sturdy fuss-free perennials that can take my summer heat, to set against pale sandstone walls at the back of my hot border. If it has flowers, hot colours best! Last summer I tried Cotinus Royal Purple and Weiglea Ruby something. Despite copious watering the Cotinus really struggled and the Weiglea expired in the heat. I also have a Berberis Thunbergii Atropurpurea which survived but is still only 25cm high. Given I am not allowed Dahlias or Cannas I am a bit stumped! Any ideas?
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
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  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I suggest that you look at other gardens in the area and see what is growing well and that meets your requirements.  Even here in dry-ish East Anglia nothing I grow is likely to survive the conditions in your garden
     :) 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • MarlorenaMarlorena Posts: 8,705
    For foliage shrubs about that height after a few years, you might like to look at 
    Pittosporum tenuifolium 'purpureum'.  I grew it on a hot dry bank on the south coast of England to 6 foot or so..
    Coprosma 'Pacific Night' is drought tolerant, and has imposing foliage.  A bit too tender for many parts of England.. 

    East Anglia, England
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    edited March 2018
    I would imagine Californian and Antipodean plants might work well.

    Ceanothus. Dark glossy leaves, deep blue, drought-happy.
    Anigozanthos 'Big Red'
    Salvia guaranitica     'Black and Blue' -  dark flowers, over 2m, perennial
    Sand Cherry Prunus Cistena
    Abutilon ‘Jerry’s Red Wax’ or other upright, tall abutilon shrub
    Scoparium  ‘Crimson Glory’

    How cold does it get in the winter?




  • BorderlineBorderline Posts: 4,700
    edited March 2018
    If you are based out in Northern Spain, the following shrubs will enjoy your climate, both very sturdy and tough and can cope with a bit of rain but most of all, hot sunny, dry and windy conditions.

    Coprosma Repens as Marlorena mentions, such a tough shrub and the Pacific range is really one of the best colour ranges around. Super dark red high gloss leaves. Dark red to burgundy tones in the cooler months with slightly greener tones in the hotter months. Medium growth rate and growing to around a meter tall. 

    Lophomyrtus Raphii 'Magic Dragon' or 'Kathryn'. Small slightly raised leaves that almost turn glossy in hot weather. A bit faster growing and can reach one and a half meters tall. Their growth habits are similar to a Pittosporum, but leaves far smaller.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    Baby bay.
  • PerkiPerki Posts: 2,527
    What about one of the purple / black phormiums ? I have a physocarpus  Diablo but I am not sure on drought tolerance.  
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  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    Bourganvillea come in tree form too, but I think they like quite a bit of water - more wet tropical than strong sun and dry summers.
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    Ooh, thank you all so much for all those suggestions! I haven’t come across quite a few of them so will look them up; tried and failed to get hold of a Pittosporum TP last year. So far I have confined myself to looking at shrubs in the garden centres around Girona, which are pretty limited, but the ones they do sell, like the Cotinus, I naively assumed would be ok - on the coast perhaps. Sister in-law coming out from the UK at some point with her camper van so that’s a possible delivery option...

    I am surrounded by forest and agricultural land and the locals don’t grow much ornamentals, apart from endless red robin hedges, the odd rose and a few bedding plants. Hmm, perhaps there is a reason for that! I am around 400m above sea level with winters down to -5 so far, which sadly rules out Bourganvillea etc., whilst the baking summers impose their own limits.
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
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