Alternanthera Dentata

The Tropical Alternanthera Dentata also known as josephs coat are incredibly beautiful purple plants that are hardy types of evergreen shrubs and will add color and dramatic texture as bedding plants for your landscape design in your tropical garden with its attractive deep burgundy leaves.

You can also find this plant and close relatives of this plant by the names of alternanthera sessilis, alternanthera brasiliana, alternanthera ficoidea.

This brightly colored shrub has a small list of plant names that it is also know as starting with Ruby leaf Purple Knight, Parrot leaf Purple Knight, Joy weed Purple Knight, Black night Purple Knight, Calico Plant and Christmas Clover joyweed.

It belongs to the Amaranthaceae family which is famous for having brightly colored foliage and shrubs adding life and color to any evergreen gardens. In the plant identifier encyclopedia it is also falls under flowering plant identification as a flowering evergreen because it does flower during the summer months with small white flowers

These types of evergreen shrubs are great for any garden as an evergreen hedge or border and gives you color all year round to enjoy.

It is Native to the tropics in the Caribbean, Brazil and the West Indies it is quite easy to grow as a fast growing shrub.

Tropical perennial grows best if you use an organically rich soil and it prefers to be kept consistently moist not being allowed to dry out too much between watering.

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Identifying Evergreen Shrubs And
How To Grow Them

Before planting your plant make sure to start off with your soil making sure its a well draining soil with a mix of sandy loam with a nutrient rich soil with a pH balance that is slightly acidic to neutral, this will ensure a healthy colorful plant.

It will grow at its best in zones 9 to 11 in your garden. But if you only have a patio or deck it will grow fantastically as potted plants as an office plant which are commonly seen and then for your deck or patio or in your home as a brightly colored focal point plant to add color to any room.

When watering plants in your garden they may all have different needs, automatic watering systems are wonderful just make sure to monitor how much each plant is getting and if it’s affecting it by either too much water or not enough. Drip watering systems I feel are some times best.

These particular plants need moist soil but not constantly being over soaked. Over watering can be a slow kill for your plant.

Remember to occasionally pinch young plants to encourage branching this method is still good with older plants as well to keep them producing new foliage and causing your plant to grow fuller. Also remove dying flower spikes to encourage new growth and more blooms in the long run.

The Alternanthera Dentata can be low growing shrubs but have been know to grow up to 3 feet and has a spread of at least one foot wide.

These extremely beautiful plants add that perfect tropical splash of purple to your garden!

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