What kind of shrub is this? Purple/bronze/burgundy leaves

Rainbow, CA(Zone 8a)

I bought a house which has this plant, and I have had no luck figuring out what it is by myself. It either died back during winter because of lack of care, or it's deciduous, for with some TLC, it's grown to be 4-5' tall since February (here in So Cal). The stems remind me of the culms of bamboo - segmented and ridged. Almost heart shaped leaves which are mostly purple/burgundy, but can be green at the bottom of the plant. The leaves are jointed at the same point, and come in 3's.

This message was edited Aug 4, 2008 1:58 PM

Thumbnail by ltram

I'm a Cali native, and that's a new one on me!
You're right, it does look a bit like bamboo.
Good luck!

Long Beach, CA(Zone 10a)

Looks like Euphorbia cotinifolia aka Caribbean Copper Plant.
ck. the PlantFiles for comparison pictures.

Long Beach, CA(Zone 10a)

Sorry about that...there are no pictures of it in the PlantFiles.
They are very popular here in zone 10a and 10b where they do go deciduous in winter and leaf out rather late...usually in April.

You can shape them into an large ,rounded, tall shrub, or even a single trunk tree...but they look better as a multi=trunk tree if you keep them laced out.

One way to be certain is to pick a leaf and see if it has white milky sap.
If it does, it's E. cotinifolia

Rainbow, CA(Zone 8a)

THANK YOU!! I do believe that it is the Caribbean Copper Plant. I am so grateful to you, JasperDale, for answering my question. The DG community is a wonderful group.

Long Beach, CA(Zone 10a)

Indeed it is ! LOL

Those plants became popular here about 3 years ago, and are still pretty expensive. They look great with gray and chartreuse foliages.

Consider yourself lucky to have a nice one !

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