'Albury Purple' is a St. John's wort grown for its leaves as much as its flowers. The new growth comes in red-purple, holds that colour through the season instead of fading to green, and sets off the small golden flowers that open in early and midsummer. Red berries follow and hang on into fall, which is when the shrub earns its keep in a mixed border.
It stays compact, 2 to 3 feet tall and 1 to 2 feet wide, and it flowers on new wood, so a hard cut in late winter costs you nothing and keeps the foliage colour strong; old wood goes green and leggy. It takes full sun to part shade and average soil that drains, and once settled it shrugs off dry spells. Deer leave it alone.
Pair it with silver or chartreuse foliage, where the purple reads darkest, and cut the berried stems for autumn arrangements. Like other hypericums it can show rust on the leaves in a wet summer; thinning the shrub so air moves through it is the only treatment worth bothering with.
These dates are for Zone 6b. Enter your ZIP to time every job to your own frost dates.
- watch · Any time in fallRed berries color up and hold into fall
- cut · Mar 27Cut back hard before new growth starts; it blooms on new wood
- watch · Any time in summerEnjoy yellow flowers against the red-purple foliage
Problems & troubleshooting
Common problems
Rust
Orange to brown raised pustules on the undersides of leaves, with yellow spotting on the upper surface. Heavy infections cause leaves to yellow and drop.
Remove and destroy infected leaves. Avoid overhead watering and improve air circulation. Apply a sulfur or copper-based fungicide if it spreads. Clear plant debris in fall.