Red Chocolate Loropetalum
Loropetalum chinense ‘Red Chocolate’Red Chocolate Loropetalum is an upright evergreen shrub grown for its small, glossy, oval leaves in deep purple with burgundy overtones. New growth emerges burgundy and darkens to a near-black purple that holds through winter, so the plant keeps its color in every season. Multi-stemmed branches build a fine-textured, upright and slightly spreading shape about 5–8 feet tall and 4–6 feet wide, adding roughly 12–18 inches of growth a year once established.
From late winter into spring, clusters of narrow, strap-like flowers in hot pink to reddish pink line the branches and contrast sharply with the dark leaves. Lighter flushes of bloom can follow later in the season. Its height and dense evergreen cover suit informal hedges and privacy screens, the corners of larger homes, and groups along a property line. In a mixed border, the purple foliage sets off gold, silver and bright green shrubs.
Red Chocolate grows best in full sun to partial sun, where leaf color and flowering are strongest. It needs rich, acidic, well-drained soil; alkaline soil can turn the leaves yellow, and roots may rot where water stands. Once established it handles dry spells and summer heat, and deer usually pass it by. It is rated for Zones 7–9, so a site sheltered from drying winter wind and a layer of mulch help it through cold winters.
Care Instructions:
Planting: Plant in spring so roots can establish before winter, setting the top of the root ball slightly above the surrounding soil in a spot shielded from strong winter winds.
Soil: Prefers rich, acidic, well-drained soil with plenty of organic matter; avoid alkaline soil, which can yellow the leaves, and low spots where water collects.
Watering: Water deeply and regularly through the first growing season, then give a deep soaking during extended heat or dry spells once roots are established.
Fertilizing: Feed in early spring with a slow-release, acid-forming fertilizer, which also helps keep the purple leaf color rich.
Pruning: Prune right after the spring bloom to shape the plant or shorten long upright stems, since later pruning removes next year’s flower buds; it accepts shearing as a hedge.
Spacing: Space plants approximately 4–5 feet apart for a hedge or screen; since that is at or below the mature spread, neighboring shrubs will grow together into a continuous wall of foliage.
Maintenance: Keep 2–3 inches of mulch over the root zone, pulled back from the stems, and cut out any branches with woody galls well below the swelling, disinfecting pruners between cuts.
Gardeners choose Red Chocolate when they want a taller loropetalum that fills space quickly with year-round purple color. It performs best as a screen or backdrop in sunny, well-drained beds, where the spring flowers and dark leaves stand out against lighter foliage. Because it outgrows the compact types, it fits open borders, property lines and the corners of a house better than the space under a low window.
Landscape Solutions:
- Its upright, dense evergreen growth forms an informal hedge or privacy screen along a property line.
- Deep purple leaves that stay on all year provide winter color in beds that otherwise look bare.
- Deer resistance makes it a practical evergreen screen for yards where deer browse other shrubs.
- Drought tolerance once established suits sunny beds that are hard to reach with a hose.
- Dark foliage provides a backdrop for gold, silver and bright green shrubs in mixed borders.
