Foliage Plants

Fountain Grass

• Fountain grass (Pennisetum macrostachyum) grows so quickly that even though light frosts will kill it, you can use it as an annual foliage plant. Fountain grass will grow as far north as United States Department of Agriculture Planting Zone 6. Fountain grass resembles a corn plant with red leaves, with an upright form and drooping flower heads. This foliage plant prefers full sun, but wind can rip the leaves, so prevent this by keeping it in a more sheltered location. Fountain grass works well to highlight larger trees and shrubs behind it and flowers in front of it.

Horsechestnut Tree

• The horsechestnut tree (Aesculus hippocastanum) makes an excellent foliage plant in the spring and early summer, but leaf scorching from hot weather, as well as various diseases, can rob the tree of its foliage by the end of summer. The horsechestnut, which can grow to 60 feet high, is not a native species in North America, but grows wild after escaping cultivation. The leaves are compound and palmate, with a form resembling an open hand full of fingers. The horsechestnut has seven leaflets at the end of a long axis, with the leaflets widest at the end opposite their stalk. The foliage is medium green, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Caladiums

• Caladiums (Caladium bicolor) are tropical in nature, so even though you can plant them in colder climates, they'll survive the winter months only in warmer southern states. Caladiums develop from tubers, growing large and handsome leaves. This foliage plant has no stem, with the leaves emerging on long stalks directly out of the ground. Caladium leaves will differ according to the particular cultivar, but the majority will have a heart shape or resemble an arrowhead or spear point. You can easily dig up the tubers of caladiums in the fall and store them away in a dry and cool location until you can replant them in spring.

Coral Bush

• The coral bush (Jatropha multifida) is native to Mexico southward to Brazil, but as a foliage plant it will grow in Zones 8 through 10. Although this is a flowering species, with red flowers blooming periodically through the entire year, the leaves are its best feature. Coral bush has palmate leaves with 7 to 11 narrow lobes. Each lobe has a number of pointed segments, and the undersides of the leaves are whitish, compared to the dark-green upper surfaces. Coral bush grows from 6 feet tall to as high as 20 feet and is an evergreen shrub in many locations, according to Desert Tropicals.