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leaves with purple on back side

comments (6) September 25th, 2011 in gallery

geron1mo geron1mo, member
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Note leaves are green on tops and purple on bottoms.
View of plant--what is it?
Underside of leaf.
Note leaves are green on tops and purple on bottoms. Click the image to enlarge.

Note leaves are green on tops and purple on bottoms.

Photo: rnf
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I save cuttings of this every winter and repot in summer. It has tubular lavender flowers and leaves that are green on tops and purple on undersides. I have forgotten the name of it. Can anybody refresh my memory?  Can't find on Google search.

posted in: The Gallery, purple and green leaves
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Comments (6)

BoBotanica writes: If it is a Plectranthus the leaves should have some sort of fragrance.
I believe it to be Plectranthus. Beautiful Plant.... Posted: 4:10 am on January 1st
geron1mo writes: Duly noted. Thanks, all. Posted: 7:52 pm on October 11th
gardengal4 writes: It definitely is Plectranthus 'Mona Lavender'. Plectranthus plants do vary widely in form, but 'Mona Lavender' cultivar is exactly what you have.

Posted: 7:38 am on October 8th
theamericangardener writes: I agree with plantmaven. It looks like plectranthus. Posted: 7:34 am on October 7th
geron1mo writes: I see the similarity, but that's not it. The leaves of my mystery plant are soft, velvety, green on top and purple on bottom. It's a multi-syllable name, not Tradescantia, but something along those lines. I can't find it anywhere on Google.
Also note that the flowers come out of spade-shaped purple pillows. It is a sun-lover, and is blooming furiously right now. I am irked that I can't recall the name--I repot it each summer from cuttings, and it grows rapidly to the huge specimen you see in the photo. Also, in the bottom photo, I showed the purple underside of the leaf. Posted: 10:16 pm on October 2nd
plantmaven writes: I think Mona lavender. The botanical name is Plectranthus Posted: 7:45 pm on September 29th
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