Perilla
perilla

- Height 3 ft (90 cm)
- Planting distance 1 ft (30 cm)
- Foliage plant
- Fertile, well-drained soil
- Sunny site
- Tender annual

The attractive purple-red leaves of Perilla frutescens make it a popular specimen plant for formal beds, its dark foliage contrasting well with bright summer flowers. It is a coarse-looking plant, which reaches 3 ft (90 cm) high in the right growing conditions. If you bruise the pointed oval, toothed leaves, they give off a spicy smell, suggestive of their Chinese origins. The most popular cultivar is 'Atropurpurea,' which has crumpled, deeply cut foliage. 'Crispa' has bronze leaves with wrinkled edges.

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Annuals
and
Biennials