12 Bushes With Red Stems for Your Ornamental Garden

Bushes with red stems are a very common characteristic we can find in houseplants and wild plants. The colors come out in different shades of red, but some of the colors appear in a specific season or due to stress or maturity. There are varieties that can be edible, while some are harmful and toxic to humans.

Nevertheless, having such a unique feature makes these plants stand out while enhancing your ornamental garden, so read this guide for the best ones!

List of Unique Bushes With Red Stems

1. Castor Bean

Here, we have listed different varieties of bushes with an attractive vibrant red stem that can be ideal to add to your ornamental garden or even inside your home. These decorative bushes will surely add some glow to your greenery while making your space more appealing and eye-catching. Let’s take a look at the first candidate and discover what it has to offer.

Ricinus communis is the scientific name for Castor bean or Castor oil plant. Castor bean is a species belonging to the Euphorbiaceae family of perennial flowering plants. Castor bean is native to Eastern Africa and India but widely cultivated as an ornamental plant and for a variety of other uses, such as anti-inflammatory, laxative, and treatment for ulcers, wounds, and many other illnesses.

2. Red Osier Dogwood

Red Osier Dogwood, Red Twig Dogwood, or Osier Dogwood are the common names for Cornus sericea. Red twig Dogwood is a flowering plant from the Cornaceae family indigenous to North America.

Red twig dogwood has an upright and spreading habit using its conspicuous red stems bearing dense clusters of white flowers and white berries. During the winter season, its red stems are most noticeable. You should also try adding some of these dogwood companion plants to your garden!

3. Elephant Bush

Portulacaria afra or Elephant bush is a succulent plant commonly found in South Africa. In its natural habitat, elephants eat them, from which the name Elephant bush was derived. Elephant bush is one of the popular succulent garden plants and is easy to care for as a houseplant; it even thrives on neglect. However, be cautious of their watering schedule to avoid overwatering your Elephant bush.

4. Lady’s Mantle

Lady’s mantle is a genus of herbaceous perennial plants with over 700 species belonging in the Rosaceae family. Some of them are native to the Americas and Africa. It is admired for its scallop-shaped foliage rather than its flowers that have red stems. Its leaves have the ability to retain droplets of dew or rainwater, which growers find alluring.

Due to its low-growing characteristic, Lady’s mantle makes an excellent groundcover.

5. Bloodtwig Dogwood

Cornus sanguinea, with common names Bloodtwig dogwood, Common dogwood, and Bloody dogwood, is a deciduous shrub cultivated as an ornamental plant. It is native to western Asia and Europe. Cornus sanguinea is an all-season plant. It produces white blooms in spring, lush green leaves in summer, and red stems in winter.

6. Himalayan Balsam

Himalayan Balsam has the scientific name Impatiens glandulifera. It is a large flowering plant native to the Himalayan Mountains. It is commonly grown and cultivated as an ornamental plant for its beautiful blooms. However, it is highly invasive as it grows rapidly and spreads easily. It is considered an invasive weed species in some counties.

7. Pigweed

Pigweed or Amaranthus is a genus of annual or perennial plants. Pigweed is an edible, flowering plant ideal for a vegetable garden, not to mention that it is easy to grow and can tolerate neglect. Its blooms typically attract pollinators like butterflies, which can be beneficial to other neighboring plants.

8. Common Purslane

Portulaca oleracea is also called Common purslane, Pursley, or Little hogweed. This annual succulent plant from the Portulaceae family can grow year-round, but it mostly prefers the spring and summer seasons as it loves full sun. Common purslane can be an excellent border plant in your ornamental or vegetable garden. It became popular for its medicinal and nutritional purposes.

9. Mountain Pepper

Tasmannia lanceolata or Drimys lanceolata is known as Mountain pepper. The Mountain pepper is a small tree that produces yellowish to white flowers during spring, along with tiny red edible berries that taste sweet and peppery. Its foliage can be used as spices or herbs. Incorporate Mountain pepper in your garden beds and borders or in pots.

10. Wine Berry

Rubus phoenicolasius, or Wine berry, Japanese wine berry, or Wine raspberry, is a species of raspberry belonging to the rose family. It is native to Japan, China, and Korea and is introduced and naturalized to North America and Europe and cultivated for its ornamental and culinary uses.

Japanese wine berry tastes wine-like and sweet. You can eat the berries directly from the bush, but they must be processed upon harvesting as they cannot be stored. They can be turned into wine berry jam, delicacies, and fruit wine.

11. Red Tree Peperomia

Red Tree Peperomia or Peperomia Metallica is from the Piperaceae family. This little beauty in a pot sitting in the corner of your home makes an excellent indoor plant, but it can also be an outdoor plant as a groundcover.

12. Pokeweed

Pokeweed, Poke sallet, Dragonberries, Inkberry, and American pokeweed are the common names for Phytolacca Americana. It is an herbaceous perennial plant from the Phytolaccaceae family native to North America. During the spring and early summer seasons, its leaves and shoots are edible, but during late summer, they become poisonous.

Conclusion

Nature has a lot to offer if you are looking for bushes with red stems. We believe you might have already made your choices at this point in time, but if not, take a look at the points below to help you decide.

• Red osier dogwood and Bloodtwig dogwood are the best selections of bushes that last all season.
• Common purslane, Red tree peperomia, and Lady’s mantle are the low-growing ones ideal as a groundcover.
• Wine berry, Pigweed, Mountain pepper, and Common purslane are the edible plants in the list.
• Lady’s mantle, Pigweed, Common purslane, Wine berry, and Elephant bush grow best during spring and summer seasons.

All of these red-stemmed plants provide different striking shades and will surely be a lovely addition to your green garden!

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